Summary

The employee will report to the Stakeholder Relations section in the Office of Congressional Affairs and Communications (OCAC) to support a wide range of Agency communications activities and strategies pertaining to both congressional affairs and stakeholder relations.

Duties

The External Affairs Specialist (Congressional Stakeholder Relations) duties listed below are at the EL-09 grade level. Depending on the grade level selected, the incumbent will perform these duties with varying levels of supervision and difficulty.

Major Duties & Responsibilities

• Works collaboratively with subject matter experts and other communications specialists such as External Communications Specialists, Congressional Affairs Specialists and Agency Webmasters, as needed.
• Reviews submissions to various OCAC inboxes (Consumer Affairs, Congressional Affairs, Communications, etc.) and routes them to the appropriate staff, while monitoring and ensuring the appropriate disposition of these requests.
• Assists with drafts for talking points, bullets, emails, or other written products designed to inform senior leadership and other Agency employees of stakeholder engagements, including Congressional briefings, or other relevant information from OCAC.
• Reviews and edits various stakeholder deliverables to ensure appropriate formatting, grammar, and style.
• Supports congressional and stakeholder briefings by preparing agendas and supporting documentation, as well as coordinating logistics for meetings and other briefings.
• Assists with drafting letters to Congress and participates in the agency's recordkeeping with respect to congressional communications.
• Coordinates and the submission of statutorily required documents and other transmittals to Congress or other key external stakeholders.
• Assists senior staff to ensure that key agency press releases and announcements are communicated to Congressional staff as necessary.
• Assists colleagues with monitoring hearings, reviewing transcripts, and preparing summary documents and notes for committee meetings including House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.
• Supports the congressional affairs team with the work of the Legislative Working Group as directed.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• May be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period.
• Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
• Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Resume and supporting documents (See How To Apply).
• This position is eligible for inclusion in the bargaining unit. The union that represents employees in this position is the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Local 343.
• FHFA participates in e-Verify. All New hires must complete the I-9 Employment Verification form either on or before their first day of employment. If a discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.
• 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.
• This is NOT a remote position; you MUST live within or be willing to relocate within a commutable distance of the duty location.

Qualifications

You may qualify for your desired series and grade level if you meet the following qualification requirements:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

EL-09: Applicants must have 52 weeks (one-year) of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and/or directly related education as described below. From the description below, if you choose options "B" or "C" you must provide transcripts with your application.

A. Experience: I qualify for the EL/GS-09 because I have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience at the EL/GS-07 or equivalent demonstrating work experience with one or more of the following:

• Drafting internal briefing documents and external communications, such as email blasts for stakeholders and congressional audiences.
• Monitoring and responding to centralized email boxes to questions or concerns from respondents outside of the organization.
• Experience communicating with members of congressional staff in support of scheduling meetings, briefings, or other events.

-OR-

B. Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree; or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a related field of study such as Communications, Language Arts, Media, Political Science or other closely related field; or LL.B. or J.D., if related.

-OR-

C. Combination of education and experience as described above in options "A" and "B". Note: Less than one year of specialized experience may be combined with graduate education more than the amount required for the next lower grade level. One academic year of graduate education is the number of credits hours determined to represent one academic year of full-time study (i.e., 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours).

**Failure to provide your transcripts, when required, for any of the options above will remove you from the hiring process**

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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants for this position who meet the qualification requirements will be rated according to Category Rating Procedures. Candidates with Veteran's preference, who meet the specialized experience, selective placement factor, and/or education requirements for this vacancy, will be given priority consideration over non-preference candidates.Candidates will undergo a multi-tiered evaluation process, including a subject-matter-expert (SME) review to determine if you possess the competencies and skills required for the position. Candidates successfully achieving the competency/skill review will be evaluated for eligibilities and minimum qualification requirements by human resources. All applicants will be rated on the following competencies for this announcement:

Competencies:

• Customer Service
• Message Development and Delivery
• Oral Communication
• Writing

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. To preview the assessment questionnaire:

Based on your veteran's status and responses to the job specific questioner you will be assigned to a pre-defined quality category. There will be three quality categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified and Qualified. Generally, only candidates in the top-quality category will be referred to the hiring manager for selection.

Best Qualified - Applicants who have experience that is almost identical to those required by the position. (95)

Well Qualified - Applicants who have experience that is very similar to those required by the position. (85)

Qualified - Applicants who meet minimum qualification requirements, but do not identify any additional qualifying experience or skill. (70)

The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher).

All of the information you provide will be verified by a review of the work experience and/or education as shown on your application forms, by checking references or through other means, such as the interview process. This verification could occur at any stage of the application process. Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempts to conceal information may be grounds for rating you ineligible.

In accordance with the Fair Chance Act, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) may not request, in oral or written form, that an applicant for an appointment to (FHFA) disclose criminal history record information before the appointing authority extends a tentative offer to the applicant. Allegations of FHFA violations of this Act may be submitted to or to Fair Chance Act Complaints, Office of Human Resources Management, Employee Relations Branch, FHFA 400 7th Street, SW Washington DC 20219 within 30 days from the agency employee's alleged non-compliance with the law.

Required Documents

FHFA's application process has been specifically developed to ensure that we only ask you for the information we absolutely need to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility. All applicants are required to submit the following supportive documents:

1. Your Resume: If you have not written a federal resume before, you may want to watch this video on the , or read through a helpful on the to learn what details you should, and should not, include in your resume. A CV (curriculum vitae) may not contain enough information to meet these resume requirements.

• Your resume should list all work experience (paid and unpaid); you must list the full name of each employer.
• For all types of work experience, you should indicate the start and end date (include month and year); you must also list the average number of hours per week that your worked.
• Your resume should also include any education and training you have completed (list the program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).

2. Required, if applicable: This position may require a minimum level of education or a combination of education and experience. Please submit your transcripts (official or unofficial) along with your application. Failure to provide transcripts, when required, will result in removal from the hiring process. Note: If you are selected for a position, an official transcript will be required before onboarding.

3. Required, if applicable: CTAP/ICTAP documentation (a copy of a separation notice or other proof of eligibility for priority selection; a copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing current position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location; AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.)

4. Required, if applicable: Veteran's Preference Documentation (DD-214, Member Copy 4 or other documentation containing dates of service and character of discharge. Disabled veterans and other applicants eligible for 10-point Veteran's Preference please include: documentation to validate your claim - VA letter, SF-15, etc.).

5. Other Supporting Documents:

• Cover letter, optional
• SF-50, optional
• Schedule A Letter, optional

Important Notes:

• Utilize the preview feature of USA Jobs to view your documents and ensure the formatting remains and all documents are legible.
• Additional materials will not be accepted after the announcement closes (e.g. updated grades, updated resume, etc.).
• Your full name must be clearly visible on all documents.
• Do not submit encrypted documents.
• Tips: Encrypted documents do not transmit properly through USA Jobs. We recommend, you save the document as a new PDF, or Print to PDF to ensure the document comes through properly and is displayed properly using the USA Jobs preview feature.
• If the position has an education requirement or you are qualifying on the basis of education, you need to list your education history including the type of degree and your major of study. If the position requires a certain number of credit hours, you are strongly encouraged to list the relevant courses in your resume. Do not include a photograph or video of yourself, or any sensitive information (age, date of birth, marital status, protected health information, religious affiliation, social security number, etc.) on your resume or cover letter. We will not access web pages linked on your resume or cover letter to determine your qualification.

Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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 .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

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