Mission Support Assistant
Summary
This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Swanton Sector, Mission Readiness Operations, located in Swanton, VT. Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.
Duties
As a Mission Support Assistant, you will become a key team member of Homeland Security individuals involved in providing clerical support and assistance in applying technical procedures, methods, and techniques in support of the missions and functions of the agency.
- Assisting higher graded staff in providing direct support to employees and managers on various policy and procedural tasks.
- Assisting in the coordination and monitoring of organizational property; maintain an inventory of office supplies for the team to ensure availability.
- Coordinating with other employees on basic matters, reports and a variety of entry-level actions using appropriate automated systems.
- Monitoring, coordinating and maintaining a variety of records and generating various management reports; assisting users in the organization with basic software, hardware and automation issues.
Pay
This position starts at a salary of $51,490.00 (GS-7, Step 1) to $66,939.00 (GS-7, Step 10).
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 below).
- 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 the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. These rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity.
- DHS uses E-Verify to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States.
- Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Border Patrol Council - NBPC.
- This vacancy has a local commuting area requirement, as defined below:
- The area surrounding the duty station by which people reasonably travel back and forth from home to work; or
- The employee's permanent duty station is located within the reasonable travel area surrounding the duty station of this vacancy; or if applicable
- For employees who are detailed or temporarily promoted for more than 1 year to another duty location, the detailed or temporary duty location is considered to be the duty location of record for commuting area purposes.
- For employees detailed or temporarily promoted for less than one year, the permanent duty location is considered the duty location of record for commuting area purposes.
Qualifications
You qualify for the GS-7 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
- Analyzing, evaluating, and improving the efficiency of internal administrative processes, workflow, and reporting/tracking systems;
- Utilizing automated systems to search various government and open market sources for information on purchasing products and/or services;
- Developing, evaluating, and advising on the methods related to administrative or records management systems' directives management, mail management, or forms management;
- Performing other office automation tasks, in combination with clerical work performed as part of the general office support.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations. Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
You must:
- Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and
- Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 08/20/2026.
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.
Background Investigation
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs, and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances.
Residency Requirement
There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:
- Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military;
- A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government;
- Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university;
- Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government.
Probationary Period
All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.
Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles
If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests
If you believe you have a disability 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.
Additional Hiring and Special Appointing Authorities
Veterans, military spouses, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and people with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. You must provide documentation supporting your eligibility prior to the closing date of this announcement.
- Veterans
- Military spouses – Effective until December 31, 2028, any spouse of a member on active duty may be eligible.
- Individuals with Disabilities – The proof of disability documentation must specify that you are eligible to apply using Schedule A. It does NOT need to detail your specific disability, medical history or need for accommodation.
- Peace Corps and VISTA
- Land Management Hiring Flexibility Act – The following documents are required at the time of application: SF-50s to demonstrate that you meet the eligibility requirements and the most recent performance rating signed by your supervisor or a statement from your supervisor documenting acceptable performance.