Business Operations Coordinator, GS-0301-14 NF Job in Alexandria, VA

Vacancy No. NSF-26-12933142 Department National Science Foundation
Salary $143,913.00 to $187,093.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 4/20/2026 Close Date 4/27/2026
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Alexandria, VA


Summary

The Business Operations Coordinator works with the Chief Business Operations and senior organizational leadership to set organization priorities and develop, implement, and monitor directorate or office human resources, budget execution, strategic operations planning, and short- and long-term resource strategies across multiple categories of operations management.

This announcement will be used to fill like positions in organizations across the U.S. National Science Foundation.

This job is open to

Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.

Clarification from the agency

U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) agency employee on OR eligible for permanent competitive service appointments.

Duties

As a Business Operations Coordinator, you will perform the following duties:

  • Strategic Planning and Policy Management: Provide organization-level guidance on processes and systems. Review agency directives and propose operational changes to align with policies, ensure financial compliance, and project cost estimates for implementing strategies.
  • Human Capital Management: Oversee recruitment, onboarding, workforce planning, and HR activities to ensure effective use of human resources and compliance with regulations. Serves as key HC advisor to leadership.
  • Operations Oversight: Serve as a subject matter expert on federal travel processes, human capital, and financial systems; analyze administrative systems and business practices; establish new practices and resolve operational challenges.
  • Business Operations, Analysis, and Management: Identify, assess, and implement efficient business processes, oversee contracts, financial reporting, and internal controls, and manage organizational resources.
  • Communication and Coordination: Develop and distribute organization-wide communications, support employee engagement activities, and ensure consistent application of administrative processes.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Selected candidates may be required to perform limited supervisory duties of a few staff members.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

  1. You must be a US citizen.
  2. Selectee will be required to have a background investigation prior to onboarding.
  3. Selectee may be required to serve a 2-year trial/1-year probationary period.
Additional Requirements:
Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade/equivalent.

You must meet eligibility and qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date.

You must answer all job-related questions in the NSF eRecruit questionnaire and any external assessment that is included.

All online applicants must provide a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full/blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

It is NSF policy that personnel employed at, or Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) individuals detailed to, NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign talent recruitment programs. Failure to comply with this NSF policy could result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from Federal Service or termination of an IPA assignment and referral to the Office of Inspector General.

NSF has determined that all of its positions are eligible for telework. Work suitable for telework depends on job duties; therefore, employees must receive approval from their supervisor for telework and have a telework agreement in place. Entering into a telework agreement is voluntary.

Qualifications

To qualify at the GS-14 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the federal service developing, setting, overseeing, and monitoring organizational priorities to include strategic operations, and human and financial resource requirements.

Examples of relevant experience include:

  • Leading workload analyses to evaluate staffing levels and needs
  • Performing oversight of organizational business operations and processes
  • Analyzing and monitoring organizational financial resources and plans
  • Providing organization-level policy and guidance on processes and systems; and recommending operational changes as needed
Experience refers to paid/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/experience that translates directly to paid work. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Education may enhance skills required for this position; however, no substitution of education for specialized experience may be made at this level.

Additional information

Relocation Expenses will not be paid.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP)
ICTAP and CTAP provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP or CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP or CTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified you must meet the following: OPM qualification requirements for the position, all selective factors, where applicable; special OPM approved qualifying conditions for the position; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate, to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and receives a rating of at least "Very Good" on the questionnaire. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP or CTAP eligibility, or a copy of your separation personnel action form.
Additional information regarding ICTAP or CTAP eligibility is available from OPM's Career Transition Resources

Veteran's Preference:
If you are entitled to veterans' preference, you should indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming on your resume. Your veterans' preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency. For 5-point veterans' preference, please provide your DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty, or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that proves your military service was performed under honorable conditions. For 10-point veterans' preference, please submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, DD-214, and the VA letter or other required documentation as specified on the SF-15.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the assessment required for this position.

This vacancy will utilize a writing sample assessment to evaluate applicants. Qualified applicants' writing samples will be reviewed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) panel for related position competencies against a pre-determined rating schedule. This process will determine the final rating of the applicant for possible referral to the hiring official for hiring consideration.

