Duties

Summary

The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Office of Budget and Policy (TBP), Office of Financial Management (OFM) has the responsibility for improving and operating an accounting and financial management system that provides management with accurate and timely financial data to be used in the decision-making process.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As the Supervisory Operating Accountant, you will:

• Manage the daily operations of the Division which includes financial reporting and analysis; continuous implementation, development and update of FTA accounting policy, procedures, processes and standards; coordination of the annual Chief Financial Officer's (CFO) financial statements audit; coordination of annual OMB Circular A-123 Internal Controls review; and coordination of the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA).
• Provide expert advice and guidance to the staff in the coordination of all activities related to the mission and functions of the office.
• Provide expert advice, guidance and direction on all FTA financial analysis and reporting matters to other FTA offices (i.e., Budget, Acquisitions, and Program Management), grantees and other agencies.
• Maintain current familiarization with authoritative accounting and financial management regulations and requirements.
• Draft, develop, and/or update Division policy, operating procedures and guidelines in concurrence with requirements for coordination and/or approval by the Director of the Office of Financial Management.

This position is ideal for a career professional accountant who has excellent analytical, communication, and leadership skills.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must meet specialized experience stated in Qualifications section
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the mandatory education and specialized experience requirements.

To qualify for the Grade 15, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-14, it must include:

• Experience advising on accounting policies, procedures, and reporting requirements in the Federal Government.
• Experience with Federal statutes and regulations governing the accounting work of an agency.
• Experience analyzing, reviewing, and evaluating financial information for the purposes of preparing Federal agency's financial statements, and utilizing federal financial management systems.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

• Accounting Operations: Knowledge of general ledger accounting and the control/subsidiary account relationships and reconciliation techniques, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, and disbursing officer's accountability.
• Leadership: Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations.
• Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
• Principles of Accounting: Knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles, standards, and practices (for example, double entry accounting, accrual accounting), including the full accounting cycle and the preparation of work sheets, financial statements, ledgers, and journals.
• Oral Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

For all types of consideration, 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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Degree: accounting; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting. The 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in business law. (The term "accounting" means "accounting and/or auditing" in this standard. Similarly, "accountant" should be interpreted, generally, as "accountant and/or auditor.") OR

Combination of education and experience: at least 4 years of experience in accounting, or an equivalent combination of accounting experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional accounting knowledge. The applicant's background must also include one of the following:

Twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality. This can include up to 6 hours of business law;

A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; or

Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in accounting or auditing, e.g., 15 semester hours, but that does not fully satisfy the 24-semester-hour requirement of paragraph A, provided that (a) the applicant has successfully worked at the full-performance level in accounting, auditing, or a related field, e.g., valuation engineering or financial institution examining; (b) a panel of at least two higher level professional accountants or auditors has determined that the applicant has demonstrated a good knowledge of accounting and of related and underlying fields that equals in breadth, depth, currency, and level of advancement that which is normally associated with successful completion of the 4-year course of study described in paragraph A; and (c) except for literal non-conformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, the applicant's education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements.

Additional information

This vacancy may be used by any DOT agency to fill similar positions within 90 days.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.

Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position, must indicate interest in the assessment. In eligibility question 14: select Yes/Other/Former Incumbency of a Position brought into the Competitive Service. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.

Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package. If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk

Trust determination process

Required Documents

ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and was created within USA Jobs Resume Builder and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy. Formatted resumes can be uploaded when you arrive at the DOT application system. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/documents/resume/build/

The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position and consideration for which you are applying.

Required for ALL Applicants

RESUME - Must include resume created within USA Jobs Resume Builder. Resume must show relevant experience, education and fully support the required specialized experience. May also upload resume, if desired, but application must include USAJobs BUILT resume.

COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE - answered online as part of application process

TRANSCRIPTS: Transcripts are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series.

FEDERAL APPLICANTS: For consideration as a federal employee, you must submit a SF-50 that verifies your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant. DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50, current SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50. Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks' time-in-grade requirements. https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/service/SF-50/

PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive due weight, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.)

If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP):

• your most recent performance appraisal,
• the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
• your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.
• YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL 3 documents and meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85) to be considered under CTAP.

Displaced employees may be eligible for CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition .

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.

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.