Administrative Support Specialist

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Farm Service Agency, Texas State Office, located in College Station, Brazos County, Texas. Serves as Executive Assistant to the SED and DSED.

Evaluate administrative reports and management practices in State and County Offices and develop recommendations for improvements.

Initiate development of strategies and processes for implementing improvements.

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement.

For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements.

If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts Specialized Experience Requirement For the GS-07 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as: One full-time year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 level of the Federal service that demonstrates experience providing administrative support to coordinate priorities, commitments and program goals of an office.

This includes providing technical assistance for support services, budget/project tracking, program analysis and skill in using various software packages to prepare reports.

OR Education at the GS-07 grade level: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: A major in human resources, social or behavioral sciences or in such fields as business or public administration or industrial management, psychology, labor relations, or education.

OR Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above.

SAA is based on: Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience as listed above.

Specialized Experience Requirement For the GS-09 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as: Experience that demonstrates a fundamental knowledge in administrative specialties such as contracting and procurement, management analysis, human resources management, budget and financial management, support services, and work measurement.

OR Education at the GS-09 grade level: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: A major in human resources, social or behavioral sciences or in such fields as business or public administration or industrial management, psychology, labor relations, or education.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience as listed above.

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).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Time-in-Grade Requirement: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement. Major Duties:

• Serves as the primary point of contact for Ask FSA inquiries and coordinate responses in a timely basis with subject matter experts in the office.
• Serves as an administrator for all correspondence generated in the division requiring secretary's response as well as other agency documents.
• Responds to administrative issues and inquiries and resolves a variety of conflicts regarding administrative policies and processes among organizational issues.
• Evaluates procedures and determines when changes need to be made and independently effects the changes.
• Composes and prepares a variety of correspondence, weekly reports, records, briefing materials, and statistical and narrative material related to support of the program areas, staff and the mission of Farm Service Agency.
• Provides administrative assistance in accomplishing assignments for the office, and is expected to use tact, diplomacy and confidentiality for management in all responsibilities including labor-management relations.
• Evaluates procedures and determines when changes need to be made and independently effects the changes.