Clarification from the agency

Current federal civilian employees in the competitive service on permanent career or career-conditional appointments; Former federal employees with reinstatement eligibility; Current federal employees eligible under Interchange Agreements; and Applicants eligible under special hiring authorities (Schedule A, etc.). If you do not meet one of these categories, you may apply under the concurrently advertised vacancy announcement: OIG-HQ-2026-0018, which is open to all U.S. citizens.

This is an open continuous announcement to fill current and future vacancies until 12/31/2026, or if management decides to close the announcement early.

Fraud doesn’t stop, and neither do we. We’re ED OIG, an independent oversight office within ED charged with identifying and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse, and ensuring accountability and effectiveness in ED programs. If you want to help fight fraud and make a difference for America’s students, schools, and taxpayers, we may have the career for you! We offer competitive salaries, opportunities for rapid and substantial salary increases and career growth, great benefits, employee recognition programs, and more.

Often referred to as America’s watchdogs, it’s the OIG’s job to help ensure that hard-earned tax dollars that fund ED programs and operations are used as intended by law, achieve the desired results, and reach the intended recipients.

OIG conducts audits and reviews of issues involving Federal student aid, K–12 schools, charter schools, special education, career and technical education, adult education, and more. When our work identifies problems, we propose solutions. Our work has resulted in improvements to ED programs and changes to some of the most important Federal education laws in our country.

OIG also conducts criminal and civil investigations into suspected fraudulent activities by schools, colleges, universities, contractors, subcontractors, school officials—any entity or individual that participates in ED programs or receives ED funding. Our work has unraveled multimillion-dollar fraud schemes by people placed in positions of trust to educate our children. We’re also on the cutting edge of cybersecurity, using the latest technology and techniques to discover and defeat current and emerging threats from cyber and economic crime.

We tackle new and emerging issues head-on, continually work to improve our techniques and capabilities, and consistently expand our expertise by training and developing staff. This dedication has enabled OIG to become a leader in the Federal government in the areas of audits, investigations, and fighting cybercrime.

Whether you’re just entering the workforce or are a seasoned professional, if you’re looking for a career rather than just a job, and interested in shaping the next generation of Americans tackling tomorrow’s challenges, consider joining our team.

Audit Services is responsible for all audit, inspection, and other activities to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness, and prevent and detect fraud and abuse, in ED programs and operations. This position would be with one of the following Audit Services teams:

Internal Operations Oversight Team. Based in Washington, DC, this team conducts audit-related work focused on ED-wide operations and program management, including high-profile work related to contracts and grant programs, requests by Congress, OIG Hotline complaints, and statutorily-required assignments. It provides the means for OIG to build and maintain program and technical expertise in a multitude of areas across ED.

Elementary and Secondary Education Oversight Team. Based in various offices throughout the country, this team conducts audit-related work focused on Federal elementary and secondary education programs, as well as special education and rehabilitative services programs. It provides the means for OIG to build and maintain program or technical expertise in these areas.

Higher Education Oversight Team. Based in various offices throughout the country, this team conducts audit-related work focused on Federal higher education programs, including the Federal student aid programs, as well as career and technical education programs. It provides the means for OIG to build and maintain program or technical expertise in these areas.

As a Performance Auditor at the GS-7 level in an entry-level capacity, the incumbent will participate in the planning and design of Audit Services projects; completion of evaluation, research, and data analysis activities, and in assessments of data quality and reliability, risk, and internal control design and implementation; and preparation of written work products, including interview writeups, document reviews, spreadsheets, summaries, and exhibits.

As a Performance Auditor at the GS-9 level in a developmental capacity, the incumbent will assist in the planning and design of Audit Services projects and contribute to the completion of related activities; assist in the completion of evaluation, research, and data analysis activities, and in assessments of data quality and reliability, risk, and internal control design and implementation; and participate in the preparation of written work products, including interview writeups, document reviews, spreadsheets, summaries, and exhibits, and in the development of conclusions and preparation of reporting elements in relation to the project’s objectives.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• May be required to complete a background clearance and fingerprint check.
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.

Condition of Employment:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

If you are a current federal employee, you must meet all time-in-grade and time-after competitive appointment qualifications within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. To verify that you meet these requirements, we will review your responses to the vacancy questionnaire as well as your submitted resume and required documents. To make an accurate determination, you will need to include on your resume your federal position title, pay plan, occupational series, grade level, agency, dates for which you held the grade level (stated as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY, OR MM/YYYY to PRESENT), and total hours worked per week.

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).

Qualifications

Basic Requirements for Performance Auditors

1. Degree: auditing; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, public administration or accounting.

   OR

2. Combination of education and experience: at least 4 years of experience in Performance Auditing, or an equivalent combination of performance auditing experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional auditing knowledge. The applicant's background must also include one of the following:

   1. A certificate as a Certified Internal Auditor or a Certified Public Accountant, obtained through written examination; or
   2. Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in auditing or accounting, e.g., 15 semester hours.

