Program Support Assistant (OA)

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS); Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

The USDA Agricultural Research Service in Washington, DC, seeks a dedicated personal assistant to the Research Leader (RL) and other professionals, coordinating a wide range of administrative and clerical tasks essential to the Public Horticulture & Engagement Unit's program administration.

You will support travel, HR actions, budgeting, time and attendance, and data management from unit databases, contributing to efficient office operations and accountability.

Qualifications

• Time-in-grade requirements: 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade for promotion (GS-06).
• Experience providing administrative assistance for an office (travel, HR actions, budgeting, time and attendance).
• Ability to develop administrative procedures and control for the unit and generate data from databases.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a personal assistant to the Research Leader (RL) and other professional staff.
• Coordinate a wide variety of administrative and clerical tasks essential to program administration.
• Assist with generating administrative data from databases and manage routine office duties.

Skills

Typing 40 wpm

Administrative support

Job description

Summary

This position is located within ARS, Northeast Area, Public Horticulture & Engagement Unit in Washington DC. In this position, you will serve as a personal assistant to the Research Leader (RL) and other professional staff, coordinating a wide variety of administrative and clerical tasks essential to the program administration of the Management Unit.

Requirements

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in Grade: Current USDA federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet the time in grade requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. GS-06

Specialized Experience (GS-06)

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-06 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-05 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience providing administrative assistance for an office (including arranging travel, HR actions, budgeting, programmatic paperwork, and time and attendance); completing and tracking purchasing and procurement for the Unit; and assisting with generating administrative data from databases.

Specialized Experience (GS-07)

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-07 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-06 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience providing administrative assistance for an office (including arranging travel, HR actions, budgeting, programmatic paperwork, and time and attendance); completing and tracking purchasing and procurement for the Unit; developing and establishing administrative procedures and controls for the Unit; and generating administrative data from databases. All applicants must be able to type 40 words per minute.

Experience

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.

About Us

Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Our job is finding solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. What we do matters in science and the world. For more information about Agricultural Research Service, go to https://www.ars.usda.gov/.