About the Position: Serves as a Congressional Affairs Specialist providing a full range of congressional affairs activities. The employee supports the Congressional Affairs Office with monitoring, tracking, and reporting on items of congressional interest to the Command; assists in preparing the Command to engage with Committees, Members of Congress and their staff; and tracks and coordinates Headquarters and interagency staffing actions.
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. In order to qualify, you must meet the experience 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 equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service which includes experience with political and Congressional liaison principles, methods, practices and techniques used in developing and applying to complex congressional problems; receiving, tracking, monitoring and controlling inquiries; experience in effective writing techniques, and unique writing styles and requirements, to compose official congressional responses; and experience developing broad, long-range objectives, identifying work to be done, and establishing deadlines for completion of plans. You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas: 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 (GS-12).
Manages and tracks inquiries from Members of Congress, their staff, and committees.
Analyzes inquiries to identify issues, conducts research, and finds information for resolution.
Synthesizes information and composes official responses to Congressional inquiries.
Prepares correspondence and reports like position papers, fact sheets, and testimony for Congress.
Provides staff oversight for SOUTHCOM and subordinate commands on all Congressional issues.
Oversees visits by Members of Congress and their staff to SOUTHCOM subordinate commands.
Acts as a subject-matter expert for all responses to congressional inquiries.
Supports the Congressional Affairs Chief with internal coordination, budget, and security.