Duties

The Senior Financial Specialist serves as a Level 3 Contracting Officer and may serve as a first-line supervisor over one or more finance and/or support personnel and ensures compliance with the appropriate guidelines, policies, and internal controls. The incumbent analyzes agency resources, goals, mission, needs, and external predictors to formulate an initial draft of the Commission's overall budget. The incumbent performs a customer service function across the Commission staff and at all levels of the agency and must be able to manage multiple tasks simultaneously. The Senior Financial Specialist is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the work and ensuring that the Commission's Office of Finance is in compliance with appropriate, policies, and procedures by consulting best practices and determining the appropriate policies and procedures that apply to the Commission. These sources include the General Services Administration; the Office of the Comptroller General (i.e., Comp. Gen. Decisions); Guide to Judiciary Policy; Volume 13, Finance and Budget; Volume 14, Procurement; Volume 19, Travel and Relocation; and other resources regularly consulted by Finance when conducting research and completing assignments.

DUTIES

• Analyzes Commission resources, goals, mission, needs, and external predictors to prepare an initial draft of the Commission's budget. Works with the staff director and director of the Office of Administration and Technology to refine budget proposal. Prepares budget analysis and drafts justification documents with the director of the Office of Administration and Technology for the agency's annual appropriations request.
• Analyzes spending patterns using various financial and personnel/payroll reports and takes the lead in short-range and long-range budget planning. Prepares budget projections to meet Commission goals.
• Assists in the reporting of the budget and the preparation of the agency's appropriations materials (i.e., reports, tables, narratives, briefing materials).
• Serves as a lead Contracting Officer for the Commission and handles procurement activity including the planning, preparing statements of work, source selection plans, contract performance reviews, contract closeout, and maintenance of audit proof contract files. Using a wide variety of cost and contract types (fixed price, labor hour, option year, etc.), assesses requests for contract services. analyzes and compares bids, negotiates contracts, and administers and monitors contract management activities.
• Responsible for maintaining multiple financial management and accounting systems with an eye towards systems improvements. This includes monitoring and analyzing spending patterns; providing status reports and special reports for use by management to review the funding situation and actual performance against the spending plan.
• Reconciles accounts (including payroll) and monitoring spending in order to compare budget plans to actual obligations and expenditures
• Manages a travel program (in conjunction with another Senior Financial Specialist) that includes management of centrally and individually billed travel credit cards, hotel room contracts, travel orders and authorizations.
• Conducts research and analysis of travel, appropriations, procurement, and federal acquisition regulations, laws and policies to offer financial oversight, technical advice, assistance, and support to staff, and makes recommendations to management on financial matters.
• Provides financial management and oversight of actual obligations and expenditures and prepares monthly status of funds reports for agency leadership.
• Codifies best practices and procedures into appropriate internal controls documents.
• Represents the Commission by participating in meetings with, providing information to, and obtaining information from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO). Information provided is of a program or financial nature and reflects Commission policies, goals, and priorities.
• Ensures information on the Commission's intranet with respect to finance is current and available for staff.
• Completes other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Qualifications

MANDATORY QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must have demonstrated work experience related to the mandatory requirements listed below and must address the qualification requirements in an attached cover letter.

• Knowledge and demonstrated work experience in the areas of procurement, accounting, budgeting.
• Experience using and maintaining automated financial systems and ability to formulate and extract data for reporting purposes.
• Successful completion of a Bachelor's Degree.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Excel and proficiency in MS Word;

One year of specialized work experience equivalent to the previous level in the federal service is required. For example, one year of specialized experience at the GS-12 level is required to qualify for appointment at the GS-13 level. Specialized experience is defined as progressively responsible work experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities that will enable the individual to successfully perform the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in, and knowledge of, federal contracting laws, regulations, principles, policies, and procedures to develop and issue solicitations and contracts.
• Experience in budget formulation within the federal government.
• Federal Court Experience.
• Demonstrated experience identifying procedures that need improvement, recommending changes, and implementing changes.
• Experience providing superlative customer service.

BENEFITS
The Commission participates in the following federal benefits: The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program; the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program, federal retirement, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), and the federal leave program. In addition, the Commission participates in the Judiciary's Flexible Spending Program for dependent care, health care, and commuter reimbursement, and the government-wide Long Term Care Insurance Program, unemployment, and workers' compensation benefits.

The Commission offers a monthly transit subsidy to employees who use mass transit to commute to and from work, subject to the availability of funds. The Commission offers alternative work schedules (AWS), which are fixed work schedules that enable full-time employees to complete the basic 80-hour biweekly work requirement in less than 10 workdays.

The Commission offers regular telework (not full-time) to employees in positions deemed eligible by the staff director and who meet the requirements of an approved telework arrangement in which an employee performs official duties at home or at an approved telework site.

The Commission also offers training opportunities to employees through LinkedIn Learning, and the Judiciary's Online University, which offers academic credit and professional credit programs through web-based learning. These training tools assist Commission employees with taking online courses in a flexible way, by offering training courses in the areas of: staff training and development; credit toward undergraduate degree programs; continuing education and non-credit certificate programs; executive education; contract training; credit credentials courses for continuing professional education and credit for individuals who hold credentials and achieve certifications associated with several globally-recognized sponsored organizations.

Education

Applicants must possess a minimum of a bachelor's degree.

Additional information

• This position is in the excepted service and does not carry the tenure rights of positions in the competitive Civil Service.
• All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.
• Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration for Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship or, for noncitizens, proof of authorization to work in the United States and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/ . For a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf .
• The Commission participates in E-Verify and will confirm your authorization to work in the United States.
• A background security investigation is required for all selectees. Appointment will be subject to a selectee's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements may be grounds for appropriate personnel action. A background security reinvestigation or supplemental investigation may be required at a later time.
• All new Commission employees must identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment, mandated by the Federal Compensation Act.
• All new Commission employees, those converted from a temporary appointment to a permanent appointment, and all rehired former Commission employees are required to serve a one-year probationary period. The probationary period begins on the effective date of the employee's appointment, conversion, or rehire.
• Applicant must relocate to the Washington DC Metropolitan area.
• On January 21, 2022, a nationwide preliminary injunction was issued against the enforcement of Executive Order 14043, which imposed a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for federal employees in the Executive Branch. The preliminary injunction, like the executive order at issue, does not apply to the Commission and may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation. However, the Commission has suspended enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for current and new employees, set forth in the Commission's COVID-19 Vaccination Protocol, pending the outcome of such litigation. To ensure a safe workplace, the remaining requirements of this protocol remain in effect, including the proof-of-vaccination requirement, requirements for employees who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or who do not provide proof thereof, and requirements for employees testing positive for COVID-19.