Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current permanent Federal employees (status candidates), and individuals eligible for any of the following special hiring authorities: Military Spouses, Veterans Employment Opportunities Act, VRA, 30% or more disabled veterans, Schedule A, current/permanent employees who are CTAP eligible, ICTAP eligible current/former federal employees, Land Management, Reinstatement eligibles, Transfer employees in Competitive service, and Interchange eligibles.

As a Program Manager (Deputy Director) at the GS-0340-15, some of your typical work assignments may include:

• Ensures call center operations comply with applicable laws and regulations, safeguarding government funds, property, and assets from waste, loss, or unauthorized use.
• Shares responsibility with the Center Director for all aspects of call center administration, including operations, budgeting, technology, telecommunications, public relations, and interagency coordination.
• Serves as a recognized authority on CSC call center operations and the Disaster Loan Assistance Program, representing the Director and/or senior SBA officials in meetings with Congress, federal agencies, state and local partners, and private organizations.
• Supervises and develops call center staff, directly or through subordinate supervisors, by assigning work, evaluating performance, identifying training needs, and resolving personnel or technical issues.
• Analyzes disaster trends and operational performance to identify issues, recommend solutions, and enhance the overall effectiveness and efficiency of call center operations.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. citizenship is required.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government travel credit card.
• Favorable background investigation and credit check are required.
• You must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date.
• A one-year supervisory/Managerial probationary period may be required.
• You may be required to complete a one-year probationary period for non-supervisors if you fail to complete the one-year supervisory probationary period.
• This position is not included in a bargaining unit.
• Selectee is required to report to the Customer Service Center located in Buffalo, NY (No relocations expenses provided).
• If required to travel to a disaster site, you may encounter hazardous working and/or living conditions, for example, no water or electricity and/or minimal lodging facilities.

Qualifications

Federal status applicants must meet both Time-In-Grade AND experience requirements by the closing date of this announcement. However, if you have separated from the Federal Government for at least 52 weeks, you are not subject to the Time-in-Grade requirement.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: GS-15: Must have held grade GS-14 for 52 weeks.

You may qualify based on experience as indicated above. Qualification Standards: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Group-Standards

Experience: To receive credit, you must indicate the month and year as well as the average hours worked per week for each employer. Average work hours must be stated on the resume to quantify each period of work experience or that experience will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. You must address the specific specialized experience required for each grade level of this position on your resume or application or you will be rated "Ineligible" for that grade level.

GS-15: To qualify you must have at least 1 full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the GS-14 level in the Federal service that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skill, and ability to perform successfully in this position. This experience may have been gained in a Non-Federal service position. In addition, this Specialized Experience must demonstrate the following:

• Developing and implementing the strategy, policies, procedures and/or standards for the efficient operation of an organization, such as a Federal, State or local government program office, department, or field office; and
• Overseeing, managing, or advising on the day-to-day operations of a financial organization/program or a customer service call center; and
• Supervising a large, diverse fluctuating workforce and making recommendations or decisions on staffing requirements; and
• Writing communications for internal and external customers to convey information such as policies, guidelines, operating procedures, position statements, funding requests/justifications, etc.; and
• Communicating orally and representing the organization in meetings with senior/high-level government officials or private sector executives.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications website: Program Management Series 0340 (opm.gov)

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.

TIME-IN-GRADE: If you are a current career or career-conditional federal employee applying for promotion under Merit Promotion you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks in positions at the next level lower than the position being filled

GS-15 positions: There is no education substitution for this grade level.

All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 12/03/2025.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application and resume will be compared to the answer you give to the minimum qualification question (s) on the assessment questionnaire.

Your resume should not exceed two pages and must demonstrate the specialized experience related to the position for which you are applying. If your resume goes beyond two pages, we will only consider the first two pages for the required experience as outline in the specialized experience.

Your application will be reviewed to determine if you meet all the Specialized Experience required at each grade level. If you do not, you will be rated "Ineligible". If you are minimally qualified you will receive a numeric rating which is based on your responses to the questionnaire, including any narrative responses. The numeric score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills and abilities required of this position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience your score can and may be adjusted downward to reflect the submitted application material.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP eligible. View information about CTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. You must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement. To be considered well qualified under CTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.

In order 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 an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
1. Your Resume showing hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. Your resume should not exceed two pages and must demonstrate the specialized experience related to the position for which you are applying. If your resume goes beyond two pages, we will only consider the first two pages for the required experience as outlined in the specialized experience.
2. Other supporting documents, such as:

• College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
  • Unofficial transcripts may be submitted during the application process; however, official transcripts will be required if selected.
• Veterans' documentation, if applicable (e.g. DD-214 Member Copy 4 or other Member Copy showing type of discharge/character of service, SF-15 Form and related documentation, VA letter, etc.)
• Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable (e.g. Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.)
• If you are a current or former Federal employee, submit a copy of your official SF-50 or other official "Notification of Personnel Action" document that shows the following information to verify your eligibility for consideration as a status applicant:
  • your appointment in the competitive or excepted service
  • tenure
  • grade, step and salary
  • highest grade held or full performance level of current or prior position (as applicable).

DO NOT SEND YOUR RESUME OR ANY APPLICATION DOCUMENTS TO THE AGENCY CONTACT.

Your latest resume submitted for this position will be used for qualification determinations and supersedes previous submissions.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:
1. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) or Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP):
If you are claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, provide a copy of your most recent annual performance appraisal (which must show at least a "fully successful" rating or equivalent), and proof of eligibility, i.e., a RIF separation notice or Certification of Expected Separation, and SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. In addition to meeting all qualification requirements and selective placement factors (if applicable), CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must meet the Well-Qualified criteria with a score of 85 or above based on the competencies listed above for the position in order to be given priority consideration. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is also on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at: CTAP/ICTAP http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.
2. If you are a veteran applying under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) Appointing Authority or for any other Appointment based on your military service, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 copy showing type of discharge/character of service or other proof of creditable service.
3. If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/59 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered, or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.

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