Summary This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, WI. In this position, you will serve as a personal assistant to the Center Director by performing a wide variety of administrative and clerical tasks. Responsibilities Handle a large volume of incoming and outgoing correspondence, reports, or memoranda electronically and in paper form. Coordinate travel arrangements including preparation of authorizations or vouchers. Screen callers and determine the nature of the calls. Schedule conferences and meetings, including arranging logistics or preparing agendas. Serve as timekeeper for the Office of the Center Director staff. Review documents for conformance with regulations, grammar, format, and special policies. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. GS-8 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-08 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-07 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience includes experience scheduling or coordinating meetings, trainings or conferences; assisting with office administration tasks including travel arrangements or receiving leave requests; reviewing correspondence for conformance to policies and procedures; and using word processing programs to edit or review documents. In addition to meeting experience requirements, applicants must be able to type 40 words per minute. 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. Education This position does not have an education qualification requirement. Additional Information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. The final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at the time of job offer. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements. This position is designated as a bargaining unit position and is represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
