Clarification from the agency

Open to current and former Federal employees with competitive status and VEOA Applicants.

As a Financial Analyst, you will:

• Identify, consider and resolve a variety of financial and/or budget-related policy issues, questions and problems related to the agency financial management program.
• Perform budget work for internal operating programs in support of all phases or systems involved in budget administration including the formulation, presentation, and execution of a budget.
• Assure timely and accurate financial and accounting data and reporting to ensure that the accounting operations provide reliable and timely information utilizing computer systems, program and software typically used in the financial field.
• Serve as office COTR as directed by office Director and represents the office in procurement process and as liaison on all contracting matters with the Acquisition Services Division.
• Communicate with colleagues and provide financial advice and performs financial assistance work for the Office of the Under Secretary’s operating programs such as, education, research, operations and/or grant programs in direct support of the mission or objectives of program offices involving financial transactions and appropriations covering funds of one-year, multi-year, and no year funds of the Policy Office.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE STATEMENT: OST is looking for an experienced motivated and self-reliant candidate willing implement and monitor an organization’s budget and project budget plans involving various sources and different types of funding in accordance with program plans and regulations with skilled professionals who ensure the safety and fairness of the transportation industry. This position is located in the DOT building, which sits directly across the street from the Metro and a few blocks away from the National’s Baseball stadium.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
• You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the education and specialized experience requirements.

To qualify for the Grade 14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include:

• Experience formulating, executing, forecasting, and analyzing budgets using various methods to determine projections and recommend necessary adjustments to meet established funding levels; AND
• Experience utilizing automated accounting and financial management systems to analyze budget trends and impact on program operations.

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 areas:

• Financial Management - Prepare, justify, and/or administer the budget for program areas; plan, administer, and monitor expenditures to ensure cost-effective support of programs and policies; assess financial condition of an organization.
• Budget Administration - Knowledge of the principles and practices of budget administration and analysis; including preparing, justifying, reporting on, and executing the budget; and the relationships among program, budget, accounting, and reporting systems.
• Federal Funds Processing - Knowledge of methods and procedures for processing direct and reimbursable program funds (for example, automatic and funded reimbursements, interagency agreements, transfer appropriations), grants, loans, and credit programs.
• Planning and Evaluating - Organize work, sets priorities, and determine resource requirements; determine short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinate with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitor progress and evaluates outcomes.
• Communications - Express information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); make clear and convincing presentations; listen to others, attend to nonverbal cues, and respond appropriately; and write in a clear.

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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

Your application will be reviewed in two phases determine how you move forward in the hiring process.  Phase I: Your resume will be reviewed to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. ONLY two (2) pages of your resume will be reviewed. Additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume) will not be reviewed.  Applicants passing “Phase I” will move on to the “Phase II” of the assessment process where your application will be reviewed and rated based on the KSAs/Competencies listed in the vacancy announcement by a Subject Matter Expert (SME).

RESUME: In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application.  These should be legible and in a readable font size. A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages. 

Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time, or average number of hours worked per week,  and position titles.  If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level.  The resume should show relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience.  

PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and forwarded to the selecting official in consideration of your application. To receive credit, submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).

VETERANS: Your last DD214 (member 4 copy), Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility.  

• If applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214 (member-4 copy).
• If claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability.  An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
• If applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) (https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214 (member-4 copy), which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.

FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit SF-50(s) that verify your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant.  DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50.  Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks’ time-in-grade requirements.  https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/service/sf-50

NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.

DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: 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 80) 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.

Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.

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.

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