Summary This position is located in the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), Office of the Assistant Administrator, (AA), with one vacancy in Silver Spring, MD. This position is also announced under vacancy number NESDIS-24-12407982-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both. Responsibilities As a Policy Analyst, you will perform the following duties: Serve as senior subject matter expert on legislative, regulatory, and policy issues relevant to environmental satellites, data and information services. Develop and evaluate strategies for short- and long-term planning of agency environmental satellite, data and information services policy formulation and evaluation in association with organizational decision makers. Lead strategic implementation of projects of interest to NOAA and NOAA NESDIS that span across programs, regions and initiatives. Serve as a senior NOAA representative in stakeholder meetings and interagency policy forums. Coordinate with other federal and state agencies to advance NOAA s objectives. Note: The duties are at the full ZA-4 performance level and the ZA-3 is the developmental grade level leading to such performance. Requirements Conditions of Employment This position will be filled under the DOC Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). This system replaced the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band. The ZA-3 is equivalent to the GS-11/12. The ZA-4 is equivalent to the GS-13/14. Salary for the ZA-3: $82,764 to $128,956 Salary for the ZA-4 $117,962 to $181,216 ZA-3 requires a low risk security clearance. ZA-4 requires a medium risk security clearance. * A one year probationary period may be required. * Payment of relocation expenses is not authorized. * Payment of relocation and recruitment incentives may be authorized, * This position is not in the bargaining unit. Key Requirements: Applicants must be U.S. Citizens. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information. Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov) A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination. Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system. Qualifications Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy EDUCATION: There is no positive education requirement for this position. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. To qualify at the ZA-3 or GS-11: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-2 or (GS-09) in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Contributing to preparing responses to taskers, performing technical and editorial reviews and ensuring proper clearance procedures have been met for documents to be disseminated; Participating in internal or external policy forums, workshops and meetings to include agenda development and meeting planning; and Coordinating support to the Office Director on special projects and short-term assignments. OR SUBSTITUTION OF 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 COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience as described above. Note: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-11. To qualify at the ZA-4 or GS-13: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-3 or (GS-12) in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Participating in the development of policy responses, briefing documents, viewing letters and developing recommendations for leadership action; Identifying potential controversial policy and regulatory issues and developing recommendations for action; Coordinating with other federal and state agencies to advance the agency's objectives; and Contributing throughout stakeholder meetings and interagency policy forums. Education College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken. Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation. Additional Information CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Guide to Career Transition CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents: A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice); A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action", noting current position, grade level, and duty location; A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential. ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents: A copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; notice of disability annuity termination; certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement; A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc.; A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential. NOAA participates in e-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. The Department of the Commerce (DOC) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.