Student Trainee (Congressional & Public Affairs) - Pathways Internship

Student Trainee (Congressional & Public Affairs) - Pathways Internship at Small Business Administration · Other Agencies and Independent Organizations. Grade: 4-4. Applications close 2026-11-03.

Summary

Join the Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Inspector General (OIG), where our team promotes accountability, integrity, and effectiveness through audits, investigations, and oversight. The OIG Pathways Internship Program offers students enrolled in qualifying educational institutions paid opportunities to gain valuable experience, develop professional skills, and explore Federal careers while completing their education.

Duties

• As a Student Trainee (Congressional and Public Affairs) with the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG), you will receive hands-on training and experience supporting congressional affairs, legislative research, public communications, and administrative operations.
• Duties include:
• Congressional Affairs Support: Assist in monitoring, tracking, and researching congressional legislation, amendments, hearings, and policy developments affecting SBA OIG programs.
• Maintain congressional contact lists, legislative tracking records, and stakeholder databases.
• Congressional Correspondence and Briefings: Assist in drafting congressional correspondence, briefing materials, reports, and testimony.
• Attend and summarize congressional hearings, briefings, and meetings, and support the coordination of congressional inquiries and related activities.
• Research and Policy Analysis: Conduct research on legislative developments, federal policies, and oversight issues affecting SBA OIG operations.
• Assist in preparing research summaries, memoranda, reports, and data presentations to support leadership decision-making.
• Public Affairs and Media Relations: Assist in drafting press releases, talking points, public statements, and other communication materials.
• Monitor news coverage and social media, maintain media contact records, and support responses to media inquiries.
• Strategic Communications: Support the development of communication strategies, public information campaigns, and social media content to promote awareness of SBA OIG activities, initiatives, and oversight responsibilities.
• Administrative and Executive Support: Perform administrative duties, including maintaining records, entering data, scheduling meetings, and coordinating events.
• Assists the Executive Officer with administrative and operational task in support of the Inspector General and the overall mission of the Office of the Inspector General.

Qualifications

GS-0399-04: Completion of 2 academic years of post-high school study OR successful completion of the requirements for an Associate's degree (please verify by attaching a copy of your college transcripts).

Academic year of undergraduate education (post-high school study): A minimum of 30 semester or 45 quarter hours at an accredited college or university; or A minimum of 36 weeks at an accredited business, technical, vocational, or qualifying educational institution for at least 20 classroom hours per week.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions.

It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications website.

All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 11/03/2026.

Education

You MUST submit transcripts (official or unofficial), student schedule or enrollment letter with this application if you wish to be considered for this vacancy.

APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.)

Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Verify School accreditation.

All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly.

If you are selected for this position, you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.

• If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. *

For further information, click on: Foreign Education.

How to apply

Please follow all instructions carefully.

Errors or omissions will affect your rating.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience your rating may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities.

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application.

To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.

The application process is as follows:

• 1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
• 2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
• 3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
• 4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system.
• This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification.
• 5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system.
• Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
• Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments.
• Click here for Computer System Requirements
• 6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time.
• If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account.

To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account.

There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application.

This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov/

All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page.

The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application.

The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated.

For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/