Clarification from the agency

Status Candidates (Merit Promotion and VEOA Eligibles)

The Auditor (Contract Audit Specialist) is responsible for planning, coordinating and conducting comprehensive audits of major scope and responsibility. The employee may serve as the auditor-in-charge of an audit or review (or lead a portion of larger engagements) and participates in the full range of duties to support the audit of government programs, contracts, grants, and payments.

Typical work assignments include: Developing program guides that address the audit objectives and provide a clear path for developing convincing findings and actionable recommendations; Exercising technical direction over the collection and analysis of all data; and ensuring that evidence collected is sufficient, relevant, and competent and properly documented and reviewed in the audit working papers. Auditing, examining, and/or reviewing auditee accounts, records, documents, and other evidence; systems of internal control; and accounting, costing, and general business practices and procedures in accordance with government auditing standards, the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and other applicable laws and regulations; Providing effective team leadership including: (1) proactively identifying and resolving problems that could impact project goals; (2) establishing priorities and adjusting schedules to accomplish the work as timely as possible; and (3) effectively utilizing resources; Drafting audit reports, including consolidating and integrating the work of others. The reports provide a logical structure for results presentation, answering all of the audit objectives, and ensuring that all elements of a finding are supported by the data; Planning for and conducting or participating in conferences with key officials of audited activities to obtain information and advise them of audit progress and developing honest and productive relationships with these internal and external parties; When leading teams, providing coaching, mentoring, and feedback to team members as well as to the project manager on performance and providing informal mentorship and guidance to junior staff; and identifying new areas for audit and planning new engagements by submitting tactical plan suggestions that support the OIG strategic plan as well as audit proposals that detail the benefit of committing resources to performing the work.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progresses.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• You must be registered for the Selective Service, if applicable.
• You must successfully pass and are subject to random drug screenings.
• You must submit a copy of your unofficial transcript to meet education requirements.

Qualifications

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (knowledge, skill, ability or characteristic) basic to and essential for satisfactory performance of the job. Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor is:

Your resume must include experience that demonstrates subject matter expertise in general business, procurement, and contracting practices, including the contract award process, contract oversight, and contract administration policies, systems, and practices; various government payment processes to include contract payments, improper payments, and the Government Purchases Card and Travel Card Programs; and techniques to detect fraud, waste and abuse in programs.

All applicants must meet one of the following basic eligibility requirements to qualify for this position:

A. 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 credits 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

B. 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:

1. Twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality. This can include up to 6 hours of business law;
2. A certificate as a Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; OR
3. Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial coursework in accounting or auditing, e.g., 15 semester hours, but that does not 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.

In addition to the basic eligibility requirements, applicants must have the following specialized experience and/or directly related education or a combination:(Note: Specialized experience is paid or unpaid experience that has equipped the applicant with the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position in the practical application of professional accounting and auditing principles, procedures, and techniques successfully.)

To qualify at the GS-13 levelone (1) year of specialized experience at least equivalent to a GS-12 Auditor (Contract Audit Specialist) position which is in or directly related to contract auditing and program evaluation or assessment which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the positions. Examples may include: auditing, examining, and/ or reviewing auditees' accounts, records, documents, and other evidence; systems of internal controls; and accounting, and general business practices and procedures ; interpreting and applying the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and other applicable laws and regulations to conduct a more complex evaluation of a contractor's policies, procedures, controls and actual performance, identifying and evaluating all activities that contribute to, or have an impact on, proposed or incurred costs of government contracts.

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade level (or equivalent).

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

How you will be evaluated

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

Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the online 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. Your application and resume should demonstrate that you possess the below competencies. You are NOT required to provide a separate narrative written response. Rather, you must describe in your application how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below:

-Knowledge of Auditing and Program Evaluation Principles, Procedures, and Techniques
-Knowledge of Government Contracting Principles, Policies, and Procedures
-Ability to Lead Projects
-Knowledge Management Policies, Procedures, and Program Goals.
-Ability to Communicate in Writing
-Ability to Communicate Orally

If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for further employment consideration.