Staff Assistant

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO), Office of Executive Assistant Commissioner, Budget Division, located in Washington D.C. Additional selections may be made to include other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.

Duties

This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO), Office of Executive Assistant Commissioner, Budget Division. The incumbent performs a range of administrative and analytical duties, as well as a variety of liaison activities and special assignments related to the mission and function of the office. This position starts at a salary of $85,447.00 (GS-11, Step 1) to $111,087.00 (GS-11, Step 10). Major Duties: Serving as office manager and ensuring administrative practices and procedures comply with established policies, regulations, and mission requirements. Coordinating detailed official travel arrangements, including air and ground transportation, messages, passports, visas, and related logistics. Managing incoming and outgoing correspondence, suspense actions, and reports to ensure timely routing, tracking, and completion. Preparing special projects and supporting significant, non-recurring activities requiring flexible administrative coordination. Conducting research and analysis of documents and information to identify internal management issues, recommend solutions, and improve operational efficiency. GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position. Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for the GS-11 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Providing administrative and staff support to senior executives, including managing calendars, appointments, correspondence, suspenses, and requests for information. Planning and coordinating domestic and international travel, including transportation, passports, visas, travel authorizations, itineraries, and resolution of last-minute travel changes. Reviewing, drafting, editing, and routing official correspondence, briefing materials, reports, charts, and other executive-level documents for accuracy, format, policy compliance, and timely completion. Conducting research and applying qualitative and quantitative analytical methods to assess administrative operations, identify management issues, and recommend process improvements. Serving as an administrative action officer by assigning and tracking tasks, coordinating responses among stakeholders, monitoring suspense dates, and ensuring timely completion of actions. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements. Education Substitution: A Ph.D. or an equivalent doctoral degree, three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M. degree may substitute for experience required at this level. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise three years of graduate study. If that information is not available, use 54 semester hours or 81 quarter hours. Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at the grade GS-11. More information on this qualification standard is located here. 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. You must: Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 11/16/2026. 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. Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions: Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one-year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period. 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