Hi, everyone! This installment marks one month of W&GC. Thanks for coming by! Special thanks to whoever it is who “likes” these posts. I don’t know who you are, but I appreciate your consistency!
Lot of grants need managing these days:
Historian • Homeland Security Investigations HQ (DHS) • July 6, 2021
I’m sure many of the historians on this list are aware that they can get jobs as historians with various agencies - this is just one listing. Make your saved searches!
Now, they’re looking for a specific kind of historian:
Collects and analyzes relevant materials from foreign and domestic archival repositories and other sources of information necessary to identify possible perpetrators of human rights violations who are in - or may attempt to gain entry into - the United States.
Assists in the development of new cases based on materials generated by the incumbent and/or other team members assigned to the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) Regional Support Teams (RST). In addition to the incumbent, RST personnel include HSI and FBI Special Agents and Intelligence Research Specialists, and attorneys and historians/researchers assigned to ICE's Human Rights Law Section. Investigations conducted by the RST aim to identify, prosecute and remove human rights violators and war criminals from the United States. . . .
Qualifications
Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic and Minimum Qualification requirements as noted below.
Basic Requirement: You must meet one of the items listed below (A or B):
A. Possess a degree in History or possess a degree in a related field: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that includes at least 18 semester hours in history. You must provide a copy of your transcripts.
OR
B. Possess a combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in history, or a major in a related field that included at least 18 semester hours in history, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Minimum Qualifications:
You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-13 grade level or equivalent performing duties such as:1. Performing historical research and investigative or analytical activities on geographic regions where large scale human rights violations occurred from the time period of the mid-20th Century to the present, including research that identifies the causes and effects of those human rights violations, the associated conflicts and who was involved.
2. Demonstrating the ability to use archives, collections or other sources of information likely to contain documentation of human rights violations or war crimes that could potentially be used to initiate investigations or other law enforcement efforts.
The KSAs are: history and archaeology, interpersonal skills, oral communication, planning and evaluating, reading, technical competence [what does this mean], writing. Here’s the questionnaire, which does not have any narratives.
Grants Management Specialist • Library of Congress • July 8, 2021
This position is located in the Contracts and Grants Directorate, Office of the Chief Operating Officer. The function of the Contracts and Grants Directorate is to provide administrative and technical directions, management and policy guidance for the Library's grants, fellowships and awards programs in accordance with LCR 7-310.
. . .
The incumbent serves as a Grants Management Specialists responsible for processing different types of grant awards, contracting with the recipients and the management and oversight of the recipients' compliance with the terms of the award. The incumbent also serves as the primary contact for visa and tax matters for foreign recipients. . . .
Check out the other responsibilities for a better look at the position and what you’ll want to demonstrate.
Qualifications
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.
Knowledge of the laws, regulations, and administrative rules, policies and procedures that affect grants program administration.**
Ability to manage awards, fellowships and grants.**
Ability to perform pre-award grants management duties.**
Ability to provide technical advice and guidance on grant program matters and activities.
Ability to exercise judgement and discretion.
Ability to resolve grant management issues or problems.
Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.
The double asterisks are the Very Important KSAs. There is no education qualification for this position, so you need grant experience!
Here’s the questionnaire, which has narrative questions. Remember to prep your narrative answers ahead of time in a word processor so you don’t get kicked off in the middle of the application (not that anyone would do this haha) - and formatting doesn’t tend to translate, so keep in minimal.
Exhibits Manager • National Museum of the American Indian (Smithsonian Institution) • July 11, 2021
The cafeteria here is very good, which might be a perk. (I didn’t check.)
Responsibilities
Works with cross-functional teams to ensure that exhibitions reflect the philosophy and mission of NMAI, and that information is organized so that exhibition content is thematically and visually coherent as well as easily understood by, and accessible to, a broad range of audiences.
Develops and manages the exhibition production and installation process, including approaches, schedules, and cost estimates for major exhibits, so that exhibitions meet NMAI, SI, and museum industry standards. . . .
. . .
Qualifications
Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation. Applicants who have the 1 year of appropriate specialized experience, are not required to have general experience, education above the high school level, or any additional specialized experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements.
. . .
For this position, specialized experience is defined as: experience using Native knowledge as a primary resource to manage, plan, and develop museum exhibitions from the conceptual phase through design, production, and installation, ensuring that projects are brought to completion within scope, schedule, and budget.
