Financial Manager (Assistant Chief)

Clarification from the agency

First area of consideration: CTAP eligible Second Area of Consideration: Open to current, permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs,

Financial Manager serves as the full operating assistant to the facility Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Responsible for the overall operation, training, and production of each section or unit in Fiscal Service and for the coordination of their assigned functional activities to produce quality service.
Duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Makes the necessary determination as to the accounting, statistical, or fiscal/administrative procedures and techniques that will be employed to meet customer expectations.
• Serves as the full operating assistant to the facility Chief Financial Officer (CFO) responsible for the overall operation, training, and production of each section or unit in Fiscal Service and for the coordination of their assigned functional activities.
• Works jointly and in conjunction with the CFO in formulation, development, preparation, and execution of the annual budget plans and In administering the medical centers financial management program.
• Works with the CFO on interpretation of program objectives and developing procedures to attain these objectives, resolving Fiscal Service operating challenges, making decisions on cases which require interpretation of regulation, administrative rules, and organizational policy, with decisions having a material effect upon the planning, coordination, directing, and controlling of departmental objectives.
• Maintains an automated and fully integrated system of financial staff services.
• Assists the CFO in carrying out the duties and responsibilities for all the technical processes of budget formulation, development, review, and execution, which entails planning, coordinating, monitoring, and controlling expenditures.
• Responsible for interpretation of fiscal regulations; discussing any budget conditions contrary or out-of-line with the fiscal plan; composing of letters and correspondence to VACO/VISN concerning budget and fiscal matters; informing of any omissions of misstatement of obligations that appear in violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act; and preparation and interpretation of financial statements.
• Responsible for the Fiscal Service Quality Assurance, internal audit, and functional review programs to ensure that financial policies and procedures of the medical center are being complied with and that the program is effective.
• Coordinates studies and analyzes operations or systems on a continuous basis and coordinates special analytical reports, charts, and graphs for management, such as reports on status of medical center funds and other indicated statistical reports used as guides in the management decision making process.
• Provides leadership support to the Supervisory Accountant, Payroll, Travel, Budget, Accounts Receivable, and Agent Cashier staff.
• Provides authoritative policy interpretations and functional recommendations concerning fixed and variable costs as they relate to modeling and resolves major challenges that may arise in a quality focused process system that Integrates multiple, automated financial management systems such as IFCAP, PAID, FMS, DSS, and Fee System.
• Collaborates with the CFO establishing organizational structure and guidelines, performance standards, work review, and reporting requirements and defining the line of authority and supervisory controls essential to carry out the mission of Fiscal Service.
• Assists in initiating and fostering a partnership environment with the service for decisions related to service projects, hearing/resolving subordinates' complaints, taking disciplinary actions, identifying developmental and training needs of employees, establishing long-term and short-term goals for the service, and approving expenses and awards.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 0730-1600
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Financial Manager (Assistant Chief)/PD050740
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/11/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Individual Occupational Requirements: is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived. The Individual Occupational Requirement for the 0505 Occupation Series is:

Degree: accounting; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting. The 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in business law. (The term "accounting" means "accounting and/or auditing" in this standard. Similarly, "accountant" should be interpreted, generally, as "accountant and/or auditor.")
OR
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. The applicant's background must also include one of the following:

1. Twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality. This can include up to 6 hours of business law;
2. A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; or
3. 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 A, 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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience with day-to-day management of financial operations, including budget formulation and execution. Providing direct supervision; Developing, implementing, directing and managing projects and administrative operations of a large decentralized organization; Establishing priorities and meeting deadlines for a full range of organizational activities (i.e. short- and long-range planning, determination and management of resources, budgeting, review and improvement of program activities, etc.); Experience in managing the function of work to be performed, leading, directing and assigning work of personnel. Developing local budget instructions and policies within the framework of mandatory requirements; Monitoring the operation of the data processing systems interface for information exchange between pay systems. Performing test audits to determine validity and accuracy of accounting records and application of accounting controls; Analyzing problems, gathering and coordinating information, and integrating independent recommendations and actions; Analyzing operating costs and distributing operating funds. Use of theory, principles, concepts and practices of financial management; experience with legislation, statutes, regulations, policies and procedures to develop policy documents; experience with concepts, principles, practices, laws and regulations which apply to budgeting for substantive national programs and services.
• Preferred Experience: VHA accounting and budget experience

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Accounting
• Auditing
• Financial Management
• Financial Systems
• Internal Controls
• Oral Communication
• Problem Solving

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Work is generally sedentary but requires some bending, walking, standing, lifting and carrying various reports to areas of the Medical Center. Working at the computer for long periods of time.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Cover Letter
• Performance Appraisal
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Next steps