Special Assistant - Senior Advisor to the Deputy Executive Director

This Special Assistant - Senior Advisor to the Deputy Executive Director position is with Deputy Assistant Secretary for Office of Resolution Management (Department of Veterans Affairs) in Phoenix, AZ. This position is located in the Office of Resolution Management (ORM) within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). ORM is responsible for promoting a fair, inclusive, and discrimination-free workplace by preventing, resolving, and processing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints; administering harassment prevention programs; and supporting the Department's strategic use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to address workplace conflict. Key duties: • Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Represent ORM leadership (Deputy Executive Director/Executive Director) in senior-level forums, councils, governance meetings, and interagency engagements. Advise on sensitive, high-impact matters (departmental priorities, congressional interests, EEO/ADR program integrity, workforce climate). Develop executive briefings, strategic talking points, decision papers, and white papers. Manage confidential tasks spanning human capital, budget, program evaluation, stakeholder relations, and organizational performance. Lead ORM strategic planning to develop performance metrics and oversee enterprise tracking systems to evaluate effectiveness, outcomes, and compliance. Interpret new or amended legislation affecting EEO, civil rights, ADR, harassment prevention, and workforce equity. Lead multi-disciplinary teams on complex modernization efforts to review high-visibility work products for clarity and strategic alignment Prepare comprehensive reports/briefings for EEOC, Congress, GAO, OSVA, and other stakeholders. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: PD003650 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/26/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-14 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Analyzing organizational policies to provide senior leaders with accurate, timely, and actionable recommendations. Coordinating enterprise-wide initiatives to ensure alignment with ORM strategic priorities and Executive leadership needs. Preparing executive-level briefing materials to inform high-visibility decision-making across the Department. Engaging congressional, interagency, and internal stakeholders to support policy development and strategic planning activities. 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; religions; 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. Note: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary but requires frequent walking in an office building environment, often carrying papers, books, etc., to expedite responses and facilitate coordination and contact. Critical deadlines and/or fast turnarounds, with workload consisting of overlapping multiple dimensional taskings and projects, coupled with a high volume of incoming phone calls and emails are causes for stress. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: Demonstrates expert analytical and strategic abilities, capable of evaluating complex, politically sensitive, and cross cutting issues to advise senior VA executives effectively. Mastery of enterprise level communication, producing high quality briefings, legislative materials, and policy documents for Congress, oversight bodies, and VA leadership. Strong leadership and coordination skills, managing cross agency initiatives, facilitating collaboration, and guiding multidisciplinary teams on high impact programs. Knowledge of EEO, civil rights, ADR, and workforce equity policies, enabling them to shape national level ORM strategies and ensure alignment with evolving regulatory requirements. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. View the full announcement and apply on USAJOBS.gov.