Quality Assurance Technician

Summary The position is located at SSA's National Records Center (NRC) underground folder storage facility in Independence, Missouri, where millions of Title II Social Security and Title XVI Supplement Security Income (SSI) paper folders are received, stored and managed. The NRC is the final repository for paper folders and is responsible for providing assistance to components across the agency and with third party partners. Learn more about this agency Duties This is an entry level / trainee position. Employees work in a training capacity towards the GS-07 full performance Quality Assurance Technician position. Employees are responsible for the quality assurance of contractor workloads on a multitude of activities involving all aspects of the folder storage operation of the NRC. Many duties are unique to the NRC and require specialized skills to process the complex assignments. Duties at the full performance level include the following: Responds to disclosure requests received from government agencies and other third parties and provides advice to peers and contractor employees on complex, routine and non-routine folder storage issues. Develops and maintains review sheets, logs, spreadsheets, and databases necessary to the everyday operation in an ever-changing workflow picture. Maintains and performs daily updates to the shipping information on SSA NRC workstations for all SSA offices to ensure accuracy of all folder shipments. Tracks lost shipments and takes action to ensure accurate delivery. Evaluates and coordinates effectiveness of mailroom operations and SSA NRC procedures. Reviews weekly UPS invoices for proper charges and discrepancies. Monitors the status and progress of the work performed by the contractor to ensure that all NRC guidelines are met. Reviews for quality, each of the major categories of contractor work. Samples work and conducts in line quality checks to determine if the contractor has correctly interpreted and applied SSA policies and procedures. Verifies count of all billable work done each day by direct comparison to the contractor report of the same work. Captures and summarizes key data on contractor’s performance and quality measures in support of customer service and agency-wide initiatives. Compares data to norms and identifies changes. Prepares reports documenting the ongoing statistical accumulation on all categories of contractor work. Maintains records and reports used to ensure proper billing and payment for the contractor. Requirements Conditions of employment U.S. Citizenship required Selective Service Registration is required, if applicable (www.sss.gov) Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required. Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background/security investigation results. This position involves specific physical efforts and working conditions as described under QUALIFICATIONS below. See QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, REQUIRED DOCUMENTS and HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED sections for more information about this position. Resumes exceeding two pages in length will not be considered. Visit the 'Required Documents' section below for more information. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion or national origin. Qualifications To qualify for this GS-05 Quality Assurance Technician position you must demonstrate (1) at least 52 weeks of Specialized Experience OR (2) Optional Education OR (3) a combination of Specialized Experience and Optional Education (1) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE must have been gained in a federal position at or above GS-04 OR (if your position and/or experience is in another federal pay scale OR outside of federal service) by performing duties at a level of responsibility and difficulty equivalent to GS-04 or above. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is clerical or administrative work that primarily consists of assisting higher-level technicians with the daily operation of a large-scale repository for receipt and storage of official business materials and providing assistance to organizations requesting information from that stored data. Work that demonstrates specialized experience includes: A. developing and maintaining review sheets, logs, spreadsheets and/or databases to support daily office operations; B. maintaining and updating shipping records and tracking shipments using established procedures; and C. monitoring and reviewing work to ensure compliance with established guidelines and procedures. YOUR RESUME MUST SPECIFICALLY DESCRIBE DUTIES YOU PERFORM THAT SHOW YOU MEET THIS SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT. It must be evident that the duties you describe are at the required level for at least 52 weeks. An affirmative response to the online questionnaire is not sufficient to demonstrate experience. (2) OPTIONAL EDUCATION: Applicants without Specialized Experience can meet Minimum Qualifications with successful completion of 4 years of education beyond high school. (See EDUCATION section below) (3) COMBINATION: Applicants without the full amount of Specialized Experience or the full amount of Optional Education can meet Minimum Qualifications with a portion of each that can be combined to meet the full requirement. (See EDUCATION section below.) MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (e.g., Specialized Experience and/or Optional Education) must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Information on this job series can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0300/miscellaneous-clerk-and-assistant-series-0303/ CONDITIONS OF POSITION: Due to the nature of work in this position, the following conditions are essential for successful performance and selected candidates must fully comply with these conditions to meet performance requirements. Successful performance of work in this position and adherence