Bureau Of Reclamation Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Summary
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.
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Duties
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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.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.

** Vacancy Announcement extended by 1-week **
Qualifications
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 - 08/25/2026 - 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.
Education
This position does not allow substituting education for experience.
Additional information
Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.
All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.
You will be on a Temporary Duty Extended assignment to the Bureau of Reclamation, Commissioner's Office, Washington, D.C., not-to-exceed two years. Assignment may be extended at management's discretion for an additional year, for a total of three years. During the temporary assignment the incumbent will remain duty stationed at his/her present location but will report organizationally to the Chief of Staff in Washington D.C.
Additional Reduced Per Diem Rate Information: The rate of 55% is reviewed annually and subject to change at any time during the temporary assignment. No relocation expenses will be paid while on this assignment either to or from Washington D.C., in accordance with the Temporary Duty Travel Policy which is available from Reclamation's Human Resources Office. Reclamation may reimburse costs associated with limited return travel to the official duty station for the selectee's health and well-being. Transportation costs incurred during authorized return travel are considered taxable. The frequency and duration of return travel will be determined by the supervisor and documented prior to the beginning of this assignment.
Promotion Potential: If selected for a temporary promotion to the GS-14, the selectee will subsequently be assigned into a permanent GS-13 position within their Region upon completion of the assignment. At management's discretion, temporary promotion to the GS-14 may be made permanent if such a position is available and the individual is otherwise eligible. While this temporary promotion opportunity MAY lead to a permanent GS-14 promotion without further competition, this does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to do so.
Reassignment: If the selectee held the GS-14 immediately preceding this temporary assignment, the incumbent will retain the GS-14, and upon completion of the assignment will be placed in a permanent GS-14 position within your Region.
Salary: The salary listed on the announcement is based on Washington, D.C. locality pay. Upon selection, salary will be adjusted to match the appropriate locality pay table. Locality pay tables can be found for reference here.
Due Weight: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.