Branch Support Assistant

Summary
About the Position: This position is located with the U.S. Army Research and Development Center (ERDC), Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL)
This position is being filled as a Branch Support Assistant DK-3 (GS-6/7).
This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
  Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
• Federal employees - Competitive service
  Current or former competitive service federal employees.
• Individuals with disabilities
• Land & base management
  Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.
• Military spouses
• Veterans

Clarification from the agency
See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualifications" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.
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Duties

• Provides customer service and communicate clearly and interact collegially via face-to-face, telephone, email, and other modes of communication.
• Provides clerical support using office software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and SharePoint.
• Organizes and prepares approval material for processes such as conferences, official correspondence, training, domestic, and foreign travel as required.
• Responds to phone, fax, email, and other correspondence. You will prepare, process, and post travel orders, government vehicle requests, and travel orders and vouchers for branch staff.
• Verifies time and attendance using the automated financial system such as Corps of Engineers Financial Management System (CEFMS), ensuring availability of funds and accurate timekeeping and leave reporting by staff.
• Maintains leave, travel, and telework status of all branch members on a shared calendar.
• Maintains branch files, both hardcopy and electronic, as required by applicable regulations.
• Coordinates scheduling for meetings, such as performance review meetings between the supervisor and employees.
• Provides completion tracking for branch employees' responses to data calls or mandatory training requirements.
• Provides onboarding support to the Branch Chief for new employees joining the branch.

Requirements
Conditions of Employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 10% of the time.
• Appointment to this position is subject to a probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315.

Qualifications
Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

• 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
• Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
• Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army)
• Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
• Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer
• Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Interchange Agreement Eligible
• People with Disabilities, Schedule A
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
• Reinstatement
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998

In order to qualify, you must meet the requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.
Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: Utilizing digital means to track the status of people or items such as: inventory, training, timekeeping; Preparing and/or maintaining documentation in accordance with applicable regulations; and Providing various forms of communication to customers in regards to items such as: training, travel or conferences.
This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service DK-02 (GS-05).
You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Manages and Organizes Information
• Writing

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent DK-02 (GS-05).
All qualification requirements, including time after competitive appointment, must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
For ERDC Lab Demo positions: This position is covered by the Science and Technology Laboratory Personnel Management Demonstration Project at the DK-03 (equivalent to GS-06/07) grade level. In accordance with the Federal Register Vol. 63, No. 57, dated March 25, 1998, Laboratory Demonstration Project employees must have a current average performance score of at least 2.5 or equivalent (fully successful rating) for promotion consideration.
Education
Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience aloneno substitution of education for experience is permitted.
Additional information

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Two year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
• This is a (CP) 51 - General Administration and Management position.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.
• This announcement may be used to fill like vacancies six months from the closing date.
• All qualification requirements, including time after competitive appointment, must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
• This position is Non-Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Eligible for situational telework only, including emergency and OPM prescribed "Unscheduled Telework".
• Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative.

• Benefits
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  Review our benefits
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.
You may claim Military Spouse preference.
You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

• Benefits
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  Review our benefits
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
• Required Documents
  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.
  The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Checklist for Internal/Merit Promotion Announcements.
  As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.
  1. Your resume:
  
  • Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
  • If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
  • For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application will be marked as incomplete and you will not receive consideration for this position.
  • For additional information see: What to include in your resume.
  
  2. Other supporting documents:
  
  • Cover Letter, optional
  • Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
  • Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. The Proof of Eligibility document describes authorities commonly used in merit promotion recruitment and what document(s) are required to prove you meet the requirements of the authority. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.
  • Time-in-grade documentation: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).
  
  NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage ce...