Council Assistant Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Summary
This position is located in the Office of the Deputy Chair for Programs and Partnerships, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The incumbent provides support primarily for the work and activities of the National Council on the Arts (Council) to ensure that the efforts of the Council make the maximum possible contribution to the development and implementation of agency programs and policies.
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Duties
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In this position, you will serve as Council Assistant. Typical work assignments include:

• Coordinating Council meeting preparation activities, including schedules, deadlines, assignments, materials, and follow-up actions.
• Preparing Council meeting materials, briefing documents, voting materials, affiliations lists, conflict records, and related documents.
• Reviewing Council books and meeting materials for completeness, accuracy, clarity, consistency, and compliance with established procedures.
• Gathering and verifying information from program offices, senior staff, and stakeholders to support Council meetings and official records.
• Supporting the planning and implementation of Council meetings, orientations, briefings, logistics, and administrative arrangements.
• Communicating with Council members, agency staff, senior officials, and external contacts to clarify requirements, explain procedures, and resolve issues.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required
• Status Candidates must submit an SF-50 and recent appraisal.
• Status candidates must meet time-in-grade requirements (52 weeks at the next lower grade level).
• Time-in-Grade must be met by the closing date of the announcement
• Only experience obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

Qualifications
Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Minimum Qualification/Specialized Experience requirements as noted below.
In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered.
You qualify for the GS-11 grade level if you meet the following requirements:
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION:
To qualify for this GS-11: Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Coordinating council, board, advisory committee, or similar meeting processes across multiple offices to ensure workflow, deadlines, and required procedures are followed.
• Applying knowledge of organizational programs, functions, policies, and procedures to support meeting preparation, materials development, and administrative coordination.
• Drafting and editing documents, briefing materials, correspondence, or reports for internal and external circulation.
• Utilizing computer applications and tracking tools to prepare, organize, review, and maintain meeting materials accurately and efficiently.
• Providing subject-matter input and coordinating across disciplines.

OR substitute qualifying education for experience with one of the following
You must possess aPh.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. (You must provide proof before the job announcement closing date)
OR
You must possess a combination of Specialized Experience and Education: Only graduate level education beyond the first two years may be used to qualify at the GS-11 level. To compute your combined percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify for this grade.
(You must provide proof before the job announcement closing date)
Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience. Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the advertised grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector.
You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the dates worked and total number of hours per week.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.
Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS resume template. However, if you do not use the template you must ensure that your resume contains ALL required information which includes hours worked, starting & ending month and year, and if Federal employment (series, pay plan, and grade).
Current or Former Political Appointees: 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.
Education
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Education must be from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For additional information, refer to the U.S. Department of Education web site at http://www.ed.gov.
Submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) or you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the courses.
Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. For example, specific courses accepted for college-level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university, or foreign education evaluated by an organization recognized for accreditation by the Department of Education as education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. college or university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information.
All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.
Additional information
Additional selections may be made from this vacancy.
Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation of management to promote the employee selected at some future date.
If you are claiming CTAP eligibility, you must submit proof by 07/29/2026 that you meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(a) for CTAP or you will not receive priority consideration. The proof includes a copy of the agency notice, your most recent Performance Rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty station. To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority of this vacancy, you must earn a minimum score of 85 (prior to the assignment of veteran's preference) on the rating criteria for this position.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online if at all possible. Applying online, through your USAJOBS account, will expedite the application process and allow you to check your application status as well as verify the documentation submitted with your application.
All documents must be received by 07/29/2026.
If you are unable to apply online please contact SAG-Mailbox@opm.gov.
If you are selected for this Federal position, you will be required to complete a "Declaration of Federal Employment", (OF-306), prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failure to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on the application may be grounds for not hiring you or dismissing you after you begin work, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001).
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)
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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.
Benefits
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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.