They also direct you to OPM guidelines for “General Schedule Positions.”
The questionnaire asks some specific questions which might help you sort yourself into the relevant evaluation categories.
The KSAs are a little wordy, here are the first two:
Knowledge of a wide range of concepts, principles, and practices of museum exhibition functions, operations, and programs.
Knowledge of all components of exhibit project development and production necessary to assure the quality of presentation, including research, design, construction, fabrication, evaluation, conservation, registration, media, interactives, object list preparation, security, accessibility, and public relations. . . .
I wouldn’t say that any of them are unexpected, and of course you ought to read them for yourself.
Youth Services Program Specialist • Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (HHS) • July 12, 2021
This job is in Philly. Here are the highlights:
Serves as a coordinator and advisor to FYSB officials, staff and grantee agencies on policy and regulatory aspects of the RHY program.
. . .
Serves as a project officer for assigned grants, training and technical assistance, cooperative agreements, contracts and other FYSB related initiatives.
Provides support to the process of awarding and monitoring new grants with a focus on runaway and homeless youth and youth development/youth oriented programs. . . .
Qualifications
Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic AND Specialized Experience requirements as noted below.
Basic Requirement: You must meet one of the items listed below (A, B, or C):
A. Possess a degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. (Must provide transcripts) . . .Specialized Experience:
GS-12: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-11 level in the Federal service that includes the following:
Providing advice and/or technical assistance to grantees on Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) program operations;
Analyzing the technical performance of grantees and/or recommending appropriate actions such as corrective action or continued funding; and
Maintaining regular communication with grantees through correspondence and telephone calls to ensure that grantees are fulfilling the objectives of their grant.
The KSAs are: grants management, oral communication, program management, written communication. Your questionnaire is over here. Make sure to read the notes about formatting your resume.
Public Affairs Specialist • Office of Communications and Outreach (DOE) • July 12, 2021
I’m not sure how many people on this list are good fits for this job, but I don’t think the number is “zero.”
This position is located in Office of Communication and Outreach (OCO), Department of Education (ED) in Washington, DC. The Office of Communications and Outreach (OCO) is responsible for outreach to national, state and local elected officials, organizations, and associations that represent the education community, the press and other media outlets, other federal agencies, the business community, and the general public.
. . .
As a Public Affairs Specialist, GS-1035-12, you will be responsible for:
• Develops and edits speeches, talking points, Q&As, reports, statements, reports and other information to support speakers and Department officials.
• Performs a variety of research and data verification tasks to prepare for events, and consults with fellow speechwriters and subject matter/policy experts to ensure accuracy and consistency of messaging across the Department.
• Coordinates the overall management of projects, timelines and activities, and and provides necessary administrative support services for both internal and external customers.
• Establishes working relationships with speakers, fellow communications experts, schedulers and event hosts.
• Serves as a liaison and facilitates events, projects and products in coordination with internal and external colleagues.
This position also does not have an education qualification, but the minimum experience is reasonable:
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-11 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience in applying the methods of written and oral communication principles to talking points, statements and other products that aid organizations and spokespeople in conveying the meanings and implications in the development of various programs and priorities to the public.
2. Experience in analyzing trends and collaborating with internal and external content advisors, researchers and other experts to determine content and strategies best suited to engage specific audiences.
3. Experience in effective communications or public affairs information and materials, including improving processes and workflow, and contributing to new or innovative ways to handle unfamiliar or complex problems.. . .
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire . . .
1. Skill in writing, reviewing, editing, and clearing a variety of products and content to convey education policies, programs, budgets, and other information to specialized audiences and the general public.
2. Skill in gathering, analyzing, and evaluating volumes of information, to summarize and condense information in understandable form for a variety of audiences.
3. Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with policy and subject matter experts as information sources.
4. Ability to establish and maintain good relations with stakeholders, promote effective communications, and contribute to events and outcomes that meet the audience's and organization's needs.
The questionnaire as noted, has no narratives, but at least one poorly-formulated question (it asks if you have the ability to do something). Get to it.
Grants Management Specialist (Award) • Office of Grant Administration, AmeriCorps • July 13, 2021
The Grants Management Specialist (Award) is responsible for performing a variety of technical grant related and financial analysis of new, renewal funding, and supplemental grant proposals approved for funding to ensure they include all required forms, assurances, and agreements. Will perform the following duties:
Conducts initial due diligence review of AmeriCorps applications, including review of items such as issues noted in the System of Award Management, unresolved debts to AmeriCorps, and other overall organizational and application eligibility criteria.
