Program Support Assistant

Salary: $49,505.00 to $71,517.00 Per Year

This position is located within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Midwest Area, Cereal Disease Research Unit in Saint Paul, MN. In this position, you will serve as a personal assistant to the Research Leader and other professional staff providing various secretarial, administrative, and program support duties, allowing them to focus on the organization's primary mission.

Major duties
Develops and implements new systems or administrative processes to meet unit needs (e.g., Administrative Office Procedures Handbook, manuscript/abstract/ARIS action tracking system, files maintenance, etc.).
Identifies, restructures, and recommends ways of eliminating, combining, simplifying or improving administrative and clerical office procedures and processes.
Prepares travel requests and vouchers for foreign and domestic travel. Maintains a detailed knowledge of travel policies and regulations in order to serve as a technical resource to unit personnel.
Screens all calls and visitors, answering most questions on established policy or routine matters. When calls are referred to the RL, the incumbent furnishes readily obtainable information to aid in the discussion.
Reviews all formal outgoing correspondence for proper format, grammar, punctuation, etc., in accordance with Agency correspondence guidelines.
Coordinates the processing of manuscripts and reports for public information; edits material for correct structure, clarity, and arrangement of format for scientific journals and other media.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, 10/20/2026, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. GS-06: Qualifying experience for GS-06 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-05 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 preparing or reviewing financial documents; using computer programs to prepare and review written documents; and providing information on policies, procedures, or guidelines. G-07: Qualifying experience for GS-07 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-06 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 preparing or tracking financial forms or reports; maintaining detailed records or files for an office environment; coordinating all aspects of travel for staff or supervisors; and ensuring compliance with regulations for all program administrative procedures. Applicants must be able to type 40 words per minute. 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.