Summary This position is in the Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics (OPAL) Front Office Operations. OPAL is responsible for managing and overseeing National Scope initiatives that impact Government and VA wide acquisition programs. The Government Information Specialist participates in committees, task forces, panels and work groups which focus on a wide array of issues and initiatives involving data analysis and reports related to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) matters. Responsibilities This is a non-bargaining unit position. The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 100 applications. The first 100 applications received will be considered first. Applications received after the initial cut-off number (100 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. If management requests additional certificates, applicants will continue to be reviewed in groups of 100 in the order they applied. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Available Telework: Available Duty Location Status: Will work from a VA owned or leased space Position Description Title/PD#: Government Information Specialist/ PD80477A and PD20275A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Physical Demands: Work is mostly sedentary. There is some walking, bending, and carrying of bulky items, with some extended periods of standing. Work could involve long periods of sitting and/or standing. This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-13. At the GS-12 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-13. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. Promotion is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied. Major Duties: Administers, analyzes, supervises, and performs work involved in establishing, disseminating, and managing government information. Processes FOIA requests by researching, analyzing, and evaluating data for response to information requests. Stays abreast of recent developments in the field of disclosure, including recent court and department decisions, current legislative resolutions or problems encountered within the FOIA, Privacy Act, Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Justice's release of information regulations, and Office of Management and Budget guidance. Produces information and evaluation/analysis regarding the effectiveness of acquisition programs or operations in meeting established goals and objectives and assists in developing training materials or other tools to assist management in utilizing data and reports that are produced. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/04/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. For a GS-13 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. AND You may qualify based on your experience as described below. Specialized Experience GS-12: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience analyzing the impact of court decisions and legal interpretations of the Freedom of information Act (FOIA) Reports, Inspector General (IG) Reports, Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports, or alike; notifies and coordinates the records custodian concerning the release of information under the FOIA, IG, GAO or alike, and adjudicates whether the release of information is consistent with the statute and its interpretation by the courts. Specialized Experience GS-13: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience analyzing the impact of court decisions and legal interpretations of the Freedom of information Act (FOIA) Reports, Inspector General (IG) Reports, Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports, or alike; notifies and coordinates the records custodian concerning the release of information under the FOIA, IG, GAO or alike, and adjudicates whether the release of information is consistent with the statute and its interpretation by the courts; AND experience representing, presenting and negotiating on behalf of the FOIA Service at meetings and conferences with other Federal, State and local agencies, and/or representatives of privacy industry. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Compliance Manages and Organizes Information Strategic Thinking Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties. To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above. 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp. Education There is no education substitute or requirement for the GS-12 level. There is no education substitute or requirement for the GS-13 level. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (or the Act) prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from requesting applicant criminal history record information before extending a conditional or tentative offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S.C § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged non-compliance to VA at vacofairchanceact@va.gov. Applicant written complaints should include the following: Administration name: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office name, employee name and contact information or contractor who made contact (if known). Date of contact. Details regarding the job opportunity announcement applied to, and copies of any documents or other evidence related to the complaint. Visit Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) for more information. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.