Applicants are required to submit a writing sample with their application addressing the job-related essay prompt below. Responses to the prompt will be limited to two (2) pages or less.

  1. Describe a recent experience where you were involved in identifying an opportunity for operational improvement, such as through performance management activities, workload analysis, or a financial operating plan. Explain how a strategic plan was developed to align with organizational goals and describe how you and your team collaborated with the leadership team during this process. Be sure to highlight the outcomes of the implementation of the strategic plan.
You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
  • Administration and Management
  • Financial Analysis
  • Human Capital Management
  • Strategic Thinking


Review your resume and responses carefully. A Human Resources Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the selecting official.

Applicants eligible for selection preference under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) must meet the agency definition of "well qualified." At NSF, this means a score of 90.0 or higher.

In the merit promotion selection process, formal performance appraisals may be considered if voluntarily submitted by the applicant.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12933142

Required Documents

  • All applicants are required to submit a legible resume/CV that is no longer than two pages. The resume should include a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates specified in month and year, and indicates hours worked per week. If you are a civilian Federal employee, you should include your pay plan and grade for each applicable position.
  • All applicants are required to submit a writing sample addressing the prompt listed under the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section of this announcement.The writing sample should be limited to two (2) pages or less.
  • Applicants may submit an optional cover letter.
  • If you are an NSF employee on or eligible for a permanent, competitive service position or you are an NSF employee who is reinstatement eligible based on prior Federal permanent, competitive service, you need not submit documents to confirm status.
  • Performance appraisals may be considered during the evaluation process if voluntarily submitted.
All uploading must be completed before 11:59 PM Eastern time on the vacancy closing date.

IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, DATE OF BIRTH OR ANY OTHER PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION ON YOUR APPLICATION DOCUMENTS.

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.

How to Apply

Applicants must complete and submit an application online at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) USAJOBS website at https://www.USAJOBS.gov. An account must be established at the OPM website following the instructions provided in order to apply for the position. Once you have completed the USAJOBS process, you will be re-directed to the USA Staffing system to complete your application process, answer the online questions, and submit all required documents. Applications submitted other than the USAJOBS online application WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED under this announcement.

  • Your application and all supporting documents must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applicants applying online for this position will be able to apply until 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Please allow adequate time to complete your application.
  • If you encounter technical difficulties during the process, please submit a USA Staffing Help Ticket for assistance. If you have technical difficulties applying to the vacancy on the USAJOBS website, click on Contact USAJOBS. It is suggested that you do not wait until the last day to apply for a vacancy announcement. We will not accept applications other than those submitted through USAJOBS.
  • As the applicant, it is your responsibility to verify that information entered, uploaded, and submitted is received and is accurate. Ensure that your application includes the required documents listed under "Required Documents" and that they are uploaded in the appropriate fields.
  • If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of this application and hiring process, please notify the point of contact on this job opportunity announcement.

Agency contact information

Talent & Acquisition Management Branch
Email
erecruit@nsf.gov
Address
US National Science Foundation
401 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
US

Next steps

You may check the status of your application at any time on the USAJOBS website.

Applicants should click 'Track this Application' in the Applicant Dashboard to receive application updates.

National Science Foundation

Come join our talented workforce and help us keep the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) at the frontier of discovery!

NSF is on the leading edge of discovery in areas from artificial intelligence to quantum information science to biotechnology and beyond. In addition to funding research in traditional academic areas, the agency also supports innovative ideas, novel collaborations and numerous projects that may seem like science fiction today but become the reality of tomorrow.

NSF ensures that research is fully integrated with education so that today's revolutionary work will also be training future scientists and engineers. We are also at the forefront of federal business and operations best practices, ensuring accountability and efficacy of the work we do.

Become a part of our mission to maintain and strengthen the vitality of the US science and engineering enterprise. For over 75 years, NSF has remained the premier Federal agency supporting basic research at the frontiers of discovery across all fields, as well as science and engineering education at all levels.

Agency contact information

Talent & Acquisition Management Branch
Email
erecruit@nsf.gov
Address
US National Science Foundation
401 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
US