Duties

Summary

These positions are in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Controller, Accounting and Cost Analysis Division, multiple branches. If selected, you must work at the location stated in this announcement. About Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

At the entry level of this position, you will:

- Serve as a professional accountant applying a wide variety of established accounting and financial rules.

- Provide technical advice and assistance on accounting transactions.

- Utilize professional accounting knowledge to follow policies, regulations, procedures.

- Perform all aspects of the accounting function, including review, research and reconciliation.

You will spend less than 25% of your work time on contracts, grants/cooperative agreements, and/or interagency agreements.

When entering a Federal job at a grade level lower than the highest promotion potential level, you may be promoted to more complex duties and work more independently, as your career progresses.

One or more positions may be filled.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
• You must submit a resume and required documents (see How to Apply section).
• EPA and non-EPA applicants must submit transcripts/course listings.
• Position has educational/degree requirements (see Qualifications section).
• You must be a U.S. citizen.

If you are selected, you may be required to complete a one-year probationary period.

This position is designated as Moderate Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

Qualifications

In addition to the educational requirements, we are looking for at least one year of specialized experience related to this position as described below:

To qualify for the GS-07 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-05 level defined as assisting in validating, maintaining, and/or processing accounting data or transactions in accordance with policies, procedures, and regulations - OR 1 full year of graduate level education; or superior academic achievement ( Superior Academic Achievement Definition ) degree in an academic discipline related to this position - OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.

To qualify for the GS-09 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-07 level defined as validating, maintaining and/or processing accounting data and transactions - OR master's or equivalent graduate degree; - OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B. or J.D., if related; degree in an academic discipline related to this position - OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Your answers to the online assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas: 1) Ability to apply accounting principles, practices, methods, and techniques to perform a variety of routine accounting assignments; 2) Ability to apply accounting regulations, procedures, policies, and precedents to carry out accounting functions; 3) Ability to perform procedures used to enter, modify, retrieve, and delete information in an automated accounting system; 4) Skill In oral communication; 5) Skill in analyzing data in order to recognize problems and practices to solve a variety of routine accounting problems; 6) Ability to apply generally accepted accounting principles to analyze financial data; 7) Skill in written communication.

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.

If you have part-time work experience, read this: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures .

Education

You need a degree or combination of education and experience as described below to qualify for this position.

You must have a bachelor's degree in accounting or a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration with 24 semester hours in accounting (up to 6 hours in business law counts toward these hours);

OR a combination of education and experience with at least 4 years of experience in the related field AND one of the following:

1) 24 hours in accounting or auditing courses which can include up to 6 hours of business law;

2) certificate as Certified Public Accountant/Internal Auditor; or

3) completion of a degree that included substantial course work in accounting or auditing, e.g., 15 hours, provided that:

• (a) you have 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 you have 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 above; and
• (c) except for literal nonconformance to the requirement of 24 hours in accounting, your education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements.

As part of the application process, you are required to submit college transcripts or a list of courses as described in the Required Documents section of this announcement. However, if you are selected you must provide official educational transcripts before you start work with EPA. More information on verification of education can be found here: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures .

Additional information

This position is in the bargaining unit.

Are you a Displaced Federal Employee? If so, please read the Required Documents section and visit the EPA website for additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures

EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures .

If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.

Except in special circumstances, those new to the federal government will be hired at the starting salary (step 1) of the applicable grade range listed above.

Position has portable work and selectee may be authorized to telework after meeting eligibility requirements if approved by the supervisor/manager.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your resume must address the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed in the Qualifications section. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be further evaluated based on your answers to the online assessment. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for the position. You are being evaluated under the category rating method which means, if you are determined to be qualified, you will be placed into the ‘Best Qualified', ‘Well Qualified', or ‘Qualified' category.

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. We will evaluate your qualifications and eligibility and notify you if you meet minimum qualification requirements. If you are referred for consideration, you may be subject to additional assessments.

NOTE: We do not require a separate statement responding to the competencies, also referred to as Knowledges, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). However, your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Documents to be submitted online:

NOTE: You should ensure your social security number, date of birth, and any other personal information are redacted.

--Resume clearly stating your experience related to this position as described in the Duties section and Qualifications section. In describing your experience, you need to be clear and specific. We may not make assumptions regarding your experience.

--Responses to the online assessment questionnaire (you must complete this online - it is not a document you need to upload).

-- College transcripts - required to submit either unofficial transcripts or a list of courses that includes school(s) attended, school address, course title, grades earned, completion dates, department, and quarter or semester hours earned. NOTE: Official educational transcripts are not required at the time of application; however, if you are selected, you must provide official transcripts before you start work with EPA.

--Veterans' Preference Documents - DD-214 Member 4 copy (or other copy indicating character of service), VA letter stating overall/combined disability rating (percentage), and SF-15 (use current version: SF-15 Form ), if applicable (see page 2 of the SF-15 for documents that can be submitted in lieu of the DD-214 and VA letter); active duty service members: submit certification from the armed forces documenting active duty dates, expected discharge/release date, campaign medals/badges, and character of service (a certification is any written document from the armed forces that certifies you are expected to be discharged/released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions within 120 days after you submit the certification).

--Displaced Federal employees under ICTAP/CTAP: copy of your most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and your most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, tenure, and duty station.

To learn more about submitting documentation, visit Uploading Documents to USAJOBS .

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.