Financial Program Specialist (Financial Specialist)

Duties

Responsible for the accurate and timely output of financial data from the Financial Management Information System (FMIS) and providing administrative assistance to the department.

Serves as or assists the institution Certifying Officer with primary responsibility for approving and certifying payments.

Responsible for monitoring/reviewing the processing of all obligations for accuracy and timeliness.

Analyzes obligation documents to determine validity of payment vouchers and proper classification of the obligations.

Conducts formal as well as informal training to accounting technicians in the areas of policy, regulations, and various laws that fall under the area of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staff correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements:

Education:

GL-07: One year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement.

GL-09: Masters 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.

Note: Graduate education must provide the applicant with the skills to perform the duties of the position.

OR

Experience: 

GL-07 and GL-09: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level in the normal line of progress for the occupation in the organization. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the specific qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position, and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of qualifying experience are:

GL-07:

• Assisted with reconciling a subsidiary account to general ledger account or developed an accounting spreadsheet.
• Classified financial transactions according to the appropriate general ledger account.
• Reviewed obligation reports to assist with fund control or ensure cost centers are not over obligated.
• Reconciled and resolved general/subsidiary ledger discrepancies.

GL-09:

• Experience with accounting and budgeting principles, concepts, theories and practices, and financial reporting and standards for federal agencies.
• Experience working with accounting and budgeting techniques, procedures and their applications.
• Experience that demonstrates knowledge of appropriation laws as they apply to Federal Government obligations and payments.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience:

GL-07 and GL-09: Have a combination of education and experience. This experience must have equipped you with the qualifications to perform the major duties of this position as described above.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education

See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable.

ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here.

Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

Superior Academic Achievement. (S.A.A.) applicants MUST provide a transcript in order to be considered under S.A.A. 

In order to be creditable under this provision, superior academic achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled.

If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.

Additional information

This position IS included in the bargaining unit.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3307, a maximum entry age of 36 has been established for initial appointment to a position in a Bureau of Prisons institution. If you are above the maximum entry age and have prior federal law enforcement coverage, you MUST submit an SF-50 to verify prior coverage. 

Qualified Preference Eligible Veterans may be exempt from meeting the maximum age. Please refer to the Required Documents Section for the appropriate documentation to submit to validate veteran eligibility.