Job Description (Please follow all instructions carefully)

Summary

The Financial Specialist position is in a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Federal-aid Division or Federal Lands Highway Division Office. This position assists with technical, administrative, and program management aspects of financial management in the agency.

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy. Bargaining unit participation varies by agency and position.

The Federal Aid Highway Program supports state highway systems by providing financial assistance for the construction, maintenance, and operations of the nation's 3.9-million-mile highway network. This includes the Interstate Highway System as well as primary highways and secondary, local roads. FHWA is charged with implementing the Federal Aid Highway Program in cooperation with state and local governments.

The mission of the Federal Lands Program is to improve transportation to and within Federal and Tribal Lands by providing technical services to the highway/transportation community as well as building accessible and scenic roads that ensure the many national treasures within our nation's Federal Lands can be enjoyed by all.

As a Financial Specialist, you will:

Act as a technical resource on FHWA procedures and guidance on Federal laws, regulations, Executive Orders, and directives related to finance considerations applicable to the Federal Aid Highway Program or Federal Lands Program in the following areas: funding advice and guidance, financial management improvements, project funds management, audit resolution, and innovative finance.
Participate with other Federal agencies and State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) on pertinent financial management concerns relative to highway issues, with the goal of advancing Federal Aid and Federal Lands programs and projects.
Work with the Finance Manager to implement and conduct financial management system reviews and evaluations of the DOTs, local governments, and other Federal Agencies.
Assist in the approval of reimbursement claims, project agreement modifications, advance construction conversions, and conducting the final review and approval of final project claims.
Participate on interdisciplinary team reviews or activities, work groups, and task forces to address project or program issues or to ensure implementation of the financial management program.

The ideal candidate for this position is an entry level financial specialist who has a desire to learn the technical, administrative, and program management aspects of financial management in the agency. The ideal candidate should have between 0 to 5 years of experience, be mobile and willing to travel to remote locations for extended periods of time and be able to work independently and in a team environment.

Conditions of Employment

You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify
Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
Required Documents must be submitted by the closing date.
Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required.
PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position may involve travel. A government contractor-issued travel card may be issued and must be retained for official business only.
TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be approved for occasional telework. The number of telework days approved is determined by the agency policy, emergency situations, the approval of your immediate supervisor, and if applicable, approval of additional officials. You are required to report to the office on a regular basis since this is not a full-time telework position, or approved as a remote work position.
MOBILITY AGREEMENT: Appointees will be required to sign a Mobility Agreement. If you decline a position due to geographic location, you will receive no further consideration under this announcement. This agreement states that as a part of your developmental assignment, you may be assigned to any location, within the Agency and that you will move to the new duty location. Failure to relocate can be used as the basis for non-selection and failure to relocate after completion of your Individual Development Plan (IDP) can be the basis for your termination from the Federal service.
SERVICE AGREEMENT: Appointees will be required to sign an agreement to continue in service upon completion of the developmental training and serve in the agency for two times the length of the training period (approximately 24 months).
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.

Qualifications

To determine if you are eligible for, review the following grade specific details. You will be asked a few questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume or you may be deemed ineligible.

For the GS-09: You qualify for this grade level if you meet one of the following experience and/or education requirements.

On Experience, at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-07 grade level, which included:

Experience with participating in financial management state systems and processes.

On Education, you must have:

2 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.
Or, you can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following area:

Principles of Finance - Knowledge of the basic principles, practices, and methods of financial management, including requisitions, apportionments, allotments, investments, fiscal management, activity reporting, and fiscal year guidelines.
Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal clues, and responds appropriately.

For all types of consideration, 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.

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within three months of the closing date of this announcement. If selected, the final transcript must be received before your start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information

The incumbent will be appointed at the GS-9 level depending on qualifications. This position is developmental: Incumbents at the GS-9 may be non-competitively promoted to the next higher grade upon completion of an Individual Development Plan (IDP), meeting time-in-grade requirements, and the recommended approval for promotion by their supervisor.

Duty locations will vary. The difference in the salary is determined by the locality pay in each location. Salaries for all areas are available on the OPM website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/

RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE: Recruitment incentive may be considered.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will referred to the hiring manager.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

TELEWORK INFO: https://www.telework.gov/guidance-legislation

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

PLEASE NOTE: This announcement establishes an open continuous (90 day) public notice for this series. Review and referral of applications will be completed on an as needed basis with the initial review occurring 14 days from the opening date. You must meet all eligible requirements at the time of consideration.

Also note that approval to fill these positions will vary by location. It is possible that some locations listed will not receive approval to hire during the open period of this vacancy.

When a location request is received, applicants that selected consideration for that location will be reviewed to determine if the basic qualifications for this position, and grades applied to, are met. Applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official(s) for further review and consideration. From that point on the selecting official determines all aspects of the hiring process. If they wish to contact you for an interview or for selection, they will do so directly. Equal consideration will be given to all applications received.

Applications received under a direct hire public notice may or may not result in a referral or selection. Also, management has the prerogative to select at any grade level.

Applicants will not be rated or ranked. Veteran’s Preference does NOT apply.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated by a resume. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support the noted grade specific specialized experience and your answers. If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and was created within USA Jobs Resume Builder and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy.

Transcripts are required if you are using education to qualify. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements.

Official transcript(s) will be required if you are selected for the position.
Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition. If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85 or falling in the Gold Category) and provide all of the following documents:

your most recent performance appraisal,
the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

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

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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than midnight Eastern Time on the closing date of the announcement.

To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
You may review your saved application(s) at https://my.usajobs.gov.

If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: Transjobs@dot.gov

Agency contact information

Automated Staffing Office

Phone

000-000-0000

Email

TRANSJOBS@dot.gov

Address

DOT, FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States

Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Your application status will be updated online when applicable and you will be notified by email.

If you are hired for this position, you will not receive additional consideration under this announcement.

A final email will be generated when the vacancy closes. Note that there is no guarantee that your application will be reviewed under this vacancy, it depends on when and how often the selecting official(s) request to use this public notice.

Accepting applications

Open & closing dates

03/19/2024 to 06/17/2024
Salary

$59,966 - $91,582 per year
The salary varies by location. To review the exact salary range per location go to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages
Pay scale & grade

GS 09
Locations

Many vacancies in the following locations:
Additional locations are listed below.
Remote job

No
Telework eligible

Yes—The position may be eligible for telework. This is not a full-time telework position or approved as a remote work position.
Travel Required

Occasional travel - Travel is required for field reviews and to attend training courses, meetings, and conferences.
Relocation expenses reimbursed

Yes— Relocation expenses are authorized for this position.
Appointment type

Permanent
Work schedule

Full-time
Service

Competitive
Promotion potential

12
Job family (Series)

0501 Financial Administration And Program
Supervisory status

No
Security clearance

Other
Drug test

No
Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness
Announcement number

FHWA.HAD-2024-0051
Control number

782307900

Financial Specialist - Direct Hire Job

Summary

This job is open to

The public

Clarification from the agency

Duties

Requirements