KEY REQUIREMENTS



• You must be a U.S. Citizen or national to apply.
• Must be a high school graduate or equivalent
• Must be 18 years of age or 17 years of age for high school graduates.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.
• You will be required to serve a probationary period of 1 year.

This position is with the Wichita County FSA Office located in Leoti, Kansas

This is a re-advertisement of ADZ579773-KS.

This position is responsible for:

• Carrying out office activities and functions pertaining to one or more of the program areas administered in the county. 
• Interprets and explains procedures, program regulations and forms to producers and other agency personnel. 
• Utilizes IBM system 36 and /or PC Computer to maintain producer data and process automated program forms. 
• Uses a high degree of initiative and judgment in planning and carrying out assigned tasks and resolving problems encountered.

Qualifications are in accordance with requirements in Handbook 27-PM.

You must meet all qualification requirements by Wednesday, February 08, 2012.

The following are minimum requirements for the possible grade levels of this position.

You may start at the CO-03 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

·         Successful completion of one year of education above high school in an accredited business, secretarial or technical, junior college, college or university in any field in which high school graduation or the equivalent is a prerequisite may be substituted for experience.  OR

·         Six months general experience of progressively responsible clerical, office work, or equal background in the operations of a farm or ranch that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the duties of this position.

You may start at the CO-04 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

·         Successful completion of two years of education above high school in an accredited business, secretarial or technical, junior college, college or university in any field in which high school graduation or the equivalent is a prerequisite may be substituted for experience.  OR

·         One year general experience of progressively responsible clerical, office work, or equal background in the operations of a farm or ranch that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the duties of this position.

You may start at the CO-05 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

·      Successful completion of four years of education above high school in an accredited business, secretarial or technical, junior college, college or university in any field in which high school graduation or the equivalent is a prerequisite may be substituted for specialized experience.  OR

·      One year specialized experience applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to any farm or agricultural program.  

You may start at the CO-06 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

·      Successful completion of at least six months (at least 9 semester hours) of graduate education or master’s or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in finance, business administration, economics, accounting, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, statistics, or other fields related to the position such as agriculture, agricultural economics, agricultural marketing, farm, livestock or ranch management, dairy science, domestic agricultural development, agronomy, rural sociology or other agricultural specialty.  OR

·      One year specialized experience applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to process and service farm or agricultural programs.

You may start at the CO-07 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

·      Successful completion one full academic year (at least 18 semester hours) of graduate education or master’s or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in finance, business administration, economics, accounting, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, statistics, or other fields related to the position such as agriculture, agricultural economics, agricultural marketing, farm, livestock or ranch management, dairy science, domestic agricultural development, agronomy, rural sociology or other agricultural specialty. OR

·      One year specialized experience applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to independently perform a full range of farm program processes   Experience that shows your ability to perform progressively more complex, responsible, or difficult duties: and that shows your ability to learn the specific work of this position.

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume.  You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process.  Please refer to the “How to Apply, Alternative Methods for Submitting Your Application Materials” section, for instructions on submitting the transcript.

NOTE: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION AND FINGERPRINT CHECK:  Selection and retention in this position is contingent on a successfully adjudicated FBI National Criminal History Check (fingerprint check) and a background investigation.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

All applicants will be considered on the basis of their education, experience, supervisory appraisal, training, awards and education as it relates to the qualification requirements and on the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) listed below.  There are no special forms for these statements.  They may be submitted on plain paper with your name and the announcement number at the top.  You should include specific tasks performed, the dates you performed them, and where you were working at the time.  KSA statements may not be more than 2 single-spaced pages per KSA.  If applying online please upload the KSA essay responses with your application as a separate and distinct document.

Candidates who do not submit the supplemental statements will not be considered.

1.  Ability to communicate orally.
2.  Ability to communicate in writing.
3.  Ability to identify and resolve problems.
4.  Knowledge of FSA Farm Programs and practices.
5.  Skill in using computers.

Selectee will be eligible for health and life insurance, annual (vacation) and sick leave, federal holidays, health care flexible spending and will be covered by a federal retirement system.

OTHER INFORMATION:

When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected.  Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.

Please read all the instructions before you begin.  

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package, which includes the following:

1.  Resume. You may either use USAJOBS Resume Builder to create a resume or create your own; however, your resume must contain the following information: 1) job information for which you are applying; 2) personal information; 3) education; 4) work experience; and, 5) other qualifications.
2. A complete Occupational Questionnaire
3. Narrative KSA's.  (For directions please refer to the “how you will be evaluated section)
4. Additional Required Documents.  i.e., Copy of most recent performance appraisal, Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50), college transcripts, Veterans documents, etc.  (See Required Documents section below).

To begin this process, click the  "Apply Online" button to create an account or log into your existing USAJOBS account.  Follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire.  Please ensure that you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process. 

Please print your "Confirmation of your Submission to Application Manager" for your records. The online Occupational Questionnaire must be completed and submitted by 11:59 p.m. EDT on  Wednesday, February 08, 2012.  Applications are not screened for required documents before determining minimum qualifications. It is your responsibility to ensure that all required documents are received in the office by the close of business on or before the closing date of this announcement. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service etc.

Alternative Method for Submitting Your Application Materials:

If you are unable to apply online, you may fax your application materials to 1-478-757-3144.

• Click  View Occupational Questionnaire to download the questions, and
• Click here to download the OPM Form 1203FX, this form is used to record your responses on, and
• Click here to download the REQUIRED   fax cover page.

If applying online or faxing your application materials poses a hardship, please contact 816-926-6781 during core business hours (8:00am to 4:30 pm central time) prior to the closing date. Requests for hardship will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Make requests in a timely manner to allow enough time to obtain documents and return the completed information to our office.

Before being hired, you will be required to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application/resume if you have not done this using an application form.  You must answer all questions truthfully and completely.  A false statement on any part of your application may be grounds for not hiring you or for firing you after you begin work.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

In addition to your Occupational Questionnaire, Online Resume and Narrative KSA's, other documents are required if you are a current or former USDA employee.

1. You must provide the most recent Notification of Personnel Action (Form SF-50-B or FSA-50) that verifies permanent status. Also provide the SF-50 that reflects the highest grade level held on a permanent basis or the full performance level of your current position, whichever is higher. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating.
2. You must submit your most recently completed annual performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) which identifies the employee's official rating of record, signed by the supervisor, or a statement advising why the performance appraisal is unavailable.  Do not submit a performance plan. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating.

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:

Once your online Occupational Questionnaire and resume has been received, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After a qualification review of your complete application package has been made, you will be notified as to the status of your application. The most highly qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further considerations and possible interview. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted.  We expect to make a selection within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.  You will be notified of the outcome.  You can track the progress of your application package in Application Manager at http://ApplicationManager.gov.