USAID is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID works to help lift lives, build communities, and advance democracy. USAID's work advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity; demonstrates American generosity; and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience. We operate in five regions of the world: Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Eurasia.
USAID is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID works to help lift lives, build communities, and advance democracy. USAID's work advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity; demonstrates American generosity; and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience. We operate in five regions of the world: Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Eurasia.
This is a Foreign Service announcement. Worldwide availability is a requirement of the position.
USAID works in close partnership with the governments and people in those countries, as well as with private voluntary organizations, universities, American businesses, other governments, trade and professional associations, faith-based organizations, and other U.S. government agencies.
Financial Management Officers direct the accounting and payment operations in USAID missions worldwide. In addition, they provide significant levels of advisory services to all levels of the mission and host country governments. This includes administrative, operational, and program matters concerning financial, budgetary and resource management, and implementation issues.
See Qualifications Section.
Education & Experience:
FS-05, $56,728.00 (with Washington D.C. locality) to $90,342.00: Applicant must have a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution AND at least 30 semester hours at the undergraduate or graduate level in accounting and business law, of which 24 semester hours must be in accounting PLUS four (4) years of relevant experience (a CPA can substitute for 2 years of relevant experience); one (1) year of overseas experience or in a diverse working environment is preferred but not required; OR a Master's degree in a relevant major and at least 30 semester hours at the undergraduate or graduate level in accounting and business law, of which 24 semester hours must be in accounting PLUS two (2) years of relevant experience. One (1) year of overseas experience or in a diverse working environment is preferred but not required.
FS-04, $70,009.00 (with Washington D.C. locality) to $111,493.00: Applicant must have a Master's degree in a relevant major and at least 30 semester hours at the undergraduate or graduate level in accounting and business law, of which 24 semester hours must be in accounting PLUS five (5) years of relevant experience; one (1) year of overseas experience or in a diverse working environment is preferred but not required, OR a Doctorate in a relevant major and at least 30 semester hours at the undergraduate or graduate level in accounting and business law, of which 24 semester hours must be in accounting PLUS three (3) years of relevant experience; one (1) year of overseas experience or in a diverse working environment is preferred but not required
Relevant major is defined as business administration, finance or public administration, management, economics, or accounting.
Relevant experience is defined as professional work of a fiscal, financial management, auditing, accounting, or budgetary nature. Experience in Public Financial Management will be advantageous.
Overseas and diverse working environment includes: A) working and living in a foreign country, nation, territory, or tribe; or (B) working and living in an economically disadvantaged community in the United States, performing work related to the Foreign Service Officer position. Such diverse work experience would be characterized by situations in which you were exposed to new cultures, learned foreign languages, encountered different behavioral norms and practices, coordinated and engaged with external partners and local counterparts, or conducted public outreach and communications.
Required Competencies:
Financial Advisor – Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, financial management procedures, tax laws, financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data. Advises, identifies, and makes recommendations to improve organizations’ weaknesses and risk areas based on regulations and recognized industry best practices.
Interpersonal Skills – Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences; and works with others to achieve goals.
Customer Service – Identifies customers, both internal and external; develops and engenders customer-centric focus; works with more senior officers to prioritize work. Meets established deadlines or negotiates them in the face of constraints.
Written Communication – Writes clearly, succinctly, and in a professional manner appropriate for the intended audience. Produces written material within the established timeframes that are thorough and factually accurate.
Oral Communication – Expresses information to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others; attends to nonverbal clues; and responds appropriately.
Adaptability and Flexibility –Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior or work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles; effectively deals with uncertainty. Ability to live in developing countries with difficult conditions such as harsh climate, isolation, civil unrest, quality of local health care, security conditions, pollution levels, and availability of family members employment opportunities.
Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.
Information Gathering, Analysis, and Problem Solving – Locates and effectively analyzes data or information. Assesses reliability and accuracy of information. Accurately summarizes findings and conclusions verbally or in writing appropriate to audience. Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions, even in uncertain situations, and implements the solution within regulations and guidance.
Financial Management - Prepares, justifies, and/or administers the budget for program area; plans, administers and monitors obligations and expenditures to ensure cost-effective support of operations, programs, and policies.
Consensus Building – Presents positions in non-confrontational ways. Is open to views of others. Actions confidently and decisively within own purview. Supports team consensus and moves to implement it.
Applicants must have the degree required in the qualifications AND at least 30 semester hours at the undergraduate or graduate level in accounting and business law, of which 24 semester hours must be in accounting. If you have a Bachelor's degree and are using your CPA certificate to substitute for 2 years of relevant experience, you must submit a copy of the CPA certificate with this application
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements. Transcripts from any and all foreign educational institutions must be accompanied by an official Evaluation of Educational Credentials in order to be considered for the position. It is your responsibility to provide evidence that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States when applying. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Click on the following link for a list of accredited organizations (https://www.naces.org/members) recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials. More information may be found at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html
Unofficial transcripts and a copy of the CPA certificate must be uploaded as part of the application. Failure to do so will result in the application being eliminated from consideration. If we are unable to determine that you meet the required education, you will be found ineligible for further consideration. If you proceed past the initial application phase, official transcripts must be received by USAID from your university/institution during the final selection process.
USAID offers generous federal benefits that include health and life insurance; annual, sick and home leave; contributory government pension system; assistance with repayment of student loans; and while serving overseas, government-provided housing, shipment of household effects, education allowances, country specific incentive pay and allowances, and other support.