to these conditions will be assessed during the 1-year probationary period that may be served by new appointees. (1) The work involves sustained periods of standing, walking, climbing and bending while performing quality assurance duties. (2) Recurring lifting of bundles of material and boxes of folders weighing up to 50 pounds is required. (3) Folders are stored in boxes located on waist height tables or on shelving units with a maximum height of 84 inches. (4) Accessing boxes may require using a step stool to reach boxes on the top shelf or stooping/squatting to perform necessary reviews of folders on the lower shelves. (5) Employees are required to climb stairs and walk on a catwalk for the second level of the NRC facility. (6) The SSA National Records Center (NRC) is located in an underground cave. The administrative space is a traditional office setting with appropriate temperature control and ventilation. The files area is a warehouse type setting that is adequately lit, heated and ventilated, however, it may be dusty. INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO THIS CAREER-LADDER POSITION: This is an entry level/trainee position that leads to the GS-07 full performance level. Management arranges structured training and development activities to provide experience and technical competence in the methods, procedures, principles and techniques of the full performance level. Trainees work under the general direction of the supervisor, who sets overall objectives and deadlines. During training, the supervisor or higher-level employee provides instruction in terms of expected results, as well as additional, specific directions for new, difficult or special assignments, including suggested procedures, sources of information or reporting formats and techniques. The supervisor reviews work in terms of results achieved. Assignments are selected to enhance the development of skills and abilities required to perform the work at the next higher grade. Consideration for promotion is at the discretion of management and is based on the existence of higher-level work, your ability to perform that work, administrative requirements and current agency and/or organizational restrictions. Education This position does not have an educational requirement, but education can be used in lieu of (or in combination with) Specialized Experience. Applicants using education to meet Minimum Qualifications must submit transcripts to support that claim. EDUCATION IN LIEU OF SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must demonstrate at least 4 years of successfully completed full-time academic study in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent, in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial or technical school. EDUCATION IN COMBINATION WITH SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must demonstrate a portion of qualifying education* (described above) in combination with a portion of Specialized Experience (i.e., less than 52 weeks) described under QUALIFICATIONS above. *Only post-high school education beyond the second year (i.e., in excess of the first 60 semester hours) is creditable when combining education and specialized experience. For example, if you have completed 90 semester hours of post-high-school education, you could qualify with on 6 months of Specialized Experience. This is the most difficult option to demonstrate - if you meet the requirement in another way, use that instead. HR will determine if the combination of experience and education is sufficient to meet Minimum Qualifications. TRANSCRIPTS / CERTIFICATES: Documents must be submitted to support post-high school education and must clearly show your name, the name of the school, the program in which you were enrolled and the degree or certification you earned. Transcripts that do not show 4 years of post-high school education cannot be used in lieu of Specialized Experience, but can be used in combination with Specialized Experience. Foreign Education: If your education was completed in a foreign college or university, you must also submit documentation showing that the education has been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or that full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Additional information Selective Service: If you are a male born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov. Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement. If you are a federal contractor, do not identify yourself as a federal employee. OTHER NOTES: See QUALIFICATIONS and EDUCATION for important information about qualifying for this position. See REQUIRED DOCUMENTS and HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED for information on applying for this position This is a career-ladder position leading to the GS-07 Full Performance Level (FPL). This is a bargaining unit position represented by AFGE. This position is on a full-time, flex-time schedule. This position is eligible for telework in accordance with agency policy. To participate in Telework, you must reside within 2 hours of the Official Duty Station (ODS). This position is not authorized to be filled virtually or through outstationing. The Official Duty Station (ODS) for this position is SSA National Records Center (NRC), Independence, Missouri. Relocation expenses will not be paid; salary will be set in accordance with locality pay provisions. Successful performance in this position will be assessed during the 1-year probationary period that may be served by new appointees (e.g., new to SSA and/or new to this series). Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Location of position: Social Security Administration Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Finance and Management (FM) Logistics (LGST) National Records Center (NRC) Expand Hide  additional information Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Benefits A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.