Summary The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in the Office of the Director of Conservation and Science at the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI)'s campus in Front Royal, VA. Responsibilities The Special Assistant is responsible for providing administrative, program support, personal and confidential assistant for the Director and Deputy Director. In this position, you will: Serve as a personal and confidential assistant to the Director of Conservation and Science as well as a liaison with other NZCBI and Smithsonian units. Establish computerized suspense system to develop and implement a program to log and track all correspondence. Arrange, schedule, process request, authorizations, and vouchers for all the senior staff. Assist with developing project work plans including, but not limited to budgets, spending plans, and schedules. Review all outgoing correspondence for procedural and grammatical accuracy. Report on statistical data from brief notes or verbal instructions. 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 must be met by the closing date of the announcement. For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website. Qualifications Experience: GS-11: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as identifying and analyzing key issues in proposed regulations, standards, or guidelines; conducting presentations using oral communication techniques to explain, justify, or discuss a variety of agency issues requiring logical presentation, preparing written communication to organize ideas and present findings in a logical manner; utilizing knowledge of program management principles and techniques to effectively plan and monitor project progress, schedules, and funding. Or Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related 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. Experience: GS-12: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as identifying and analyzing key issues in proposed regulations, standards, or guidelines; conducting presentations using oral communication techniques to explain, justify, or discuss a variety of agency issues requiring logical presentation, preparing written communication to organize ideas and present findings in a logical manner; utilizing knowledge of program management principles and techniques to effectively plan and monitor project progress, schedules, and funding, skill in identifying, analyzing and developing courses of action and recommendations for resolving problems requiring the attention of the Director and/or Deputy Director. 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. Education 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.