Performs final financial sufficiency review for grant applications and amendments to ensure compliance with federal requirements and AmeriCorps policies, and issues Notice of Grant Award for grant awards across all streams of service.
Delivers financial management training, and supports the development of training curricula, for staff and grantees/sponsors on pre- and post-award activities such as federal financial accounting standards and interpretation and implementation of agency policies, guidelines and systems. . . .
There are more responsibilities - as always, read the whole listing. The qualifications are slightly more modest:
Applicants must have one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to at least the upper range of the NY-02 pay band, which would be at or equivalent to, the GS-09 level in the Federal Service.. . . Specialized experience includes participating in the grant review process; providing technical assistance to grantees; and applying established techniques to monitor the financial compliance of active grants.
You can also qualify on education alone (such qualification is of course merely technical) if you a “have Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Such education must be from an accredited institution and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work.”
KSAs are Oral and Written Communication, Technical Competence, Technical Credibility. The questionnaire does not have any narratives, but the questions may help you figure out if this position is a plausible fit for you and what “technical credibility” means.
Education Program Specialist • Office of English Language Acquisition (DOE) • July 13, 2021 but limited to 50 applicants, so get a move on
This position serves in a developmental capacity as an Education Program Specialist in the United States Department of Education, within the Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA). The position performs professional work for an educationally related program (or group of programs) directed towards improving American education.
. . .
As an Education Program Specialist, GS-1720-9, you will be responsible for:
• Provides technical assistance in the administration and management of funded projects. Advises applicants on requirements for submitting proposals for grants/contracts and on appropriate ways of developing program proposals to be submitted in applications.
• Revises and evaluates proposals under consideration for awards of grants and contracts. Makes funding and policy recommendations to the program staff concerning pending awards and related matters.
• Visits projects for the purpose of evaluation. In consultation with other program staff, writes reports and makes recommendations regarding the renewal of on-going projects.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.. . .
Qualifications
. . .
Specialized Experience for the GS-9
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-07 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience interpreting policy related to the needs of English learners, assessing and applying regulations as necessary to advance students with limited English proficiency.
2. Experience assisting in the research and development of data concerning English learners, presents findings to senior staff via presentations.
3. Experience assisting staff in the grant or project monitoring process via on-site and/or virtual review.
A grad degree can substitute for specialized experience, but either way you have to meet a basic requirement. There are a number of ways to do that, but one is through a year of full-time teaching.
The KSAs are:
1. Knowledge of professional education principles and techniques used in the evaluation of proposals and projects for improved education.
2. Ability to independently resolve problems by application of precedents or established methods and practices.
3. Skill in conducting and reporting purposeful evaluation and monitoring of program activities via on-site and/or virtual techniques.
4. Skill in applying communication techniques for purposeful fact-finding and supporting senior staff and grantees.
Education Program Specialist • Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development (DOE) •July 14, 2021 or at 75 applications
You’ll need the specialized experience and a basic education-adjacent qualification for this role. I’m just giving info for GS-12, if you’re interested in the posting you should check out GS-13 for yourself.
This position is located in the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development (OPEPD), Office of Education Technology (OET) in Washington, DC. The OET develops national educational technology policy and establishes the vision for how technology can be used to transform teaching and learning . . .
As an Education Program Specialist, GS-1720-12, this position’s responsibilities include:
Researches and develops program criteria for selection, funding, evaluation and other grant/contract processes, and where applicable, the competitive selection of awardees. Develops, writes, and obtains necessary clearances for the technical review plan to be used for evaluation and grant/contract review processes.
As assigned, conducts projects involving the analysis of policy related issues. Elicits and compiles other viewpoints and options from program offices which afford management a more complete perspective. Consults literature in the field, regulations, program records, and other Department offices to develop the analysis and support conclusions drawn.
Establishes monitoring criteria and monitoring plans. Conducts onsite monitoring visits to funded projects to assess the educational effectiveness and progress, and to determine compliance with Department rules and regulations, with grant/contract terms and agreements, and with proposal objectives.
Advises on the selection of procurement and grant/contract review panel members for the application review process. Selects members and ensures that they are knowledgeable in all areas necessary to the competitive process. Coordinates the overall procurement and grant/contract review process. Conducts briefings for panel members.