If selected and hired at the FS-05 level, an administrative promotion from FS-05 to FS-04 occurs after one year of service.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
BASIS OF RATING: Qualified applicants receive a score of 70 to 100 before veteran's preference points are applied (if applicable). You will be rated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the education, experience, and training you report relative to this position that show the degree to which you possess the required competencies listed on this vacancy announcement. USAID must be able to conduct reference checks as part of its assessment process. Applicants who do not permit reference checks from previous employers may be disqualified.
IMPORTANT: If you are found to have rated your self assessment higher than the information in your on-line application, supporting documentation narratives, and/or any other relevant part of your application package; including attachments, a score will manually be determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lowered score and may also eliminate you from the best qualified list.
To preview questions please click here.
USAID offers generous federal benefits that include health and life insurance; annual, sick and home leave; contributory government pension system; assistance with repayment of student loans; and while serving overseas, government-provided housing, shipment of household effects, education allowances, country specific incentive pay and allowances, and other support.
If selected and hired at the FS-05 level, an administrative promotion from FS-05 to FS-04 occurs after one year of service.
NOTE: We are aware some applicants are being directed during the application process to submit redundant documents. You are only required to submit the "Vacancy Level" documents: Resume, Transcript, SF-15 (if applicable), DD-214 (if applicable), and Miscellaneous (for any document you'd like to submit that doesn't fall under the category of the first four). The second request for "Registration Level" documents is the result of a technical error and can be ignored.
The following documents will be required for verification of eligibility before employment is offered:
• Proof of United States Citizenship (birth certificate, passport, or other acceptable documentation), these are not required to be submitted as part of the initial application.
• Official copy of college transcript of education used to qualify you for this position. For the initial application, only a copy of unofficial transcript is required.
• If claiming veteran’s preference you must provide acceptable documentation of your preference or appointment eligibility. Acceptable documentation may be: a copy of your DD-214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions; a "certification" that is a written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is signed; OR a Standard Form 15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. If you are claiming 10 point preference, you will need to submit a SF 15. You may obtain a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs reflecting your level of disability for preference eligibility by visiting a VA Regional Office, contacting a VA call center or online. For more information on veteran’s preference and eligibility, visit https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job-seekers/veterans-preference/#content
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.
Please carefully read all the instructions before you begin the application process.
Applications for this position are being processed through an on-line applicant assessment system that has been specifically configured for US Agency for International Development applicants. To begin the application process, please click on the "Apply Online" button to the right. If you do not already have an account with USAjobs.gov you will be prompted to create one. Only applications received through USAjobs.gov will be processed and reviewed. All applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, age, sex, sexual orientation, physical disabilities, membership in an employee organization, or any other non-merit factors.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday).
How to contact USAJOBS
Once you submit the form, USAJOBS will get back to you within one business day.
USAJOBS does not provide direct phone support. The contact us form will send an email to the Help Desk where you can ask for assistance by phone or email.
Step 1 - Create, or upload, a resume with USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov) - We suggest you go to the end of the Qualifications & Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 3. You may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. - You may create a resume in USAJOBS, or upload a resume or CV.
Step 2 - Apply Online. Click the "Apply Online" link of this announcement and then select the resume you wish to submit with your application. You will be redirected to the USAID's CareerConnector website to complete the application process.
Step 3 - Answer the Online Questions and Submit Your Online Application. If this is your first time on USAID's CareerConnector website, you will be prompted to register by answering questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. The system will save these responses and take you back to the main screen so that you can answer the job-specific questions. Select "Take me to the assessment" and click on the "Continue" button to answer the job-specific questions. You must answer all the questions and click the "Finished" button.
Step 4 - Review and Confirm Your Submission. You will upload a document. Once you click "Done," you will see a summary of your application for your review. You may also print a copy for your records. When you click "Finished" at the bottom of the page, you will then be directed back to USAJOBS where you can confirm that your application has been submitted and track your application status.
Step 5 - Submit Required Documents. You can submit any required documents (discussed below) by document upload. Please include the job announcement number with your documents. To protect your privacy, we encourage you to remove your SSN from any documents that you submit.
You may upload supporting documents in one of two ways:
1. Once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement, you will be prompted to upload your document(s) to your application. You will be given the choice to either upload the document as part of the application process or you can select a document that you've already loaded on USAJOBS. Or
2. You can upload a document to an existing application by logging into your USAJOBS account profile. Click on "My Applications" and search for the vacancy. Once you have located the vacancy, click on the vacancy and select "Apply Online." Move through your existing application to the Documents page and select Upload in order to add a document to your application.
Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation that the document uploaded. In the Application Review section, you may verify acceptance of your documents in CareerConnector if you see them listed on the "Vacancy Documents" screen. Then, click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS.
Applications will be reviewed periodically and candidates selected per the Agency's staffing needs. You will be rated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the education, experience and training you report relative to this position which show that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities required. Paid or unpaid experience will be considered and references will be checked.
Steps to become a Foreign Service officer with USAID:
1. Candidates complete application
2. Highly qualified applications are referred to the Technical Review Panel (TRP)
3. TRP reviews applications and selects applicants to be invited for the interview.
4. Technical Selection Panel (TSP) interviews candidates.
5. Reference checks are conducted of TSP recommended candidates.
6. Successful completion of pre-employment process consisting of Security Clearance investigation, Medical clearance, receipt of official transcripts and acceptance of salary offer.
Reminders:
1. Ensure you meet all requirements.
2. If qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency when applying.
3. Submit an unofficial copy of your transcript.
4. Verify that application is completed and submitted.
5. Contact the help desk for technical assistance before the closing date of the announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
