Summary The position is located in the Area Director's Office of the Agricultural Research Service, Midwest Area located in Peoria, IL.
In this position you will be serve as a facilitator and coordinator for the planning, implementation, management and evaluation of an array of research documentation and monitoring activities for an Area and/or Locations.
USDA employees: Please refer to the Next Steps section. Duties Serves as a major resource in conducting studies and projects, gathering data, analyzing facts, and developing recommendations impacting research projects and programs. | Collects, analyzes, and evaluates data concerning research projects and programs for assigned Locations. | Summarizes and makes recommendations for improvement in documentation to scientific staff. | Ensures customer service goals and activities are met in a timely manner. | Designs databases, spreadsheets, and other automated means and methods that provide for tracking, integration, comparison, data management and analysis, reporting, and timely submittal of program documents.
Qualifications
Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement11/04/2026 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 the time in grade requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.
Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are:
Qualifying experience for the GS-12 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to the GS-11 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience providing data and information required in assessing the productivity, effectiveness and efficiency of a research program; creating and implementing training modules and materials; and designing databases, spreadsheets, and other automated means and methods that provide for tracking, integration, comparison, data management and analysis, reporting, and timely submittal of program documents.
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 This position does not have an education qualification requirement.
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/.
- 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.
- As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period depending on your appointment type, unless previous federal service is creditable. During this time your employment will be evaluated, and 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 or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
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 on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.
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 view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13100451
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).How to apply Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. Resumes cannot exceed two pages.
The application process is as follows:
- Click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
- If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
- Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
- Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
- Set aside about 1-2 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
- Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status:
Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.Other information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.
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 here.
Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. The final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official.