Assistant Secretary for Water and Science (ASWS) Liaison
What you'd do
You will serve as the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Liaison with the Bureau of Reclamation. This position acts as the Liaison between the Commissioner's Office and the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, facilitating communication and coordination among staff and activities in the Washington, D.C. office. The position connects the Commissioner, Directors, Senior Leaders, and Senior Management to ensure alignment across leadership.
Major duties
At the full performance level (GS-14) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Serves as the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science (ASWS) Liaison reporting to the Chief of Staff, providing strategic guidance, independent analysis, and authoritative recommendations to senior leadership on complex technical, administrative, and policy issues affecting Office programs and long-term objectives. Leads high-level coordination and liaison activities with the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation Washington Office, and other senior officials to align policy positions, resolve issues, and ensure consistent communication across organizational levels. Conducts advanced program, legislative, and policy analysis, evaluating emerging and high-visibility issues; assessing risks, impacts, and tradeoffs; and developing well-supported options for Washington-level decision-making. Reviews and synthesize proposed legislation, executive orders, regulatory actions, and policy initiatives, collaborating with Management and technical staff to formulate Office positions and prepare authoritative responses, analyses, and briefing materials. Represents the Office in engagements with congressional offices, Tribal governments, Federal and non-Federal partners, and public interest groups, clearly communicating program activities, policy positions, and technical matters. Oversees the development and clearance of controlled correspondence and official communications, ensuring accuracy, policy compliance, and timely response to inquiries from Congress, the Administration, and external stakeholders. Provides leadership and expert guidance on cross-functional initiatives and special projects, exercise independent judgment to address high-priority issues, evaluate risks and opportunities, and advise Management on strategic considerations. Participates in Reclamation-wide and interagency committees and working groups, ensuring the Office's priorities and perspectives are appropriately represented and integrated into broader departmental and interagency efforts.
What you need to qualify
Qualifications: In order to be rated as qualified for this position, the HR Office must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement - this information must be clearly supported in the resume. GS-14: In order to qualify for the GS-14 grade level, your resume must reflect one year of specialized experience equivalent in complexity and difficulty to the GS-13 grade level. Specialized Experience for GS-14: Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1. Providing policy and analytical support on complex, high-visibility issues; evaluating legislative, regulatory, and program matters to develop strategic recommendations; and advising leadership on organizational impacts and decision options. 2. Coordinating with departmental leaders, regional offices, and interagency partners; preparing authoritative briefing materials and official correspondence; and representing an organization in meetings with congressional offices, Tribal governments, and/or external stakeholders. 3. Leading cross-functional initiatives, assessing risks and opportunities, and ensuring organizational perspectives are accurately communicated and integrated into broader departmental or interagency efforts. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/18/2026 - unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Time-In-Grade: Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Volunteer 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.
Before you apply
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