Mission Support Assistant
What you'd do
Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Tucson Field Office. Vacancies locating in the following locations: Douglas, AZ, 6 vacancies Nogales, AZ, 1 vacancy Tucson, AZ, 1 vacancy
Major duties
Additional selections may be made beyond the total number of vacancies specified using this vacancy announcement. Further selections may also be made for additional organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above. This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations. The purpose of the position is to provide substantive administrative support to the managers and staff of the assigned organization. You would perform a variety of general clerical duties in support of various specialty areas within the organization. This position starts at a salary of $40,736.00 (GS-05, Step 1) to $59,031.00 (GS-06, Step 10) with promotion potential to $65,599.00 (GS-7 Step 10). Salary: Salary listed reflects the rest of U.S. scale and, if applicable, will be adjusted to meet the locality pay or cost of living expenses of the duty location upon selection. GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position. Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts. Major duties may include: Assisting in preparing press releases and in planning for public affairs campaigns, e.g., arranges for meeting space and drafts handouts. Assisting with administrative requirements for reprogramming and transferring funds between accounts and offices serviced. Coordinating and monitoring the organization's property management and space utilization programs. Assisting with onboarding. Preparing, following, and assisting with changes in protocols sending out composed taskers for higher graded employees and supervisory personnel.
What you need to qualify
Experience: You qualify for the GS-05 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Providing routine clerical support to the organization. Disseminating information material to various target audiences. Ensuring receipt of all items ordered, have been met for paying vouchers and invoices. Assisting with the annual physical inventory of nonexpendable property and equipment. Using various software packages, such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases, desktop publishing, etc., to produce, store, and retrieve a variety of information and presentations. You qualify for the GS-06 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Assisting in preparing press releases and in planning for public affairs campaigns, e.g., arranges for meeting space and drafts handouts. Assisting in preparing budget requests by compiling data and preparing justification statements based on information provided by senior Mission Support Specialist. Entering data into database programs and generates various management reports. Maintaining the organization's personnel files and records. Assisting users in the organization with software, hardware, and automation problems. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements. Education Substitution: You qualify for the GS-05 grade level if you have successfully completed education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite is creditable at grades GS-3 through GS-5 for all positions. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. Combining Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements at grades GS-5 and below, except for Reporting Stenographer, GS-5. For GS-5 level positions, only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. 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. You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 08/05/2026. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions: Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position, as described within this announcement. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this job announcement.
Before you apply
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