Summary The primary purpose of this position is to serve as an assistant for clerical and administrative activities pertaining to correspondence, budget, purchasing, human resources, timekeeping, travel and related administrative areas for the State Office. Responsibilities Serves as purchase card holder, purchase supplies, equipment and services within delegated authority using mandatory or open market sources, ensuring proper and timely documentation and reconciling. Serves as the timekeeper in reviewing and verifying time and attendance; maintaining master files for area employees; performing leave audits; and informing the supervisor of any inconsistencies or aberrations in time and attendance. Receives and reviews incoming correspondence, ensuring necessary background material is attached when sending forward; and determines whether items can be personally addressed or need to be forwarded to the supervisor or other appropriate staff. Establishes, organizes and maintains a filing system of official material and records. Schedules meetings, prepares agendas, makes arrangements for meeting facilities and notifies participants of schedule changes; prepares materials to be used in presentations or training conducted by the supervisor and staff. Reviews travel authorizations to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. 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. Time-in-Grade: Applicants must have completed at least 52 weeks at the next lower grade, or have held the same grade or higher grade level as the one advertised in order to be considered for this position. (e.g. one year at the GS-05 grade level for consideration for the GS-06 grade level). Specialized Experience for GS-05: To qualify for the GS-05 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience at this level include, but are not limited to: Providing a variety of administrative and technical support relating to personnel, procurement, budget and/or general administrative management. Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-05 level: 4 years of education above high school level, leading to a Bachelor's degree; OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. Specialized Experience for GS-06: To qualify for the GS-06 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience at this level include, but are not limited to: Providing a variety of administrative and technical support relating to personnel, procurement, budget and/or general administrative management; Organizing travel and meeting arrangements for management officials and program staff. Specialized Experience for GS-07: To qualify for the GS-07 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience at this level include, but are not limited to: Performing a variety of administrative support services in support of a business or program office, assisting in preparing operating budgets, making purchases of office supplies, equipment, vehicle and tracking expenditures, providing timekeeping services and reconciling time and attendance documents, making travel arrangements, and reviewing incoming and outgoing correspondence and other administrative documents. Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-06 or GS-07 level. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Group-Standards 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 You must submit a copy of your transcripts to include course number, title, completion and grade. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information. Failure to provide all of the required documents/information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating. 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. Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information. Promotion Potential: 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. PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following: If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted. If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline. This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8 hour work day, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.