Controller Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 26-DAS-12786352 Department Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Salary $210,547.00 to $233,941.00 Grade 00 to 00
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 10/3/2025 Close Date 10/2/2026
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The Controller position is in the Department of Administrative Services, Financial Management Office, Financial Operations Division (FOD). The FOD supports financial operations including accounting, finance, travel, disbursement, external financial and tax reporting, investment services, and other fiscal services to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) and Judiciary.

Duties

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) is seeking an exceptional leader to serve as the Controller in the Financial Management Office (FMO), Financial Operations Division (FOD).The incumbent reports to the Deputy Chief in FMO.

The Controller's primary responsibilities are centered on accounting operations and ensuring the integrity of Judiciary's financial management. The Controller focuses on financial management activities related to the planning, development, coordination, and execution accounting policies, programs, and procedures across the Judiciary, excluding the Supreme Court. The Controller acts as an expert advisor to the FMO Chief and AO senior leaders, including the Director, Deputy Director, and Associate Director for the Department of Administrative Services.

The successful candidate must possess significant professional experience in accounting, finance, policy, compliance, payment and travel management, along with a working knowledge of financial application requirements. Additionally, they should have a solid understanding of the system development lifecycle and recognize the importance of technology in supporting long- and short-term enterprise-wide financial management solutions.

The duties of the Controller include, but are not limited to:

  1. Directing and providing administrative and technical supervision for the FOD's work.
  2. Leading, motivating, evaluating, developing staff, including providing training and development opportunities and recommending personnel decisions regarding hiring, promotion, and adverse actions.
  3. Providing executive leadership in developing and implementing Judiciary-wide accounting, financial operations, and debt management policies and standards.
  4. Ensuring accounting and internal control policies exist, are maintained, and are applied.
  5. Ensuring financial reports are prepared properly, accurately, and timely.
  6. Ensuring financial system policies and procedures are maintained in compliance with requirements.
  7. Coordinating the preparation, communication, execution, and monitoring of corrective action plans.
  8. Representing the Judiciary on finance and accounting matters, including meeting with U.S. Treasury officials and other federal agencies to discuss, educate, or explain matters of mutual concern (e.g., Judiciary accounting, financial reporting, and financial systems issues).
  9. Contacting, advising, and collaborating on fiscal issues with court advisory groups consisting of judges, court unit executives, federal public defenders, and other high-ranking government officials or comparable private-sector organization executives.
  10. Planning and managing a broad array of financial management initiatives and activities in support of the courts, probation and pretrial services offices, and federal public defender offices.
  11. Working with the FMO Chief to support various Judicial Conference Committees and their subcommittees, the AO's Risk and Financial Management Advisory Council, and the AO's Financial Management Working Group.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
  1. All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.
  2. Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration of Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship for competitive status positions or conversion to a competitive status position with the AO. If non-citizens are considered for hire into a temporary or any other position with non-competitive status or when it is confirmed by the AO Human Resources Office there are no qualified U.S. citizens for a competitive status position (unless prohibited by a law or statue), non-citizens must provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at USAJOBS Help Center | Employment of non-citizens/. For a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
  3. All new AO employees will be required to complete an FBI fingerprint-based national criminal database and records check and pass a public trust suitability check.
  4. New employees to the AO will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights/responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  5. All new AO employees are required to identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment.
  6. You will be required to serve a trial period if selected for a first-time appointment to the Federal government, transferring from another Federal agency, or serving as a first-time supervisor. Failure to successfully complete the trial period may result in termination of employment.
  7. If appointed to a temporary position, management may have the discretion of converting the position to permanent depending upon funding and staffing allocation.

Qualifications

Applicants must have demonstrated experience which shows competence in the qualifications as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which includes interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-15/JSP-15/CL 31 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience for this position is defined as follows:
  1. Managing and directing large-scale financial management programs for a federal, state, or local government agency or organization.
  2. Managing accounting functions and applying Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and accounting practices.
  3. Procurement, information technology, and budgeting processes.

Applicants with the following certifications are highly desirable:
  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  • Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM)

Additional Assessment: Applicants who meet the specialized experience requirements also will be assessed on the following Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) and Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).

