This position is in the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Deputy Administrator for Field Operations (DAFO), State Farm Service Agency Office. The position is responsible for assisting Farm Program (FP) staff on farm program procedural matters and for providing guidance and support on the technical aspects of FSA administered farm programs; assisting with FSA FP reviews in county offices; and identifying training or remedial training needs, preparing training curriculums, and conducting training.

Duties

Assist with comprehensive reviews of all farm program operations in county offices by pulling reports and compiling data. Evaluate information for compliance with requirements, program effectiveness, and administrative efficiency Researches a wide variety of information relating to State Farm Program functions. Assist with farm programs implementation and support activities through review of current methods and development of recommendations for more effective operations. Assist senior staff with developing, reviewing, administering, and/or coordinating programs for direct farmer producer participation in production adjustment, price support, land conservation, and similar programs. Assist with developing standards, guides, procedures and forms, informational releases, and training materials for use by Farm Program staff. Participate in the planning and executing of statewide Farm Program training programs to ensure compliance with Farm Program handbooks and notices Provide technical support on Farm Program systems, troubleshoots systems. Serve as liaison between Deputy Administrator for Field Programs (DAFP) and field staff on complicated or unusual system issues in the absence of the Farm Programs Chief and Agricultural Program Specialist.

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. If selected, you will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.
• Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
• 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/.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement 04/29/2024 including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. 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. (e.g. one year at the GS-07 grade level for consideration for the GS-9 grade level). You must include an SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one) that supports meeting this requirement with your application package. Specialized Experience for the GS-09 level: To qualify for the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or higher in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through federal service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as: Applying laws and regulations governing farm and conservation programs to assist in farm program procedural matters; Understanding of farming practices and customs in the United States, and of the economic needs of farm communities at the State level; Experience communicating with representatives of public organizations, farmers' associations, and others, to provide agricultural program information affecting them. OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as business administration, mathematics, or another field related to the position such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock, farm management, ranch management, rural sociology, dairy science, domestic agricultural development or agronomy. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/Standards/group-stds/gs-admin.asp. 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

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration.

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. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. Important: 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. Click on this link for more information.

Contacts

• Address Farm Service Agency 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Melissa Mahone
• Email: [email protected]