Senior Policy Advisor

About the role

This position is located in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary (ODAS), Division of Policy Development in Washington, D.C. This position is inside the bargaining unit.

What you will do

• Develops broad national policy strategies and concepts on current and emerging issues in a variety of federal systems and programs designed to provide employment and/or training programs and services to individuals to ensure that such programs provide meaningful participation by people with disabilities.
• Serves as a principal technical policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary and supervisor on broad federal-level policy issues and concerns that are of major significance.
• Directs the work of temporary or ad hoc federal task teams and committees convened under the authority of the ODEP organization, to address specific complex, technical, and/or sensitive national policy issues that often cross federal agency lines.
• Develops ODEP/DOL policy options, and recommends policy positions on problems or issues of national significance.
• Analyzes, organizes, and presents program and application policy options and recommends ODEP positions to the Assistant Secretary and/or supervisor for decision.
• Designs broad assessments of federal disability program requirements and performs thoughtful analyses of relevant program and administrative procedures that integrate the requirements of other related federal programs and offices.

Education

There is no education substitution at the GS-14 level.

How you will be evaluated

Your evaluation will be based on how well you meet the qualifications outlined in this vacancy announcement, as demonstrated through your resume and supporting documentation. Click Application of Veterans Preference for more information.

You may preview application questions for this vacancy here: *** If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be evaluated against the evaluation factors below and will be placed into a category based on your vacancy question responses.

Category A - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and has successful experience in the same or similar job that has demonstrated superior proficiency in applying critical competencies required by this position to work of increased levels of difficulty and complexity.

Category B - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and demonstrates satisfactory proficiency in the critical competencies required by this position. Category C - Meets the specialized experience described in the minimum qualification requirements section of this announcement and demonstrates proficiency in the basic competencies.

Click here for Evaluation details.

USA Hire You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork The information you provide may be verified by a review of your paid, unpaid, volunteer, as it demonstrates the competencies or skills required for the position to be filled.

Your evaluation may include an interview, reference checks, or other assessment conducted by HR specialists, subject matter experts, or panel members and may include other assessment tools (ex. interview, structured interview, written test, work sample, etc.).

INFORMATION FOR ICTAP/CTAP ELIGIBLE(S) ONLY: If you are eligible for special priority selection under ICTAP/CTAP, you must be well-qualified for the position to receive consideration. ICTAP/CTAP eligible(s) who are Category B or higher will be considered well-qualified.

Be sure to review the eligibility questions to reflect that you are applying as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible and submit supporting documentation. WRITING SAMPLE: Applicants may be required to complete a writing sample during the interview process.

Documents you must provide

• The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date.
• Resumes: Required and applicants must provide a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one from your profile.
• To receive full consideration for relevant and specialized experience, please list the month, year, and number of work hours worked for the experience listed on your resume.
• We also suggest that you preview the vacancy questions and confirm that your resume supports your question responses.
• Veterans Documents (if applicable): To be considered as a 5-point (TP) preference eligible, you must submit a copy of your DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.
• Your DD 214 must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty.
• To claim 10-point (CP/CPS, XP) preference, you must submit a copy of your DD214 and the proof of entitlement of this preference, which is normally an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability.
• In addition, a Standard Form (SF-15) should be included, but is not required.
• (For active-duty service members expecting honorable or general discharge or release within 120 days, click Tentative Preference for Active Duty).
• For more information, go to Feds Hire Vets - Veterans Preference.
• Displaced Employee Placement Documents: Only required if requesting priority consideration under CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.
• Cover Letters are not mandatory and will not be used to verify experience but may be submitted.
• Do not upload password-protected documents.
• Applicants selected for employment who are not current DOL employees will be required to provide proof of citizenship, and the E-Verify system will be used to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: - your performance and conduct; - the needs and interests of the agency; - whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and - whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
• Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

What to expect next

Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services. Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and refer candidates for selection consideration.

Candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interviews. You will be notified of the outcome. A selection is expected to be made within 30 calendar days of the issuance date of the certificate.

For instructions on how to check the status of your application, go to USAJOBS Help Guide. USAJOBS will no longer send status alert email notifications. You can check your application status in the TAS by logging into USAJOBS and in the Applicant Dashboard, click the hiring agency Talent Acquisition System (TAS).

If the TAS does not provide application tracking information, contact the agency's point of contact on the job announcement. To verify that your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select the Application Status link, and then select the more information link for this position.

The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement.

You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Additional information

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements.

Reference the Required Documents section for additional requirements. The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers.

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION This position is inside the bargaining unit.

If the duty location is within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the Local 12, AFGE bargaining unit. For more information, click Telework Position Information. This is not a remote work position.

The selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy. Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy.

The Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. Click for more information on Pay, Leave, and Workforce Flexibilities.

The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment.

If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act. Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.

All Department of Labor employees are subject to the provisions of the Drug-Free Workplace Program under Executive Order 12564 and Public Law 100-71.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application.

Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis.

If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision.

You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement.

To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.