This position is located at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), Financial Management Services (FMS) Center in New Orleans, LA. As an Accountant (Systems) in the Division, the employee performs a variety of work assignments/projects and analyzes and/or evaluates program operations.

Duties

Applies knowledge of accounting theories, practices, methods, and techniques to independently plan and conduct a variety of assignments. Working knowledge of processing a variety of accounting transactions. Provides timely analysis and feedback on assignments. Utilizes analytical techniques to solve a variety of problems. Research assignments and proposes solutions to a variety of problems or improvements to systems and processes. Ensures written communications are clear, concise, accurate, professional, timely and include all the necessary information.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt
• Satisfactory Background investigation and/or fingerprint check
• Subject to a trial period throughout the duration of the Recent Graduate program.
• 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/
• A signed Recent Graduate Participant Agreement is required for employment under the Pathways Program.

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. This position has a positive education requirement; therefore, a legible copy of your college transcripts is required to be attached to your application prior to the closing date of the announcement; applicants who fail to submit their transcripts will not be given credit for their education. To be eligible in the Pathways Recent Graduate Program, applicants must meet one of the following requirements. Completed all requirements for an associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution within the previous two (2) years; or Individuals who, due to military service obligation, were precluded from applying to the Recent Graduates Program during any portion of the 2-year eligibility period described above shall have a full 2-year period of eligibility upon release or discharge from active duty. This eligibility period cannot extend more than 6 years from the date on which the requirements for the academic course of study were met. NOTE: You must submit transcripts or official documentation, to verify Recent Graduate Program eligibility. Transcripts MUST reflect the degree/ certificate program and the degree conferred date (official transcripts are required upon selection). Application must be received no later than 2 years after the date the degree or certificate has been conferred. When appointed to a position under this program, you will need to complete a requisite number of work and training hours, based on the agreement you will complete with the Hiring Office and the agency's Pathways Program Coordinator. The requisite number of training hours needed to be completed are a minimum of 40-hours. After completion of the required number of training hours, and meeting all other program requirements, you may be eligible for a Conversion to a Term or Permanent Appointment. In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements above, applicants must possess the Basic Requirements indicated below, in addition to Specialized Experience or Education to be considered eligible for this position. Your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the appropriate Specialized Experience Requirements. 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 in Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, or Public Administration that provided a minimum of 24 Semester hours in Accounting and/or in one or more of the fields identified above. The 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in Business Law. (The term "accounting" means "accounting and/or auditing" in this standard. Similarly, "accountant" should be interpreted, generally, as "accountant and/or auditor.") or 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. AND NOTE: Please pay careful attention to the entire announcement to ensure you understand these important requirements. EDUCATION: Refer to the Education field below. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-07 Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level or pay band in Federal Service or equivalent experience in private or public sector that has equipped you with the competencies / knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of Accountant (Systems). Such experience is analyzing financial and statistical data of various systems to determine the accuracy of recording transactions and the reliability of reports; Enters and processes data into various systems; Drafts simple instructions to describe internal accounting procedures for a procedures manual to be prepared by a senior accountant; Communicates effectively with systems analysts, programmers, accountants, and operating personnel, to discuss and resolve problems. Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management websites: Individual Occupational Requirements: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0500/accounting-series-0510/ Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Professional and Scientific Positions: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Group-Standards 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.

Education

Education must be reviewed and certified by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for it to be creditable toward your qualifications. Therefore, you should provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
1 full year of graduate level education

OR

Superior Academic Achievement: Students who achieved superior academic standing based on class standing, grade-point average, or honor society membership.

Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.

Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of: (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.

Honor Society Membership (National Scholastic Honor Society) - Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies. Agencies considering eligibility based on any society not included in the list must ensure that the honor society meets the minimum requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.



Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have 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 an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website for Foreign Education Evaluation.

Contacts

• Address Office of the Chief Financial Officer 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Amy Bedford
• Phone: 5042263716
• Email: [email protected]