Summary

This position is located in the Performance Management Group (PMG), which provides procedure development and training support for the Partner Eligibility and Oversight Services Directorate (PEOSD) business units delegated the responsibility for compliance oversight and monitoring of eligible postsecondary education institutions, guarantor agencies, lenders, and servicers participating in the financial assistance programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

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Duties

As a Writer Editor, GS-1082-12, you will be responsible for:

Creating and updating procedures: Writing and editing a variety of informational products; researching current operational procedures; and conducting interviews with FSA employees and subject matter experts, to gain further knowledge about these topics for inclusion in FSA publications.
Writing and/or reviewing external communications for FSA customers, including website copy, SharePoint and training documents. FSA customers may include FSA staff and subject matter experts, financial aid administrators, Congress, and the media.
Meticulous Editing and Proofreading: Editing text for grammatical correctness, clarity, and appropriate reading level; paying close attention to detail; and helping to ensure all FSA/PMG/SEOSG’s communications are clear, consistent, accurate, convey appropriate messages, and comply with the FSA's style guide.
Composing, editing and publishing of internal and external procedures, designed to inform the FSA workforce. This includes (1) obtaining and editing procedures (2) composing operational procedures and plans (3) making recommendations for the layout and design (4) coordinating the printing and/or on-line posting of the internal and external procedures and (5) assisting with the development and implementation of training.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Must be a US Citizen
Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
May be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period.
Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
This position is eligible for telework.
This position is not considered non-essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures.
This position is included in the bargaining unit (American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252).

Qualifications

ALL QUALIFICATIONS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: All applicants must meet the qualification requirements outlined below to be considered minimally qualified for this position. The qualification requirements are in accordance with the OPM Qualification Standards .

Specialized experience for the GS-12 is demonstrated by performing one year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in at least two (2) of the following three (3) duties or work assignments:

Exercise independent judgment writing, editing, reviewing, and pre-publishing tasks required when preparing procedures, reports, info-graphs and job aids, program documentation, and management support documents pertaining to national standards and procedures.
Write, edit, and produce high visibility, high priority products effectively explaining and interpreting a variety of highly complex project documentation, such as standard operating procedures, manuals, etc.
Draw upon substantive knowledge of the fundamentals of program/project management activities in order to query material which appears inaccurate or open to misinterpretation; and exercises tact, discretion, and persuasion resolving such queries with researchers, managers, technical monitors, and/or technology proponents.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Additional Information

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy has no applicant limited.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Equal Employment Opportunity: We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a parent, marital status, or political affiliation.

People with Disabilities: We are committed to expanding access to employment by hiring people with disabilities; providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities; and, identifying and removing barriers to work. Persons with disabilities, including disabled veterans, may apply for jobs filled either competitively (where qualified individuals compete with one another through a structured process), noncompetitively (where a qualified individual may be selected based on a special hiring authority), or through an excepted appointing authority for people with disabilities (i.e., Schedule A). If you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please contact us. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation is made on a case-by-case basis. For more information, please visit: http://opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp

Veterans’ Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email Iwork@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor (“Veterans Counseling Session” should be placed in the subject line of the email).

Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and subject to a pre-appointment investigation/background check.

Level of Risk and Sensitivity: Level of this position T2 and the sensitivity is Moderate.

Time After Competitive Appointment: Candidates who are current Federal employees serving on a non-temporary competitive appointment must have served at least 90 days in that appointment before the agency can promote, transfer, reinstate, or detail an employee to a different position or different geographical area. When moving employees is consistent with open competition principles, OPM may waive the restriction against movement to a different geographical area upon written request from an agency.

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Help

FSA is a great place to work. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including paid vacation and sick leave, federal holidays, health and life insurance, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). As an FSA employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a productive balance between work and home, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you, may include teleworking and alternative work schedules.

For more information about the many benefits available to Federal employees, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications: Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if your resume does not include detailed information sufficient to support that you possess the minimum qualification requirements.
Rating and Ranking: If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required competencies by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Your application may be referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation. Based on the outcome of this evaluation, you will be assigned a numerical score (out of 100 possible). If your responses to the assessment questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your responses to the online assessments completed during the application process. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

You will be assessed on the following Competencies (see The OPM Website for definitions):

Writing
Manages and Organizes Information
Mental Visualization
Referral and Selection: If you are referred to the selecting official, you may receive an invitation to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.

If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process or written assessment or exercise, please inform the selecting official at the time of scheduling.

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Federal Student Aid an Office of the U.S. Department of Education jobs

Writer/Editor, GS -1082-12 (MP)