USA Staffing

Thank you for applying for the position of Director, Congressional Affairs and Senior Advisor to the Director AHRQ, SL-0301. Your resume and the responses you provide to this assessment questionnaire will be used to determine if you are among the best qualified for this position. Your responses are subject to verification. Please review your responses for accuracy before you submit your application.

1. In the last five years, based on the closing date of this announcement, have you served or are you currently serving as an Executive Branch political, Schedule C, or Non-career SES appointee? You can find out
if you have held one of these appointment types by looking at your Standard Form 50s in your Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) in Section 5 where the legal authorities are listed.

- A political appointee is an appointment made by the President without confirmation by the Senate (5 CFR 213.3102(c )) OR an assistant position to a top-level federal official if filled by a person designated by the President as a White House Fellow (5 CFR 213.3102(z )).
- A Schedule C appointee occupies a position excepted from the competitive service by the President, or by the Director of OPM, because of the confidential or policy-determining nature of the position duties (5 CFR 213.3301 and 5 CFR 213.3302).
- A Non-career SES appointee is approved by the White House and serves at the pleasure of the appointing official without time limitations (5 CFR 317 Subpart F).

A. Yes, I have held one or more of these appointment types in the past five years.

B. No, I have not held any of these appointment types in the past five years.

C. I am unsure if I have held any of these appointment types in the past five years.

2. If you are a male born after December 31, 1959, and are at least 18 years of age, civil service employment law (5 U.S.C. 3328) requires that you must register with the Selective Service System, unless you meet certain exemptions.

1) Are you a male born after December 31, 1959 and have registered with the Selective Service System?

A. Yes

B. No

For each item, select the one response that most accurately describes your current level of experience and capability.

3. Serves as the agency's technical authority and liaison for legislative affairs.

A. Independently led and managed all communications for legislation on legislative matters, financial resources on appropriation topics, and the planning and evaluation regarding the legislative proposal process.

B. Represented the agency on committees, panels, working groups, and at professional conferences and meetings as an authority on legislative affairs in diverse health services research organizations. Briefed agency heads and senior leadership on significant committee and group activities.

C. I do not have experience performing these tasks.

4. Serves as the agency's technical authority and point of contact for all congressional activities.

A. Review and interpret legislation, appropriations language, OMB directives and departmental budget policies.

B. Cultivates, establishes, and matures professional relationships with key members of congress and their staff.

C. Oversee any congressional hearings involving witnesses, including development of congressional testimony based on expert knowledge and understanding of programs and activities, preparing the witness(s), and responding to any “questions for the record” and post-hearing requests.

D. Ensures rapid analyses of requests from members of congress and their staffs and serves as the final approver for responses to congressional inquiries. Continually analyzes, monitors and evaluates departmental priorities and congressional activities (including enacted and proposed legislation) that may affect the funding, management, or content of the agency's research portfolios and strategic plans.

E. Manage congressional and legislative inquiries from the agency and its components, the Executive Branch, and stakeholder organizations and ensures the agency's best interests are served.

F. I have no experience in performing these tasks.

5. Manage the legislative activities related to the annual appropriations process in coordination with the Chief Financial Officer.

A. Brief members (and respective staff) who serve on the House and Senate LHHS Subcommittees on the President’s annual budget request and any other of the agency’s program activities throughout the year.

B. Provides technical assistance to the LHHS Subcommittees, as needed.

C. Presents the annual President’s budget request before the majority and minority staff on the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, HHS, and Education (LHHS).

D. Coordinates responses and requirements prescribed by the annual appropriations reports.

E. I do not have experience performing these tasks.

6. Establishes and maintains tactical relationships with stakeholder organizations.

A. Examines and identifies stakeholders’ critical research and informational needs for consideration during the agency's strategic planning processes and defines a roadmap to create synergistic opportunities for the agency to address or collaborate to meet identified needs.

B. Directs and coordinates development of clear and concise briefing materials and displays for presentations of the agency's mission, programs and budget to internal and external audiences.

C. Develops innovative approaches to maximize outreach activities with the agency’s key stakeholders and provides follow-up, as appropriate.

D. I do not have experience performing these tasks.

7. Fosters opportunities for the agency director and other senior-level staff to conduct briefings on the agency's flagship programs to educate members and their staff on the value, impact, and relevance of products and activities.

A. Develops and maintain mechanisms to keep members of congress and their staff apprised of agency developments, including fundamental research findings and new, innovative programs.

B. Participates in developing agency-wide strategic plans to highlight products, research tools, vulnerabilities, and growth opportunities and provides authoritative recommendations based on the incumbent’s knowledge, understanding, and insights of the current legislative environment.

C. Advises the agency director on proposed strategies and approaches and proactively initiates action on potential opportunities for the agency based on legislative analyses.

D. I have no experience in performing this work behavior, but I am willing to learn.

Select “Yes” or “No” to the following question(s).

8. I declare under penalty of perjury, that all statements contained in this application and any accompanying documents are true and correct, with full knowledge that all statements made in this application are subject to investigation and that any false or dishonest answer to any question may be grounds for disqualification and loss of consideration. Answer to this question is required

A. Yes

B. No

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