Mandatory Technical Qualifications: The MTQs listed below should be evident in your resume. A supplemental narrative must be uploaded and attached to your application addressing each MTQ listed below. Please limit your response to two pages for each MTQ.
  1. Communicate effectively both orally and in writing with other executive levels both within and outside the federal sector, elected or appointed officials, and subordinates on matters of broad scope and complexity, concerning financial management issues that affect the Judiciary, legal associations, and other federal, state and local agencies and authorities.
  2. Solve problems of broad scope and complexity, such as those that occur in managing and directing programs of national scope.
  3. Advance communications, promote good relations, accountability, leadership, and service among subordinate staff, the courts, and other federal agencies to ensure operational effectiveness and streamline business processes.

Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): Applicants currently serving in an AOES and Court Unit Executive positions or under a career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, eligible for reinstatement into SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) approved by OPM are not required to submit a narrative response for the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ). A narrative response as part of the application package for each of the following ECQs is MANDATORY for all other applicants. Please limit your response to two pages for each ECQ.
  1. Leading Change: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. Leadership Competencies: Creativity & Innovation, External Awareness, Flexibility, Resilience, Strategic Thinking, Vision.
  2. Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. Leadership Competencies: Conflict Management, Developing Others, Team Building.
  3. Results Driven: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. Leadership Competencies: Accountability, Customer Service, Decisiveness, Entrepreneurship, Problem Solving, Technical Credibility.
  4. Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. Leadership Competencies: Financial Management, Human Capital Management, Technology Management.
  5. Building Coalitions / Communication: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. Leadership Competencies: Partnering, Political Savvy, Influencing/Negotiating.

Education

Basic Qualifications: Applicants must meet ONE of the qualification requirements (A, B, or C) as described below:

(A) Degree in an accounting or in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that includes or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting and/or auditing. The 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in business law. TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED

(B) A combination of education and experience; at least 4 years of experience in accounting, or an equivalent combination of accounting experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional accounting knowledge and included at least one of the following: 24 semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality (this can include up to 6 hours of business law); or a certificate as certified public accountant or a certified internal auditor, obtained through written examination. TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED

(C) Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in accounting or auditing, e.g., 15 semester hours, but that does not fully satisfy the 24-semester-hour requirement of paragraph 1, provided that (a) the applicant has successfully worked at the full-performance level in accounting, auditing, or a related field, e.g., valuation engineering or financial institution examining; (b) a panel of at least two higher level professional accountants or auditors has determined that the applicant has demonstrated a good knowledge of accounting and of related and underlying fields that equals in breadth, depth, currency, and level of advancement that which is normally associated with successful completion of the 4-year course of study described in paragraph A; and (c) except for literal nonconformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, the applicant's education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements. TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED

Additional information

The AO is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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.

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.

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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documentation and compare this information to your responses on the occupational questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this job. If you meet the minimum qualifications for this job, we will evaluate your application package, to assess the quality, depth, and complexity of your accomplishments, experience, and education as they relate to the requirements listed in this vacancy announcement.

You should be aware that your ratings are subject to evaluation and verification. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume and/or narrative responses, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Failure to submit the mandatory narrative responses will result in not receiving full consideration and/or rating credit. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you, withdrawing an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.

Required Documents

For this job announcement the following documents and/or information are required:

  • Resume - Any written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications.
  • MTQ Narrative - Statement addressing the MTQs
  • Current or former career AOES/SES members - Provide a copy of your AOES/SES appointment SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), and an SF-50 showing current career AOES/SES status or reinstatement eligibility.
  • Applicants who have successfully completed an OPM approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) - Submit a copy of your CDP certification.
  • ECQ Narrative - A narrative response as part of the application package for each of the following ECQs is mandatory for all applicants who are not current or former career AOES/SES members, and/or completed an OPM approved CDP.
  • Citizenship - Include country of citizenship on resume.
  • Current or former Federal Civilian employees - All applicants outside of the AO must submit a copy of your latest SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action)to verify current or former Federal employment status.
  • Veterans Preference documentation - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), if applicable Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) and an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying to the veteran's present receipt of compensation.

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

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 10/02/2026 to receive consideration. To begin:

  • Apply Online to access an online application. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account.
  • You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application.
  • You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement.
  • To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12786352.

Agency contact information

Rosemarie Thompson
Address
Department of Administrative Services
One Columbus Circle, NE
Washington, DC 20544
US

Next steps

After a review of your complete application is made, you will be notified of your rating and referral to the hiring official if determined qualified. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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