Clarification from the agency

This position is open to FSA Nationwide permanent agency employees/FSA permanent County employees and USDA CTAP/RPL eligibles.

• Conducts interviews with loan applicants, reviews loan applications, and makes preliminary inquiries to develop factual information to assess the eligibility of applicants.
• Providing technical advice, guidance, and credit counseling to loan applicants and borrowers.
• Has delegated loan approval authority to approve loans within a specific limit.
• Applies knowledge of agency farm loan programs and eligibility requirements.
• Applies technical knowledge of farm financing and credit, financial management concepts and practices, farm operations, land use and value, production and marketing of various crops and livestock, and prices and markets in the serviced farming areas.
• This position works in a developmental capacity receiving on-the-job and classroom training in the administration of farm loan programs.
• These positions assist the Farm Loan Manager in administering farm loan programs in a USDA Service Center serving one or more Counties.
• Upon completion of training program, FLOs may be reassigned, at any time, to a different duty station if workload activity changes or vacancies occur.
• Farm Loan Officers (FLOs) are required to successfully complete all of the requirements of the Farm Loan Training Program. FLOs may be reassigned to another training office during their training program.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected you will be sent instruction on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Required to submit Confidential Financial Disclosure Report Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter for the GS-11 grade level.
• This position requires "Agricultural Loan Approval Authority" for the GS-11 grade level.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts.

Individual Occupational Requirements
Education

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or other fields related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology.

-or-

Experience

General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Experience that required gathering and analyzing facts and figures and presenting the information or conclusions in clear oral and written language; or that provided a knowledge of the principles of financial analysis or of insurance laws, such as contract, property, life, casualty, or marine insurance.

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience that demonstrated competence in agricultural, commercial, realty, or other types of loans. Experience may have been gained in such work as reviewing and passing upon applications for agricultural, commercial, bank or mortgage loans; servicing a loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; performing financial analysis of commercial concerns for investment purposes; appraising real estate to determine property valuation; or similar work.

In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below.

General Experience Requirement
For the GS-5 grade level: You must have three years of general experience, one year of which was equivalent to at least GS-4 grade level.
Education at the GS-05 grade level: Four-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree

Advancement to positions up to GS-5: Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest non-temporary competitive appointment.

Specialized Experience Requirement
For the GS-7 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service.
Education at the GS-07 grade level: One full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement
Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. SAA is based on:

1. Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses, OR
2. Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR
3. Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).

For the GS-9 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service.
Education at the GS-09 grade level: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher- level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related

Time-in-Grade Requirement for the GS-9: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the GS-7 grade level. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. of this announcement.

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 your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package.

Your application will be reviewed to determine if you meet minimum qualification requirements as described in the qualifications section of the job announcement.

Additionally, the application involves a Technical Assessment. It is the applicant's responsibility to monitor their email for additional information about assessments and any deadlines that may need to be met.

Structured Interview - Competency Responses: A panel of subject matter experts will review your responses during a Structured Interview. These responses to questions/scenarios will be evaluated to provide your rating in the application process. You will be assessed in the following competencies:

• Agricultural Production
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Financial Analysis
• Oral Communication
• Problem Solving

Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates based on the technical assessment will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit: Application Preview

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

• Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages.
• If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, official transcripts will be required prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation, and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
• Current Federal employees:
  • Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are in the competitive service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade -AND-
  • Most 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. A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute.
• Current permanent FSA County employees: MUST submit your most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing your highest grade held on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade -AND-
  • Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) per above.
• Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
• If claiming eligibility under a special hiring authority or an interchange agreement with another merit system not listed above, see the requirements for that authority and submit the required supporting documentation. Go to: USAJOBS Hiring Path for Special Authorities or Special Hiring Authority for more information.

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