Initiates, plans and participates in national, state and local meetings, workshops, seminars and conferences for the purpose of providing training to professionals on grant/contract management matters. Represents the Office in a variety of meetings and conferences and maintains effective relations with lay and professional organizations and education officials at the Federal, state and local levels.
. . .
Specialized Experience for the GS-12
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-11 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:1. Experience preparing materials or documents for senior officials on emerging technologies and innovations for use by institutions of higher education.
2. Experience implementing initiatives and special projects on emerging technology for use by institutions of higher education.
3. Experience communicating with diverse audiences (education stakeholders, business and industry partners, policy makers).
The KSAs are informative:
1. Knowledge of education theories, principles and practices and the roles of the federal, state, or local governments sufficient to plan, evaluate and advise on funded educational programs, their requirements and problems.
2. Ability to develop guidance and resource materials on major problem areas in education for grantees, contractors, and state and local officials engaged in efforts to improve education programs and practices.
3. Ability to assess, select, adapt and apply a variety of education concepts, practices and approaches to independently plan, monitor and evaluate projects. 4. Knowledge of grant and contracting laws and requirements. 5. Knowledge of education laws regulations, policies and principles sufficient to provide guidance and represent the office at various meetings with different stakeholders on educational programs.
One way to meet the basic requirement is an academic year of full-time teaching. The questionnaire reiterates different ways to qualify, as well as fleshing out some of the responsibilities and qualifications.
Grants Management Specialist • Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing (HUD) • July 14, 2021
Apply for a job to celebrate le 14 juillet! This is in Denver.
The following are the duties of this position at the GS-12. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties, and will receive training to help you grow in this position.
As a Grants Management Specialist, you will:Act as a government technical monitor and participate in government technical evaluation panels and pre-proposal conferences.
Participate in the preparation of cost estimates, statements of work, reporting requirements, proposal instructions and evaluation criteria.
Conduct market research and provide advice on any matters concerning solicitation and the reasonable need for proposed costs.
Primarily responsible for managing relationships with participating tribally designated housing entities (TDHE), Indian tribes, and others involved in the administration of all applicable programs.
. . .
Specialized Experience: For the GS-11 is one year of experience at the GS-9 level or equivalent, that is directly related to the position as listed in this announcement and which has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as:
Evaluating grantee proposals, plans or justifications; AND
Negotiating and awarding grant or cooperative agreements.
OR
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
You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. . . .
This position is also hiring at the GS-9 level, and the usual adjustments apply. The specialized experience is the same. The KSAs are “Communicating, Planning and Evaluating, and Technical,” who knows what the last one means. Maybe the questionnaire helps. It does look, from the questionnaire, that they would quite like someone with federal experience. But you can only control what you can control (your application).
Grant Management Specialist • Smithsonian Institution • July 16, 2021
This isn’t a federal position and is located in Cambridge, MA. It’s been open for a bit and they may have started considering people already. If you have some interdisciplinary experience with STEM fields as well as grants, take a look.
The incumbent will be involved in Grant Awards with responsibility for negotiating and issuing subgrants and amendments for various SAO programs.
Responsibilities
The incumbent will primarily perform pre-and post awards functions related to the Chandra X-ray center (CXC) scientific observing subgrants. Duties may include, but are not limited to: performing subgrant award administration including producing subgrants, amendments, and closeouts; processing drawdown advances and expenditures; participating in reviewing budgets of proposals that have been recommended for funding and providing assessment of conformance with applicable guidelines, allowability and reasonableness of costs in the budget; ensuring that awards are issued in accordance with funding agency requirements and Smithsonian policies and procedures. . .
The qualifications ask for certain experience, and then give the usual education subs:
One year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level (Grade 7) in the normal line of progression for the position. Experience at this level normally would have equipped the applicant with skills in negotiating and issuing subgrants; monitoring award performance at an educational, non profit or government institution.
Substitution of Education for Experience: Master's or equivalent graduate degree related to the position.
They also ask you to check out the OPM site for Group Coverage Qualification Standards for Administrative and Management Positions, which does look like it might be helpful, and then inform you of the KSAs, which are long:
The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:
Knowledge of basic grant principles, practices, techniques, regulations, and procedures applicable to pre-award and/or post-award actions sufficient to issue and/or administer grants.
