Self Determination Officer

Clarification from the agency

This is a Merit Promotion announcement for career and career conditional Federal employees, I/CTAP eligibles and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

• Serves as Lead Awarding Official for P.L. 93-638 contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements, performing pre- and post-award functions and ensuring compliance with applicable statutes, regulations, and policies.
• Administers financial assistance and payment provisions for P.L. 93-638 agreements, including funding, cost reimbursement, obligations, distributions, and contract support funding.
• Reviews and analyzes tribal proposals and applications for completeness, accuracy, legal and regulatory compliance, funding limitations, and award readiness; coordinates internal reviews and resolves issues prior to award.
• Maintains official award files and records from proposal receipt through closeout, ensuring documentation supports contractual actions, financial accountability, audit requirements, and regulatory compliance.
• Monitors post-award performance and financial execution, identifies budget overages, shortfalls, and other issues, and recommends corrective actions to support successful agreement administration.
• Provides authoritative technical guidance and assistance to Self-Determination Specialists, USWFS staff, tribes, and tribal organizations on contracting methods, statutory authorities, waivers, financial requirements, and P.L. 93-638 program administration.
• Conducts and supports program reviews and compliance assessments of tribal self-determination programs; prepares findings, follow-up reports, and recommendations to address deficiencies and improve program operations.
• Develops and delivers training and technical assistance for USWFS and tribal personnel on P.L. 93-638 requirements, including financial, personnel, property, travel, indirect costs, contract support costs, and cost principles.
• Prepares reports and responds to information requests from departmental leadership; tracks appropriations and obligations, resolves discrepancies, and ensures timely and equitable distribution and utilization of P.L. 93-638 funds.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Must be 18 years of age at time of close date of announcement.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• Incumbent will be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

If new to the federal government, and this is your first appointment, as a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary periodduring which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 2 page resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time or part-time, hours must be included). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted.

Selective Placement Factor:
This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor will be rated not qualified.

• Either Level 1 or Level 2 Awarding Certification are required to be considered for this position. Under the Bureau's Awarding Official Certification System (AOCS), any incumbent designated or delegated to function as an Awarding Official for contracts and grants under the Indian Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 93-638) must obtain and maintain continual certification through the Bureau's certification system.

In addition to the above listed Selective Placement Factor you must also meet the Basic Qualification Requirements:

For the GS-13 level:
At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level, or higher in the Federal service, or equivalent. Examples of specialized experience include: Providing leadership and/or management of the Indian Self-Determination and the Education Assistance Act of 1975 (ISDEAA) as Amended and Public Law (P.L. 93-638) program activities. Serving as an Awarding Official providing advisory services to develop, coordinate, negotiate and award a variety of contracts and grants. Handling contract management, policy development reviews, negotiating and resolving administrative or management issues. Determining organizational training needs regarding self-determination and determining activities associated with the development of training and curriculum development to support the implementation of P.L. 93-638.


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). 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.

To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification and Time-In-Grade 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.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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 successful completion of additional assessments. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement:

• Resume: Must not exceed two single-sided pages. Resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. MUST clearly indicate duties and responsibilities for each position, employment dates (month/year), and total hours worked (e.g., 40+ hours/week, full-time, part-time). Part-time hours must be listed to prorate qualified specialized experience. If a resume is incomplete or does not support the minimum qualifications or specialized experience, a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be assigned and no further consideration given. If military or civilian, include your rank and/or grade.
  • Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions is prohibited and will not be reviewed.
• Complete All Required Assessments.
• Merit Promotion Eligibility Documentation, such as:
  • Federal employees must submit their latest SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action," reflecting career or career-conditional tenure (initial hire, promotion, or reassignment), showing position title, series, grade, and tenure (do not submit an Award SF-50). If different, also submit the SF-50 showing the highest permanent grade held. Time in grade will be determined from your resume and SF-50s.
  • If your most recent SF-50 is effective within the past year and does not clearly show one year of time-in-grade, submit an additional SF-50 (such as a Within Grade Increase) that does.
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA): Submit ALL Appointment and Termination SF-50s for EACH appointment, ALL performance evaluations for each qualifying period of temporary employment claimed, or a statement explaining any missing appraisal.
• Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan (I/CTAP): Submit proof of eligibility, including the agency notice, most recent performance rating, and SF-50 showing position, grade, and duty location. For more information, visit USAJOBS Help Center - Career Transition Programs (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).
• Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as:
• Veterans Preference Documentation
  • If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, submit a DD-214 (Member 4 copy) showing character of discharge or other acceptable documentation listed on the SF-15. If unavailable, request it from the National Archives.
  • If within 120 days of discharge, submit signed Armed Forces documentation certifying: (1) expected release/retirement date, (2) honorable conditions, (3) pay grade/rank/rate, (4) active duty dates, (5) campaign or expeditionary medals received, and (6) documentation dated within 120 days of separation.
  • If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, submit all documentation required by the SF-15 and, if applicable, a completed SF-15. A VA disability letter may be requested through eBenefits or by calling 1-800-827-1000.
• Performance Appraisals and Awards:
  • Submit your most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and supervisor's signature. If it is older than 18 months, submit a statement explaining why it is the most recent. OR
  • If no appraisal is available, submit a statement explaining why (including whether prior evaluations were at an acceptable level).

Failure to submit any required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents are submitted.

Do not submit photographs or Adobe portfolio documents with your application package.

Next steps