Supervisory Accountant, GS-0510-15, FPL 15 (ST)

Clarification from the agency

Current federal civilian employees in the competitive service on permanent career or career-conditional appointments; Former federal employees with reinstatement eligibility; Current federal employees eligible under Interchange Agreements; and, Applicants eligible under special hiring authorities (Schedule A, etc.). If you do not meet one of these categories, you may apply under the concurrently advertised vacancy announcement: ED-OFO-27-13099188-DE, which is open to all United States Citizens.

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 200 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 200th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first. We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As a Supervisory Accountant, GS-0510-15, FPL 15 (ST), GS-0510-15, you will be responsible for

• Directs and oversees Departmental cash reporting, accounting reconciliations, and reconciliation of payment subsystems to ensure accurate and reliable financial information.
• Provides authoritative accounting guidance, develops financial management policies and procedures, and resolves complex accounting and financial management issues.
• Directs analytical studies, coordinates with Departmental officials, and advises senior management on financial management issues, operational risks, and recommended improvements.
• Supervises professional accounting staff, establishes work priorities, assigns and evaluates work, and exercises personnel management responsibilities.

Conditions of employment

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has interagency agreements (IAAs) with other agencies to ensure efficient delivery of funded programs and activities and move closer to fulfilling the President's promise to return education to the states. Employees may receive detail assignments to these agencies in support of the IAAs.

Condition of Employment:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary or 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 OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

If you are a current federal employee, you must meet all time-in-grade and time-after competitive appointment qualifications within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. To verify that you meet these requirements, we will review your responses to the core eligibility questions on the occupational questionnaire, as well as your submitted resume and required documents. To make an accurate determination, you will need to include on your resume your federal position title, pay plan, occupational series, grade level, agency, dates for which you held the grade level (stated as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY, OR MM/YYYY to PRESENT), and total hours worked per week. 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).

Key Requirements:

• Relocation will not be paid.
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
• You may be subject to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period.
• Must be a US Citizen.
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Must complete Background Investigation/ Fingerprint check.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements

You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-15, if you possess the specialized experience.

Specialized Experience for the GS-15
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-14 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

1. Experience directing or overseeing complex accounting operations, including cash management, financial reconciliations, or financial reporting, to ensure the accuracy and reliability of financial information.
2. Experience interpreting Federal accounting and financial management requirements, developing or recommending accounting policies and procedures, and resolving complex accounting or financial reporting issues.
3. Experience leading professional accounting work, establishing priorities, evaluating accounting operations, and providing technical guidance or recommendations to management on complex financial management matters.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1. Knowledge of Federal accounting principles, cash management practices, financial reporting standards, and reconciliation requirements sufficient to analyze financial transactions, prepare accurate reports, and resolve discrepancies.
2. Ability to analyze complex accounting issues, interpret Federal financial management requirements, and develop appropriate solutions.
3. Ability to evaluate financial information, communicate findings, and advise senior officials on accounting and financial management matters.
4. Ability to lead and supervise professional accounting operations, evaluate performance, and manage competing priorities.

How you will be evaluated

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

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):
- A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points. If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualifications determination.

• Transcript: This position has a positive education requirement and requires proof of education for eligibility. You must submit an unofficial transcript that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, major(s), grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts. This also applies to ED employees.
• If you are a current or former federal employee (including current U.S. Department of Education employees), you must also submit: - A Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50), which demonstrates your competitive status eligibility. To verify your eligibility, we will review your SF-50 to determine your tenure (block 24) and position occupied (block 34). Examples of sufficient SF-50s include appointments, promotions, within-grade increases, and pay adjustments. If you currently hold or previously held a federal position at or above the highest grade of this position or you have/had promotion potential at or above the highest grade of this position, you must also submit an SF-50 documenting your highest grade level held or promotion potential. Examples of sufficient SF-50s include appointments and promotions. - A Copy of your most recent Performance Appraisal and Awards, as applicable. Your performance appraisal and awards are requested to further assess the quality of your experience should your application be referred to the selecting official.
• If you are claiming eligibility under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA), you must submit: - A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR - A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR - The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference.
• If you are claiming eligibility under any Special Hiring Authority, you must submit: - Adequate proof of your eligibility (e.g., Documentation of noncompetitive eligibility as a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Documentation of noncompetitive eligibility for employment under Schedule A as a person with severe physical disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and intellectual disabilities.)
• Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP/CTAP)?
  • If you are a current or former Federal employee who was displaced (for example, due to a Reduction-in-Force) and want priority consideration, you must submit the documents listed below.
    • Required documents for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration (All are required): 1. Proof that you were displaced, such as Reduction-in-Force (RIF) notice or notice of proposed removal.
      • SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Action) showing:
        • RIF as the Nature of Action (Box 5B)
        • Career or career-conditional status (Box 24 must be 1 or 2)
        • Competitive status (Box 34 must be 1)
        • Promotion potential or full performance level of the position from which you were or are being displaced. This is likely your appointment SF-50 for that position.
        • Duty location
      • Your most recent performance appraisal showing a rating of Fully Successful or higher.
  • Your Federal position at the time you were displaced must be within the local commuting area for a location listed in this announcement. The definition of local commuting area varies based on duty location and hiring agency policy. To receive priority consideration, you must also be found well-qualified, which means you score 75 or higher based on this announcement's assessment rating criteria.

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