Chief of Staff

About the role

This position leads FEMA Region 4's North Carolina Recovery Office by directing recovery operations, supervising staff, resolving program and personnel issues, applying the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS), and aligning staffing and resources with mission priorities to improve program effectiveness.

What you will do

• What will I do in this position if hired?
• In this Chief of Staff position, you will serve as the principal advisor to the Directors in adminsistrative and mangement matters.
• Typical assignments include: Providing guidance to the Recovery Office Director and Deputy Director, and as the chief of staff, directing subordinate leaders regarding priorities and objectives, suspense dates, procedures, and operations of the organization.
• Ensuring all organizational programs, plans, and policies are systematically integrated into an overall plan of operation.
• Exercising managerial authority to set long-range goals and objectives, planning for staffing and organization needs, and overseeing the full range of personnel actions for subordinate staff.
• Leading and managing high-level, high-priority, urgent situations that arise while responding to policy and action initiatives.
• What else do I need to know?
• At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management.
• Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites.
• All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description.
• Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
• This announcement is for a position as a CORE (Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employee).
• CORE employees are full-time employees hired to directly support the response and recovery efforts related to disasters.
• Employees are hired under the Robert T.
• Stafford Act and are excluded from the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing jobs in the competitive service.
• They can be hired under a streamlined process instead of a competitive process.
• After three years of continuous service, Stafford Act employees may be granted competitive eligibility to apply for permanent full-time positions at FEMA.

Requirements

• To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy.
• To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust - Moderate Risk as a condition of placement into this position.
• This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information).
• For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs, please visit OPM Investigations.
• The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees.
• If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
• Conditions of Employment: You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation.
• Selective Service registration required.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
• You must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.
• Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements.

Education

No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" section of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

We will review your resume, supporting documentation, and your responses to the occupational questionnaire to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements listed in the announcement. If you are qualified, you may be referred to a hiring manager for consideration. Interview Requirement.

Interviews may be required for this position.

Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration.

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. To preview, please review: ***

Documents you must provide

• Do not include photos, personally identifying information (PII) (including birthday and social security numbers), or personal information such as age, sex, medical history, etc. Resumes that include any of this information will be ineligible for further review.
• Limit your resume to no more than two pages.
• The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages.
• For resume writing guidance, please review the requirements section of this announcement or visit the USAJobs Resource Center.
• Your responses to the job questionnaire.
• You will be directed to the online job questionnaire: *** once you begin the application process for this position.
• Are you a current or former federal employee?
• This position does not have any competitive eligibility requirements.
• However, you will need to submit a Standard Form (SF)-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which demonstrates your current/highest grade level.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases and accessions.
• Award SF-50's will not be accepted.
• It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate.
• Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration.
• If a document is not legible, Human Resources will not be able to view it in your application.
• All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English.

Benefits

DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays.

Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities.

For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service- connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

What to expect next

If you are found qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. The hiring manager will review the list of qualified candidates and may conduct interviews of some candidates.

Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from consideration.

If you are selected, you will be notified by phone or email with a tentative job offer. If you fail to respond, fail to meet the conditions of employment, or fail any other pre-employment requirements (such as the background investigation), we may rescind a tentative job offer. For information on the Federal employment application process, please visit the USA Jobs Help Center.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Additional information

STAFFORD ACT EXCEPTED SERVICE APPOINTMENTS: Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employee (CORE) is an appointment type granted under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 306 (b), which authorizes FEMA to appoint such temporary employees as necessary to accomplish work authorized under the Act.

Appointments under this authority within FEMA are made to the excepted service and are nonpermanent in nature. If selected for this position, you will be required to attend a three-week, in-person training course in Emmitsburg, Maryland within six months of onboarding. FEMA will cover all travel expenses.

Failure to participate may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty.

False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment.

In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to ***.

DHS uses E-verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the minimum locality pay up to maximum locality pay for all duty locations listed. The range will be adjusted for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.

Please note: first time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01. This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position. Deployment travel may be required, based upon agency needs.

Deployment expectations can vary and will be discussed with candidates during the selection process.