Program Support Assistant (OA)

Summary These three (3) positions are located within the USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Animal Disease Center in Ames, IA. One (1) position in the Virus and Prion Research Unit, one (1) position in Ruminant Diseases & Immunology Research, and one (1) in Infectious Bacterial Disease Research Unit. In these positions, you will serve as a personal assistant to the Research Leader and other staff, coordinating a wide variety of administrative and clerical tasks. Duties

• Participates in program planning support work such as research project coordination, travel documentation, budget coordination/tracking, agreements, and purchasing/procurement of supplies and equipment, and human resources administration.
• Provides training and advisory services to the Research Leader (RL) and professional staff in all program administrative procedures ensuring compliance with regulations.
• Participates in the annual Resource Management Plan (ARMPS) process by assisting in developing and executing the annual budget.
• Serves as the primary administrative business process point of contact for the unit. Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. GS-06: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. Qualifying experience for GS-06 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-05 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience assisting with preparing and tracking financial or budget information for an office; reviewing outgoing correspondence for proper format, grammar, or punctuation; and assisting with maintaining detailed records or files for an office; and using a variety of database software packages to enter data into systems. GS-07: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. Qualifying experience for GS-07 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-06 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience participating in program planning support work including research project coordination, travel documentation, budget coordination/tracking, agreements, purchasing/procurement of supplies and equipment, or human resources administration; preparing and tracking financial or budget information; maintaining detailed records or files for an office; and coordinating all aspects of travel for staff or supervisors. In addition to meeting experience requirements, applicants must be able to type 40 words per minute. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.