Student Trainee (Congressional & Public Affairs) - Pathways Internship

About the role

Join the Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Inspector General (OIG), where our team promotes accountability, integrity, and effectiveness through audits, investigations, and oversight.

The OIG Pathways Internship Program offers students enrolled in qualifying educational institutions paid opportunities to gain valuable experience, develop professional skills, and explore Federal careers while completing their education.

What you will do

• As a Student Trainee (Congressional and Public Affairs) with the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG), you will receive hands-on training and experience supporting congressional affairs, legislative research, public communications, and administrative operations.
• Duties include: Congressional Affairs Support: Assist in monitoring, tracking, and researching congressional legislation, amendments, hearings, and policy developments affecting SBA OIG programs.
• Maintain congressional contact lists, legislative tracking records, and stakeholder databases.
• Congressional Correspondence and Briefings: Assist in drafting congressional correspondence, briefing materials, reports, and testimony.
• Attend and summarize congressional hearings, briefings, and meetings, and support the coordination of congressional inquiries and related activities.
• Research and Policy Analysis: Conduct research on legislative developments, federal policies, and oversight issues affecting SBA OIG operations.
• Assist in preparing research summaries, memoranda, reports, and data presentations to support leadership decision-making.
• Public Affairs and Media Relations: Assist in drafting press releases, talking points, public statements, and other communication materials.
• Monitor news coverage and social media, maintain media contact records, and support responses to media inquiries.
• Strategic Communications: Support the development of communication strategies, public information campaigns, and social media content to promote awareness of SBA OIG activities, initiatives, and oversight responsibilities.
• Administrative and Executive Support: Perform administrative duties, including maintaining records, entering data, scheduling meetings, and coordinating events.
• Assists the Executive Officer with administrative and operational task in support of the Inspector General and the overall mission of the Office of the Inspector General.

Education

You MUST submit transcripts (official or unofficial), student schedule or enrollment letter with this application if you wish to be considered for this vacancy.

APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: 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 (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Verify School accreditation. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly.

If you are selected for this position, you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. *** 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. *** For further information, click on: Foreign Education.

How you will be evaluated

Applicants meeting basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on additional assessments. One of these assessment is USA Hire. Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments.

The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Your USA Hire assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.

The assessments relate to the following Competencies required to do the work of this position: Customer Service Interpersonal Skills Oral Communication Writing In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

One of the required assessments for this position is an online assessment that measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies.

You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered.

You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Your application will be evaluated under the Category Rating method based on your assessments. You will receive a score based on the responses to the assessment questions.

If, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities. If you meet basic requirements for the position, your application will be evaluated and placed into one of three categories: 1.

Best-Qualified: highly proficient with an overall comprehensive level of knowledge, skills and abilities related to the job based on a complete review of experience, education, and training as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume. 2.

Well-Qualified: competent in the position with an overall accomplished level of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the job based on a complete review of experience, training, and education as applicable, as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume. 3.

Qualified: an overall basic level of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the job based on a complete review of experience, education, and training, as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume.

Candidates eligible for veterans' preference will be placed ahead of other candidates in the appropriate category for which they have been rated. Additionally, preference eligibles who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent and who meet Minimum Qualification Requirements will automatically be placed in the Best Qualified Category.

Documents you must provide

• Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date/time of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position.
• Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents.
• Uploading documents to USAJOBs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.
• You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.
• Your Resume must not include photographs.
• Resume length may not exceed 2 pages and must contain the following information: Name, address, telephone number, email address; Job Title (if Federal Service, provide series and grade; if not in GS plan, provide GS equivalent grade); If qualifying based on related unpaid (e.g. volunteer service) experience, you must provide hours worked per week and beginning/ending dates (mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy); If other than full time you must provide hours worked per week.
• PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC.
• WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
• Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination.
• You must address the specific specialized experience required for each grade level of this position on your resume or application or you will be rated "Ineligible" for that grade level.
• Should you submit multiple resumes, only the latest uploaded resume will be reviewed.
• Relevant transcript(s) (unofficial or official) that clearly describes your qualifying education OR enrollment letter.
• If selected, official transcripts will be required.
• In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the occupational questionnaire), you are required to submit the following forms, if applicable.
• It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all documents are legible: If you are claiming Veteran status, you must submit a copy of all required documents to support your claim (e.g.: DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA disability letter)--see VetGuide; Veterans who are still in the service may be granted tentative preference on the basis of information contained in their applications, but they must produce a DD-214 (showing the character of service) or other proof of service to receive consideration for veterans' preference.
• For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit FedsHireVets.gov.

What to expect next

SUITABILITY, CLEARANCE & REQUIREMENTS: A background investigation may be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background investigation and favorable adjudication.

Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period (depending on type of appointment authority) 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 this period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Telework may be available.

For information on Telework visit: *** Additional vacancies may be filled from this vacancy announcement if additional vacancies occur within 180 days of the date the certificates were issued.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. For additional information visit ***

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application.

Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations 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.

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 Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments