Summary

This Business Operations Specialist position is located in various organizations throughout the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The incumbent will serve as a key member of the assigned organization's administrative team, providing administrative program analysis and support with a focus on project management, business operations analysis and support, financial resource analysis and management, proposal processing, data management and analysis, and communication and outreach.

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 Management and Program Analyst (Business Operations Specialist), you will perform the following duties:

Plan, develop, implement, communicate, and track project plans, guidelines, budgets, procedures, and timetables. Recommend changes in project policy and management activities to improve effectiveness and efficiency.
Work collaboratively with team members to restructure work processes, standardize procedures, and manage changes across supported organizations.
Collect and format data for analysis and information sharing, conducting moderately complex quantitative and qualitative analyses, to prepare and submit required reports.
Support proposal review panels, identify and recruit qualified reviewers, manage technical communications with reviewers, and resolve proposal processing issues.
Prepare reports, presentations, and outreach materials, evaluating their effectiveness for internal and external audiences.
Analyze and prepare reports of expenditures and projections, create, monitor, and reconcile program budget spreadsheets, and conduct financial analyses for program budgets.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

You must be a U.S. citizen.
Selectee will be required to have a background investigation prior to onboarding.
Selectee may be required to serve a 2-year trial period/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-07 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the federal service supporting program operation and analysis activities.
OR Superior Academic Achievement - having earned a Baccalaureate degree with one of the following: graduated in the upper one-third of your graduating class; and earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher out of 4.0 as recorded on your official transcript, or based on courses completed during your final 2 years;
OR at least one (1) full year of graduate level education;
OR a combination of post high school education and experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.

Examples of relevant experience include:

Supporting projects or programs.
Collecting data for analysis.
Supporting evaluations or studies led by higher-level staff.
Providing input to analytical reports and/or recommendations.

To qualify at the GS-09 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the federal service performing program support and administrative analysis activities.
OR Possessa master's or equivalent graduate degree;
OR Possess two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree;
OR Possess a combination of post high school education and experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.

Examples of relevant experience include:

Participating in a variety of projects.

Evaluating administrative operations.

Collecting data and conducting analysis.
Developing reports and recommendations for management review.

To qualify at the GS-11 level, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 Level in the federal service leading operational program support and performing complex administrative analysis and evaluation activities.
OR Possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree;
OR Possess three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree;
OR Possess a combination of post-high school education and experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.

Examples of relevant experience include:

Planning, developing, budgeting, implementing and tracking projects.

Evaluating the effectiveness of administrative operations.

Collecting data from a variety of sources and conducting moderately complex analysis.
Developing and presenting recommendations and reports based on studies, evaluations, and analyses.

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 be substituted for experience as described in "Qualifications." If qualifying based on education, you must submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met.

Additional information

Relocation Expenses will not be paid.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP)
ICTAP and Career Transition Assistance Plan (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 assessment. 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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests:
If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

This announcement may be used to fill like positions in other organizations within the U.S. National Science Foundation.

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.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

Accountability
Attention to Detail
Customer Service
Decision Making
Flexibility
Integrity/Honesty
Interpersonal Skills
Learning
Reading Comprehension
Reasoning
Self-Management
Stress Tolerance
Teamwork

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 85.0 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/12973597

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.
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
If qualifying based on education, you must submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met.

All uploading must be completed before 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) 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

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:

Click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.

Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.

To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

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

Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.

Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments. 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.

Business Operations Specialist, GS-0343-07/09/11 NF Job in Alexandria County, VA