Administrative Assistant

Duties

The Administrative Assistant will provide a variety of financial, procurement, and clerical support services. This work will encompass financial management, budget administration, procurement and/or human resources functions.

In This Position, You Will

• Order a variety of goods and services using the agency's procurement system.
• Provide staff guidance and recommendations around new/established requirements, regulations and procedures related to administrative operations.
• Prepare and track forms for billing, receiving, disbursing, and/or transferring funds; follow up on transactions to ensure completion.
• Create, review, certify, and approve travel authorizations/vouchers in the travel system.
• Prepare or review outgoing correspondence for grammar, format and correctness.
  
  

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
  
  

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website .

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as providing office support such as entering data, filing, handling calendars for management, and preparing reports or correspondence; managing travel arrangements, time and attendance; and creating purchase orders.

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Or Education: One full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement may be substituted to meet the experience requirement.

Superior Academic Achievement Provisions

A Bachelor's degree in any field, plus at least one of the following superior academic achievement provisions:

• A grade-point average (GPA) of B (3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale) for all completed undergraduate courses, or courses completed in the last two years of undergraduate curriculum; or
• A grade-point average (GPA) of B (3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale) for the required courses in your major field of study, or required courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; or
• Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university, or major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; or
• Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society, other than freshman honor societies. Honor societies that have been approved are listed in the American College of Honor Societies. Booklet of Information (1992-95) and/or Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (1991).
  
  

To verify your claim for this provision, please submit a college transcript(s) showing that you maintained a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 for all 4 years of undergraduate courses, or on all undergraduate courses completed during the final 2 years of your curriculum, including all transferred courses.

Note: GPAs are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honor society.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards . Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Education

This position has no basic education requirement.

Additional Information

This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

Current or Former Political Appointees: Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Office of Human Resources. Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

• Position title;
• Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
• Agency; and,
• Beginning and ending dates of appointment.
  
  

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.