Duties

Summary

We encourage you to review the entire vacancy announcement before submitting your application. If you do not submit all of the required documents, you may be removed from further consideration.

This position is located in the USAID Annex, 500 D Street, SW, Washington, DC , in the Bureau of Management, Office of the Chief Financial Officer (M/CFO), at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As an Accountant, your duties will include the following:

• Providing advice on the interpretation of account regulations and the impact of new legislation or program initiatives;
• Serving as the office contact for reviewing and reporting on matters related to the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA), providing information on material weaknesses and other internal control weaknesses identified during reviews;
• Planning and carrying out internal review activities to ensure accuracy and validity of audits both locally and to overseas missions;
• Providing advice and guidance to management on internal review activities for nationwide programs involving different and diverse legislative requirements;
• Performing expert assessments to ensure that funds are efficiently controlled, and that fiduciary reports accurately reflect results of financial operations, and the statutory requirements to control funds following applicable legislation are properly executed;
• Advising on the accuracy of disclosure documents and the financial condition of the Agency; and
• Developing and preparing authoritative findings, final reports, and recommendations related to considerable breadth or diversity studies.

Travel Required

50% or less - Up to 40% intermittent travel will be required.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13 - This position has reached its full performance level.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• United States Citizenship is required.
• Relevant experience (see Qualifications below).
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• Males born after 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service.
• You will be required to serve a one-year probationary period.

If you are referred to the hiring manager for further review, you may be required to participate in a written exam.

Qualifications

GS-13: In addition to the Education requirement and Selective Placement Factor, you MUST have one year of specialized experience is required that is equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-12 level in the Federal service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Examples of qualifying specialized experience at the next lower level for this position include a) evaluating and improving complex accounting and financial reporting issues/practices through the development of authoritative recommendations; b) auditing financial accounting standards and concepts; c) designing and conducting comprehensive accounting/financial management projects.

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 relevant to the position's duties to be filled, including volunteer experience.

CTAP / ICTAP candidates will be referred to the selecting official if they are found well qualified. Well-qualified means an eligible applicant who possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly exceed the position's minimum requirements. A well-qualified employee must meet the qualification and eligibility requirements of the position, including any medical qualifications, suitability, and minimum education and experience requirements, meet all selective factors (where applicable); meet quality ranking factors and are assigned a score of 85 or higher; be physically qualified with reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the position; meet any special qualifying U.S. OPM-approved conditions; AND be able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry without additional training.

A well-qualified candidate will not necessarily meet the definition of highly or best qualified when evaluated against other candidates who apply for a particular position. Selecting officials will document the job-related reason(s) for qualification determinations in the absence of selective and quality ranking factors.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement. Therefore,​ transcripts are required.

Basic Requirements

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 nonconformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, the applicant's education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements.

*Please be advised that an official transcript will be required if you are selected for the position. Please include a copy of your transcript (unofficial or official) that demonstrates that you meet the education requirement listed above prior to the closing date of the announcement. If you do not include this information prior to the closing date of the announcement, your application will be marked as incomplete unless submit an SF-50 that shows you are currently or previously held a position in the 0510 job series.​

Additional information

USAID is an independent Federal Government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With headquarters in the District of Columbia, we operate in more than 100 countries worldwide, playing an active and critical role in the promotion of U.S. foreign policy interests. When crisis strikes, when rights are repressed, when hunger, disease, and poverty rob people of opportunity, USAID acts on behalf of the American people to help expand the reach of prosperity and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. USAID employees and contractors must commit to maintaining a workplace free of sexual misconduct, including harassment, exploitation, and abuse, and adhere to USAID's Counter-Trafficking in Persons Code of Conduct. For information on the effort to counter all forms of human trafficking, including the procurement of commercial sex acts and the use of forced labor, visit http://www.state.gov/g/tip. For more information about USAID, visit http://www.usaid.gov.

This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

These are Testing Designated Positions (TDP's) under the Agency's approved Drug-Free Work Place Program. All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency.

Moving and relocation expenses are not authorized.

Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies:

https://hru.gov/Studio_Recruitment/tools/Mythbuster_on_Federal_Hiring_Policies.pdf .

EEO Policy: EEO Policy Statement .

Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Reasonable Accommodation Policy Statement .

Veterans' Information: Veterans Information .

Telework: https://www.telework.gov/ .

Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ .

It is the Government's policy not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine their qualifications and assess their relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination.

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 application package to ensure you meet the job and eligibility requirements, including the education and/or experience required for this position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter, and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) to determine if your answers to the assessment questionnaire are supported in your resume. If your answers to the online assessment questionnaire are not supported in the resume, it will affect your eligibility for further consideration. You may be found "not qualified" if you do not possess the minimum competencies required for the position. If your application is incomplete, we will rate you as ineligible. Candidates rated as Highly Qualified will be referred to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies:

• Internal Controls
• Auditing
• Financial Systems
• Written Communication
• Oral Communications

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

• Resume showing relevant experience.
• CTAP ; ICTAP Eligibles: Must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation such as a reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, an SF-50 reflecting your RIF separation, or a notice of proposed removal for declining a direct reassign or transfer of function to another commuting area.
• If this position requires proof of higher education, you must include a copy of your transcript (unofficial or official) or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. Please be advised that an official transcript will be required if you are selected for the position.
• A most recent copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action); your document must reflect grade, step, tenure code "1" (Career) or "2" (Career-Conditional), and type of position occupied.
• Veterans' documentation, if requesting consideration under any Veterans' hiring eligibilities ( veterans' preference and Veterans Employment Opportunities Act ). If seeking eligibility based on any other special hiring authority (e.g., disabled veteran, Schedule A, special hiring programs ).
• Peace Corps letter

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.