The Department of Commerce ranked top 5 in the 2023 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government amongst large agencies for the 12th year in a row! The ranking showcases the Department's continued commitment to increasing our employee engagement, employee satisfaction, and positive perceptions towards diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. This announcement will close at 11:59 pm EST on the date the first 100 applications are received or 12/26/2025, whichever comes first.

Duties

In this position, you will: Serve as a Financial Assistance (grants, cooperative agreements, and other transactions) Specialist who may be delegated signature authority and is part of a team of professionals responsible for the management of financial assistance (Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Other Transaction Agreements) administered for NIST and other Department of Commerce Bureaus. Be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of you portfolio and/or that of other specialists, perform assignments of award action requests, and monitor the status of the award actions. Review award agreements to ensure compliance with standard operating procedures and Federal requirements. Oversee the pre-award, post-award, and closeout monitoring of financial assistance agreements, negotiate, draft and formulate terms and conditions including award restrictions. Execute financial assistance awards and obligate Federal funds on behalf of the Government. Develop policies and procedures, strategic planning, process improvements, maintain effective and efficient workload management and productivity, manage, and utilize staff resources to efficiently and effectively accomplish the NIST mission, actively involved in the planning, development, and execution of formal and informal projects. Provide guidance to financial assistance specialists and program officials on matters related to award agreement administration and developing advice and guidance for the resolution of financial assistance issues. Represent as the expert during negotiations which can be complex and have high priority and visibility within NIST. Leads organizational development and workforce initiatives, supports resource allocations

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment
• Must meet time-in-grade/band requirements, as applicable
• Completion of Confidential Financial Disclosure, Form OGE-450
• Bargaining Unit Position: No

Qualifications

To qualify, applicants must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 (ZA-III for NIST). Specialized experience is defined as experience managing federal acquisition and/or financial assistance (grants, cooperative agreements, and/or other transaction authority) awards; experience providing advice to senior staff regarding the need for, or implementation of new and modified policy and procedures; and experience leading and coordinating projects and/or initiatives involving multiple stakeholders 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. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. If requesting reconsideration of your qualification determination, please refer to the following site: Applicant Reconsideration

Education

Qualifications are based upon meeting specialized experience only. Education cannot be used to qualify for this position.

Contacts

• Address Financial Assistance Agreements Management Division 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899 US
• Name: Sarah Sadler
• Phone: 301-366-1164
• Email: [email protected]