Duties

Summary

Come be a part of the innovative highly skilled Next Gen team within Federal Student Aid!

The Next Gen initiative is transforming Federal Student Aid to provide a world-class student aid customer experience using industry best-in-class financial services technologies to provide better outcomes for students and greater value to taxpayers. We are deploying a mobile-first mobile-complete digital customer service experience.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

At Federal Student Aid (FSA), we are proud sponsors of the American mind. As a principal office of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), FSA provides students and families financial assistance for higher education, and we promote the value of postsecondary education to society. We ensure that all eligible students and families can benefit from federal financial aid for education or training beyond high school.

FSA is the largest provider of student financial aid in the nation, providing billions each year in grants, loans, and work-study funds to students attending college or career schools.

If you join us, you will be among a team of experts responsible for helping millions of students achieve their goals. Every part of our team-including operations, student aid delivery and servicing, vendor and contract management, and budgeting and cost control-plays an essential role in achieving our mission.

FSA is the largest organization within ED and has approximately 1,400 employees located in our Washington, DC headquarters and in 10 regional offices throughout the country.

This position is located in FSA, Chief Operating Office, Policy, Liaisons, and Implementation Group in Washington, DC . The Policy, Liaison, and Implementation Group is responsible for the performance of a variety of program-related assignments. The incumbent reviews plans, analyzes and develops program requirements for the Experimental Site Initiative and the Direct Loan Program, establishes and revises operating procedures, reviews operations, aggregates and accesses program data, and provides technical assistance.

As a Management and Program Analyst GS-0343-13 you will be responsible for the following:

• Serves as an agency expert on the Experimental Sites Initiative and the Direct Loan Program.
• Prepares concise and cogent written summaries, reports, and other written products that require minimal changes.
• Provides authoritative advice and consultation to ED officials and customers. Recommends new approaches and alternatives to address current or anticipated problems.
• Negotiates acceptable agreements to resolve conflicts and controversial disputes. Elicits support of program officials, customers and other concerned parties.
• Provides leadership in formulating methods for getting results through cooperative efforts.
• Develops national guideline material for Title IV, HEA programs. Develops and applies new methods and techniques to solve problems where existing guides are largely inapplicable.
• Studies new and proposed legislation and regulations to determine impact on the program.
• Gathers and analyzes data to inform program operations and assess program outcomes.
• Edits Title IV, Federal Student Aid Handbook and other related written materials.
• Plans and manages multiple projects and makes recommendations to senior leadership; drafts responses to inquiries, and adjusts to fluctuating assignments and workloads.

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - 7 nights per year

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizen
• Background and Fingerprinting (if applicable)
• Must serve probationary period

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy 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, knowledge, and skills, and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Group-Standards

Specialized Experience for the GS-13
One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 performing at least two (2) of the following three (3) duties or work assignments:
1. Experience in writing concise and cogent summaries, reports, and other written products.
2. Experience in Federal Student Aid programs such as the Experimental Sites Initiative and the Direct Loan Program.
3. Experience in performing program analysis and adjust to changing legislative and regulatory priorities.

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. Comprehensive knowledge of the range of laws, regulations, principles and methods applicable to the Title IV, HEA program sufficient to provide authoritative advice and develop new approaches.
2. Skill in oral and written communications sufficient to advise and consult with a variety of customers, present findings and recommendations, negotiate agreements, and secure cooperation.
3. Comprehensive knowledge of program objectives and requirements sufficient to resolve controversial disputes, address problems not susceptible to resolution by existing methods, and develop alternative approaches.
4. Ability to deal with diverse audiences relative to program analysis and legislative/regulatory changes.

Education

Additional information

Equal Employment Opportunity: We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a parent, marital status, or political affiliation.

People with Disabilities: We are committed to expanding access to employment by hiring people with disabilities; providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities; and, identifying and removing barriers to work. Persons with disabilities, including disabled veterans, may apply for jobs filled either competitively (where qualified individuals compete with one another through a structured process), noncompetitively (where a qualified individual may be selected based on a special hiring authority), or through an excepted appointing authority for people with disabilities (i.e., Schedule A). If you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please contact us. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation is made on a case-by-case basis. For more information, please visit: http://opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp

Veterans' Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email Iwork@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor ("Veterans Counseling Session" should be placed in the subject line of the email).

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959, you must have registered for the Selective Service. For more information, please visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Registering_with_the_Selective_Service_before_you_apply or
http://www.sss.gov/default.htm.

Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.

Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and subject to a pre-appointment investigation/background check.

Level of Risk and Sensitivity: Level of this position is Modern Risk Public Trust.

Probationary Period: If selected for this position, you will be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period.

Essential/Non-Essential: This position is considered non-essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures.

Financial Disclosure: This position does not require a financial disclosure.

Telework: This position is telework eligible.

Bargaining Unit: This position is in the bargaining unit

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

1. Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications
Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements.

2. Rating and Ranking
If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required KSAs by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. Your application may be referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation.

Based on the outcome of this evaluation, you will be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified.

If your responses to the occupational questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.

Veterans' Preference: Qualified veterans' preference eligibles will be ranked ahead of qualified non-preference eligibles within each category for which they are qualified. Qualified veterans' preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more (CPS and CP) will be placed at the top of the Best Qualified category, except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 grade level or higher.

3. Referral and Selection
If you are found to be amongst the most highly qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.

If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process or written assessment or exercise, please inform the selecting official at the time of scheduling.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are amongst the most highly qualified applicants and referred for consideration, you may be asked to complete an additional assessment to evaluate your written skills and analytical abilities as they relate to the qualifications for this position.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

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.
• A completed occupational questionnaire.

AS A PART OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS, INTERVIEWEES WILL BE ASKED TO PRODUCE A WRITING SAMPLE.

If you are claiming Veterans' Preference, you must submit:
• A copy of your DD214, member copy 4 (Separated Members only).
• A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions. A "certification" is any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions within 120 days after the certification is submitted by the applicant. The certification letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service. (Current Active Duty Members only).
• The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15)
https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference (e.g., a letter from the Department of Veterans' Affairs certifying the service-connected disability and percentage of disability) (if claiming preference based on a service-connected disability or derived preference).

If you are claiming selection priority under Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), please visit:
CTAP: http://www.ed.gov/about/jobs/open/edhires/ctap.html
ICTAP: http://www.ed.gov/about/jobs/open/edhires/ictap.html

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.