Knowledge of contractual and fiscal issues in the areas of grants management. . . .
And there’s a brief questionnaire.
Congressional Record Index Specialist • Journals of Government, Congressional Record Index Office • July 16, 2021
This position implements the policies of the Congressional Record Index Office providing toCongressional Staff, Government employees, and the general public with [sic] detailed abstracts of information from larger text taken directly from congressional proceedings.
. . .
Responsibilities
Read, review, and organize assigned sections of the Congressional Record to prepare synopses of data contained.
Write summaries to determine appropriate classifications, subject headings, and location of the summary in the index.
As directed, research other volumes to determine whether newly submitted information has been summarized and indexed earlier. . . .
Qualifications
To qualify for the Congressional Record Index Specialist, PG -0301-9, you must meet the following requirements:
Specialized Experience:
To minimally qualify for the PG- 0301-9 level, you must possess one year of specialized experience at the PG-7 or equivalent grade level or higher. Examples of qualifying experience include: Familiarity with the Congressional Record Index process, and an understanding of the various sources of input into the Congressional Record; and the Ability to read and analyze data by extracting pertinent information for the purposes of creating index items; and the Ability to write clear and concise information on a variety of topics and for a diverse audience; and the Ability to work effectively under time constraints; and Skill in using automated systems to process work; as well as, Skill in explaining the structure and purpose of the index to requesters inside and external of an agency or similar organization.
OR
Must possess master's or equivalent graduate degree in in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: English, Journalism, etc. . . .
The KSAs are customer service, reading, and writing. Read the whole post for this one. Here’s your questionnaire.
Policy Advisor • Office of Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor • July 19, 2021
This seems like a cool job for a people from a bunch of possible fields.
Responsibilities
Serves in a developmental capacity as a Policy Advisor on one of several formal policy teams within the Division of Policy Development responsible for performing routine policy and program analysis assignments to assist higher-level policy staff in providing recommendations relating to the employment of individuals with disabilities.
Accompanies supervisor and senior level staff in consultations, meetings, and conferences with public and private constituents and experts . . ..
Examines the effect of changes to the various programs and systems, and the effect of proposed and adopted legislation on different levels of the services/systems available to individuals with disabilities, and drafts reports suitable to the assignment at hand for supervisory review.
Develops background and analytical reports on specific disability employment policy issues. . .
. . .
Qualifications
Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-07, in the Federal Service.
For GS-09: Specialized experience includes experience assisting in developing policy (including legislative and regulatory recommendations, and various forms of policy guidance) designed to increase employment opportunity for individuals with disabilities.
OR
Master's or equivalent graduate degree . . .
The competencies are: technical knowledge, teamwork, oral and written communications, problem solving/analysis. Each of them has a little blurb, too. I think it’s nice when they do that. And here’s the questionnaire.
Project Manager • Library of Congress • July 26, 2021
There’s a robust description of responsibilities, which I will mostly omit:
This position is located in the Logistics and Facilities Management Section, Business Operations Division, National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library Collections and Services Group.
. . .
Responsibilities
The incumbent works under the general supervision of the Logistics and Facilities Management Section Head, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), in overseeing and coordinating service unit wide logistics and facility management programs, projects and activities. To include onsite and offsite logistics and facility operations for both government leased and contracted operations. Project Manager lead projects, conducting extensive studies, assembling and coordinating project teams, managing project budgets and facilitating the development of and overseeing quality assurance processes.
Serves as principal assistant and advisor to the Section Head on matters related to strategic and operational planning, organizational development, budget planning, information services and technology. Provide assistance with maintaining facilities, facility operations, logistics operational contracts, movement and storage of goods for and to headquarters, NLS multi-state regional fulfillment centers, volunteer machine repair groups and regional network libraries.
You can’t qualify on education (it’s GS-13), you need relevant experience, but some of you might have that!
Qualifications
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.
Ability to plan and manage logistics or facility projects or programs.**
Ability to provide program management, evaluation, and oversight.**
Ability to perform research and analysis to improve logistics or facility programs.**
Ability to build and maintain relationships with individuals from varying backgrounds and levels.
Ability to analyze problems and make recommendations in areas of logistics and facility projects.
Ability to communicate in writing.
Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.
And the questionnaire, with narratives (often the case with LOC postings), will also be helpful. See above for reminders about narratives.
Okay, see you next Friday!