There are six positions being advertised on the Region 5 Grants and Agreements staff. The incumbent serves as a Grants and Agreements Specialist responsible for all aspects of awarding, administering, and managing grants and agreements. For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Byron Keely at 208-559-2962 or [email protected].

Duties

Duties listed below are at the full performance level. Provides Regional advice and guidance to line and staff officers in all aspects of the unit’s grants and agreements to federal and non-federal agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; and educational, private, and corporate entities. Provides advice on administrative aspects of partnership agreements including cooperative agreements, cost-share agreements, participating agreements, collection agreements, cooperative fire agreements and memoranda of understandings. Processes a full range of grant and agreement applications used to determine the selection of grant and agreement awards. Has full and final authority to negotiate grants and agreements within the limits of delegated authority, reviews all reimbursement requests for appropriateness, and processes payments. Provides interpretation of laws and regulations concerning use of Federal funds and qualifying program expenditures. Determines appropriate legislative and program authority prior to execution of each grant or agreement. Reviews or direct reviews of grant and agreement applications for clarity and completeness. Establishes internal administrative and financial controls or systems. Stays abreast of changes in policy, regulations, and legal authorities affecting grants and agreements. Plans and conducts annual meetings or workshops for agency and State personnel for maintaining partnership agreement and grant expertise. Reviews performance reports; interprets specifications, terms, and conditions of grants and agreements; renders decisions related to performance and issue in dispute.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or 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.
• Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
• 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 e-verify.gov
• This position is remote eligible. You will be required to sign a remote work agreement and be responsible for ensuring the approved remote worksite has adequate internet service, connectivity, and other general utility costs at your own expense.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-11 Level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service or equivalent private sector experience. Specialized experience is defined as three or more of the following: Monitored conventional grant and/or cooperative agreements to assess compliance with regulatory, policy, and reporting requirements, such as monitoring grants or agreements to ensure compliance with award provisions and to track financial and performance monitoring requirements; and/or performed standard grants or agreement administration tasks, such as independently conducting standard grant close-out processes, including the preparation of final assessments of compliance with statutory and agency requirements for disposition of property, financial and accounting reconciliation, and resolution of any adverse audit findings; and/or applied new or modified work methods in performing conventional grant and/or agreement pre-award tasks, such as generating templets and proposals, identifying potential negotiation strategies, and making recommendations to resolve problems; and/or maintained awareness of changes in policies, regulations, and legal authorities affecting grants and agreements in order to provide advice and assistance to appropriate program staff and partners. -OR- A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related. The education must be directly related to the position and demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work; such as: contracting, financial management, business administration, public administration, or any other related field. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. -OR- An appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.). For the GS-12 Level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service in the Federal service or equivalent private sector experience. Specialized experience is defined as three of the following: Performed administrative tasks related to a wide variety of partnership agreements and federal financial assistance awards; and/or developed instruments, requested proposals, analyzed responses, and made or recommended acceptance by higher authority; and/or approved all grants and agreements for the unit, as well as notification(s) of funding availability within the limits of delegated authority; and/or participated in meetings or workshops for unit agreement coordinators to maintain agreement and grant expertise; and/or advised on grant or agreement modifications and extensions of performance period(s) for completion of work submitted by the partner. 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, 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. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

See Qualifications Section for educational requirements.

Contacts

• Address USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT. Albuquerque, NM 87109 US
• Name: HRM Contact Center
• Phone: 1-877-372-7248 X2
• Email: [email protected]