Mission Support Assistant

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Tucson Field Office. Vacancies are located in the following areas: Douglas, AZ (6 vacancies), Nogales, AZ (1 vacancy), and Tucson, AZ (1 vacancy). Additional selections may be made beyond the specified vacancies.

About the Role

This position provides substantive administrative support to managers and staff within the assigned organization. You will perform a variety of general clerical duties in support of various specialty areas.

Responsibilities

• Assisting in preparing press releases and planning public affairs campaigns, including arranging meeting space and drafting handouts.
• Assisting with administrative requirements for reprogramming and transferring funds between accounts and offices.
• Coordinating and monitoring the organization's property management and space utilization programs.
• Assisting with onboarding processes.
• Preparing, following, and assisting with changes in protocols, including sending taskers for higher-graded employees and supervisory personnel.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service.
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details provided).
• All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English.
• You may be required to pass a background investigation.
• CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures.
• Your conduct will be subject to government ethics standards and criminal conflict of interest statutes.
• DHS uses E-Verify to confirm eligibility to work in the United States.

This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

Qualifications

GS-05 Grade Level: You qualify if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Providing routine clerical support to the organization.
• Disseminating informational material to various target audiences.
• Ensuring receipt of ordered items and processing payments for vouchers and invoices.
• Assisting with the annual physical inventory of nonexpendable property and equipment.
• Using software packages such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and desktop publishing to produce and retrieve information.

GS-06 Grade Level: You qualify if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Assisting in preparing press releases and planning public affairs campaigns, including arranging meeting space and drafting handouts.
• Assisting in preparing budget requests by compiling data and preparing justification statements.
• Entering data into database programs and generating management reports.
• Maintaining the organization's personnel files and records.
• Assisting users with software, hardware, and automation problems.

Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet these requirements.

Education Substitution for GS-05: You may qualify if you have successfully completed education above the high school level in any field from an accredited institution. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or equivalent.

Combining Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements for GS-5 and below. For GS-5, only education beyond the first 60 semester hours (beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting specialized experience.

Experience includes paid and unpaid work, such as volunteer experience through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations.

Pay

This position starts at a salary of $40,736.00 (GS-05, Step 1) to $59,031.00 (GS-06, Step 10) with promotion potential to $65,599.00 (GS-7, Step 10). Salary reflects the rest of U.S. scale and may be adjusted for locality pay or cost of living expenses at the duty location.

Visit the locality pay tables to view adjustments by geographic area. If your area is not listed, use the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions may fall under a special pay rate depending on series, grade level, and location.

Additional Information

• You must meet all qualification requirements by 08/05/2026.
• This position requires an online assessment as part of the application process. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered.
• Overstating qualifications or experience may result in removal from consideration.
• All employees new to the federal government must serve a one-year probationary period.
• Residency requirement: Applicants not currently employed by CBP must have physically resided in the U.S. or its protectorates for at least three of the last five years. Exceptions may apply for certain conditions (e.g., working for the U.S. Government, study abroad programs, contractors supporting the U.S. government).
• Background investigation: All applicants must undergo a thorough background investigation, including questions about criminal convictions, illegal drug use, and use of non-prescribed controlled substances.

The vacancy questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions (200 words or less each) to highlight your dedication to public service. Responses are optional and will not be scored but are encouraged.