This position is located in the Office of the Administrator, Business Operations, Financial Services, Financial Management. The incumbent provides professional accounting policy advice, financial and management system oversight, A-123 internal controls services, financial management deliverables, and financial statement preparation, review, and submission.

Duties

Serves as the project leader and senior accountant responsible in providing expert advice in specialized areas of accounting and financial management. Develops and conducts in depth accounting and program system studies as initial or new requirements exist for the design, modification, and implementation of automated management/financial systems. Identifies and implements improvements to the agency accounting systems that will provide financial information necessary for day- to-day decision making by management for budget control and forecasting purposes. Oversees and ensures that any new systems meet the proper accounting and financial requirements prescribed by the Department, the Office of Management and Budget, the Government Accountability Office, and the Treasury Department. Provide oversight and monitoring of the FAS financial and budget practices with expert advice of accounting principles, policies, and procedures to staff accountants, financial specialist, budget analyst, and management. Agency's lead contact with the National Finance Center and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to prepare the agencys financial statements. Serve as the liaison with accountants at the National Finance Center for issues related to the agency's accounting records. Accounting contact expert provides the final agency review and approval of all agency's financial statements prior to management approval. Serves as the subject matter expert to provide support to the agency budget formulation and execution teams for all processes, such as the budget allocation process, year-end closing, and annual MAX reporting review and correction process. Serves as the subject matter expert for the annual review and update of the agency's Financial Coding Manual as it relates to accounting and financial policy regulations. Develops procedural manuals, standard operating procedures (SOPs), methods, and directives. Technical FMMI expert to aid accountants and budget analysts in recording transactions into FMMI, identifying/correcting accounting and budget problems, validating FMMI data, resolving discrepancies.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• In accordance with Office of Government Ethics regulations concerning conflict of interest, the incumbent will be required to submit a financial disclosure report within 30 days of their effective date of appointment and annually thereafter.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. BASIC REQUIREMENT: DEGREE: accounting; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting. The 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in business law. OR A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: at least 4 years of experience in accounting, or an equivalent combination of accounting experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional accounting knowledge. The applicant's background must also include one of the following: twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality. This can include up to 6 hours of business law; A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; or Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in accounting or auditing, e.g., 15 semester hours, but that does not fully satisfy the 24-semester-hour requirement of paragraph A, provided that (a) the applicant has successfully worked at the full-performance level in accounting, auditing, or a related field, e.g., valuation engineering or financial institution examining; (b) a panel of at least two higher level professional accountants or auditors has determined that the applicant has demonstrated a good knowledge of accounting and of related and underlying fields that equals in breadth, depth, currency, and level of advancement that which is normally associated with successful completion of the 4-year course of study described in paragraph A; and (c) except for literal nonconformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, the applicant's education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements. TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. FOR THE GS-11 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-9 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates experience: Knowledge of basic statutes, laws, regulations, directives, policies, and procedures regarding financial and accounting system. Participate in the development and maintenance of Departmental and agency-specific financial and accounting systems. OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-11 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level. FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates experience: Knowledge of financial management and professional accounting theories, concepts, principles, and practices sufficient to conduct difficult assignments involving interfaces and inter-relationships between and among programs, systems, policies, and various issues and to function effectively in agency programs. Analyzes accounting data, identifies problems, and recommends solutions. Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level. FOR THE GS-13 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates experience: Knowledge of financial management and professional accounting theories, concepts, principles, and practices sufficient to conduct difficult assignments involving interfaces and inter-relationships between and among programs, systems, policies, and various issues and to function effectively in agency programs. Analyze and solve complex problems, conduct extensive research and interviewing to build the "big picture" from the disparate pieces of the process in particularly difficult and responsible circumstances. Ability to prepare and analyze financial statements and make recommendations. Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Foreign Agricultural Service Human Capital Management Division 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Tanja Blagmon
• Phone: 202-869-9068
• Email: [email protected]