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement above, the incumbent must also meet the minimum qualification requirements below.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

For the GS-7, you must meet one of the following:

Specialized Experience for the GS-7 level:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level or equivalent public or private sector experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the three (3) following duties or work assignments below:

1. Some knowledge of auditing concepts, principles, and practices.
2. Skill in written and oral communication. 
3. Ability to work well on a team/interpersonal communication.

OR

One (1) year of graduate-level education.

OR

A bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A).

S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average or (3) honor society membership.

1. 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.

2. Grade-point average (G.P.A) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of:

• 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
• 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.

3. Honor society membership -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies (except for freshman honor societies).  These honor societies are listed by the Association of College Honor Societies https://www.achshonor.org/

OR

Combination of Experience and Education. Completion of a percentage of the one-year graduate education requirement and a percentage of the one-year specialized work experience that combined equals 100%.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) 
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs):

1. Ability to carry out assigned tasks using specific methods.
2. Ability to research and interpret financial, statistical, performance, economic, and/or accounting data and other information.
3. Ability to analyze information and accurately reflect that analysis in a written work product.

For the GS-9, you must meet one of the following:

Specialized Experience for the GS-9 level:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level or equivalent public or private sector experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the three (3) following duties or work assignments below:

1. General knowledge of auditing concepts, principles, and practices, and of methods and techniques to perform assignments.
2. Skill in written and oral communication, including an ability to develop sound conclusions and effective recommendations and to communicate with officials at various organizational levels.
3. Ability to work well on a team/interpersonal communication, and to provide accurate guidance and timely assistance to team members and others. 

OR

Master's or equivalent graduate degree OR; Two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.B or J.D., if related; OR Combination of Experience and Education. Completion of a percentage of the two-year graduate education requirement and a percentage of the one-year specialized work experience that combined equals 100%.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) 
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs): 

1. Ability to identify appropriate information sources and follow protocols specific to assigned programs and reviews.
2. Ability to research and interpret financial, statistical, performance, economic, and/or accounting data and other information, and to apply conclusions to recommend actions and decisions.
3. Ability to analyze information from multiple sources and accurately reflect that analysis in a written work product that requires limited revision by other team members.

How you will be evaluated

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

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and vacancy questions, this position requires an online assessment.

Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications 

Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements. If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, you application will be referred to a Subject Matter Expert (SME) Resume Review Panel.

SME Resume Review

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine whether you meet the required specialized experience and will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required KSAs by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the vacancy questionnaire. (The vacancy questionnaire is the list of questions in the automated system that you will have an opportunity to answer once you apply for the position). 

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the vacancy questionnaire, and the result of the Monster Competency Based Assessment(s) required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):  

Non-Supervisory: Oral Communications, Writing, Interpersonal Skills, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Technology Orientation, Customer Service, Attention to Detail and Self-Management.

Referral and Selection 

If you are found to be amongst the most highly qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):

A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position.  

Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points.  If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualifications determination. 

• Transcript: This position has a positive education requirement and requires proof of education for eligibility. Also, if meet the qualification requirements based on education, you must submit an unofficial transcript that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, major(s), grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts. This also applies to ED employees.

If you are a current or former federal employee (including current U.S. Department of Education employees), you must also submit:

• A Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50), which demonstrates your competitive status eligibility. To verify your eligibility, we will review your SF-50 to determine your tenure (block 24) and position occupied (block 34). Examples of sufficient SF-50s include appointments, promotions, within-grade increases, and pay adjustments. If you currently hold or previously held a federal position at or above the highest grade of this position or you have/had promotion potential at or above the highest grade of this position, you must also submit an SF-50 documenting your highest grade level held or promotion potential. Examples of sufficient SF-50s include appointments and promotions.
• A Copy of your most recent Performance Appraisal and Awards, as applicable. Your performance appraisal and awards are requested to further assess the quality of your experience should your application be referred to the selecting official.
• If you are claiming eligibility under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA), you must submit:
  • A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR
  • A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR 
  • The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference.
• If you are claiming eligibility under any Special Hiring Authority, you must submit:
  • Adequate proof of your eligibility (e.g., Documentation of noncompetitive eligibility as a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Military Spouse, Documentation of noncompetitive eligibility for employment under Schedule A as a person with severe physical disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and intellectual disabilities.)

• Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP/CTAP)?

  • If you are a current or former Federal employee who was displaced (for example, due to a Reduction-in-Force) and want priority consideration, you must submit the documents listed below.
  • Required documents for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration (All are required):
    1. Proof that you were displaced, such as Reduction-in-Force (RIF) notice or notice of proposed removal.
    2. SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Action) showing:
       • RIF as the Nature of Action (Box 5B)
       • Career or career-conditional status (Box 24 must be 1 or 2)
       • Competitive status (Box 34 must be 1)
       • Promotion potential or full performance level of the position from which you were or are being displaced. This is likely your appointment SF-50 for that position.
       • Duty location
    3. Your most recent performance appraisal showing a rating of Fully Successful or higher.
  • Your Federal position at the time you were displaced must be within the local commuting area for a location listed in this announcement. The definition of local commuting area varies based on duty location and hiring agency policy. To receive priority consideration, you must also be found well-qualified, which means you score 75 or higher based on this announcement's assessment rating criteria.

Next steps

Additional locations