Program Analyst

Summary

The Engagement and Response Branch functions as the Department's primary liaison to Congressional Appropriations Committees, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and other external partners engaged in oversight of USDA programs and funding. The incumbent functions as an analytical authority on Congressional engagement, budget-legislative analysis, and appropriations interpretation across USDA. USDA Employees: Please refer to the Next Steps section.

Duties

• Serves as the senior program analyst responsible for USDA’s enterprise process for preparing, coordinating, and supporting Departmental participation in Congressional budget hearings.
• Leads the analytical review and development of briefing materials by validating data quality, ensuring accuracy of program information, and confirming alignment with Administration priorities.
• Serves as USDA’s principal program analyst for evaluating appropriations provisions to determine operational, budgetary, legal, and strategic impacts.
• Develops analytical frameworks and hearing strategies for OBPA and USDA leadership, advising on risks, recommended responses, and key narrative themes.
• Conducts qualitative and quantitative analyses of complex statutory language, interprets program implications, and recommends implementation strategies to ensure compliance with Congressional intent.
• Prepares decision support materials for leadership, including impact analyses, risk assessments, and operational options.
• Independently evaluates and identifies legislative trends, emerging program issues, and political sensitivities likely to shape questioning to determine impacts on USDA hearing readiness.
• Ensures statements reflect validated program positions, incorporate comprehensive analytical insights, and anticipate key Congressional concerns.
• Oversees USDA’s analytical interactions with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
• Manages official hearing records by reviewing transcripts, identifying substantive corrections, and resolving discrepancies in factual or analytical content.
• Conducts authoritative analysis of Congressional intent by integrating input from Office of General Counsel, policy offices, and mission areas.
• Advises senior leaders by analyzing implications of General Provisions and amendments that may affect multiple programs or mission areas.
• Duties described above are at the full performance GS-13 level, duties at the GS-11 and GS-12 levels will be developmental.

Requirements

You must be a US Citizen or US National. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period (as applicable to appointment type) during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. The U.S. Government utilizes Trusted Workforce 2.0 to implement Continuous Vetting (CV) as a-whole-of government approach to personnel security. If selected for this position, you will be subject to continuous automated record checks of criminal, financial, and public record databases throughout your period of eligibility or employment, replacing traditional periodic reinvestigations. Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. Minimum Qualifications: Applicants must meet the Specialized Experience and/or Education requirements as shown below. If qualifying based on experience, your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. GS-11: Qualifying experience for GS-11 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-09 which included experience responding to inquiries regarding programming, budgetary, and financial management policy; and, performing detailed analytical reviews of appropriations bills, committee reports, and legislative documents. OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or LL.M. if related. OR A combination of education and experience as described above. NOTE: Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for the GS-11 grade level. GS-12: Qualifying experience for GS-12 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-11 which included experience responding to inquiries regarding programming, budgetary, and financial management policy; performing detailed analytical reviews of appropriations bills, committee reports, and legislative documents; and drafting, refining, and analyzing formal testimony and supporting materials to ensure data accuracy, clarity of narrative, and alignment with relevant program and budget information. GS-13: Qualifying experience for GS-13 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-12 which included experience responding to inquiries regarding programming, budgetary, and financial management policy; performing detailed analytical reviews of appropriations bills, committee reports, and legislative documents; drafting, refining, and analyzing formal testimony and supporting materials to ensure data accuracy, clarity of narrative, and alignment with relevant program and budget information; and, developing organizational-wide guidance and analytical products that explain impacts of new budgetary statutory requirements and appropriations provisions. 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 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

Education may be substituted for specialized experience at the GS-11 level as described above. Education may not be substituted for specialized experience at the GS-12 and GS-13 levels. How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses to the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. All applicants are required to complete the online USA Hire assessment administered by OPM in order to be considered for this vacancy. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13088708 Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status. You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status). Other Information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on USAJOBS website. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed 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 USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting 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 USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access 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 Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here. Incentives may be authorized. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement and it may to used to fill additional like vacancies within USDA organizations.