Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from all U.S. Citizens.

The U.S. Botanic Garden is comprised of approximately 70 positions organized into Administrative Division, Public Programs Division, Horticulture Division and an Operations Division serving physical facilities consisting of the Administration Building, Conservatory, National Garden, Bartholdi Park and the Production Facility at D.C. Village and providing memorable, educational experiences to over 1 million visitors a year.

The Business Operations Manager will lead the Administrative Division and serve as liaison with the Office of the Chief Financial Officer; the Acquisition and Material Mgt. Division; the Information Technology Division; the Human Capital Mgt. Division; the Performance, Strategy and Innovation Division, and other offices and jurisdictions of the AOC.

Duties quoted at GS-14 level:

Budget Formulation and Execution and Financial Management

• Oversees and manages the USBG’s budget operations, including long- and short-term budget formulation and execution. Analyzes appropriation legislation for impact on assigned programs and funds.
• Develops planning and performance analyses and evaluations that encompass programmatic budget milestones. Schedules resource planning and execution required for effective management operations and decision making in support of the accomplishment of USBG strategic and operational goals and objectives.
• Analyzes financial and budget control and balance statements to ensure proper execution of funds. May provide technical support to the Executive Director and testify before oversight committees and budget hearings.
• Oversees the administration of travel and training requirements and funding for a variety of programs, ensuring that travel and training requests are within budget allocations and in support of USBG programmatic priorities.

Acquisition, Assistance and Material Management

• Leads USBG’s procurement processes and serves as the primary liaison for procurement efforts. Provides expert guidance to USBG staff in a broad range of procurement activities, to include purchase cards, contracts and reviewing scopes of work, solicitations and cooperative agreements.
• Initiates procurement actions in order to carry out the USBG mission and supporting services, preparing requisitions and serving as a Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR), as guided by AOC procurement policies. Oversees purchase card reviews to determine the overall assessment of USBG purchase card activities.
• Ensures that the USBG meets all government and agency regulations, policies and procedures and provides new procurement requirements. Provides procurement advice and assistance to program managers and technical end users on contract and procurement policies, problems or issues.

Strategic Planning, Evaluation, Analysis and Reporting

• Performs studies and reviews to understand and plan for organizational structure, policy, process, operation and financial implications. Takes corrective action to improve efficiency.
• Develops and leads implementation of strategic plans for the USBG and oversees USBG efforts to meet broader AOC strategic planning goals.
• Identifies and develops data required in the management and direction of programs, including developing, monitoring and reviewing dashboard metrics.
• Develops comprehensive reports regarding improvements or changes needed to reach current and future strategic goals. Compiles information and generates responses to reporting requests from the AOC, Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Congress.

Human Capital Management

• Leads the development and implementation of human capital management programs at the USBG. Serves as the USBG’s primary interface to the Human Capital Management Division (HCMD) for the coordination of talent acquisition and position classification, position management, employee and labor relations issues, human capital planning and performance management.
• Develops and manages multi-year organization and staff developmental plans to develop and align staff competencies to USBG needs and strategic vision. Works cooperatively with HCMD’s Training and Employee Development Branch to ensure that USBG training efforts are in line with the AOC mission, objectives, policies and procedures.

Supervisory Duties

• Exercises the full range of supervisory responsibilities for a team of administrative staff and additional assigned employees supporting operations across the USBG. Establishes guidelines and performance expectations for employees, which are clearly communicated through the formal employee performance management system.
• Works with supervisors to develop Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs), recommending personnel actions as necessary. Provides for employee skills enrichment and development through identification of opportunities for coaching, mentoring and training.
• Responsible for furthering the goals of equal employment opportunity (EEO) by taking positive steps to ensure the accomplishment of EEO objectives.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• You must be able to pass a drug test.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.

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Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at OPM Qualification Standards
 
Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. 

For the GS-13, candidates for this position must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. 

Specialized experience is defined as having experience in at least 4 of the following: (1) Providing administrative and technical leadership or supervision to employees; (2) Managing budget operations, including long- and short-term budget formulation and execution; (3) Serving as Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) or equivalent experience managing contracts; (4) Interfacing with a Human Capital Management Division or equivalent organization for the coordination of talent acquisition and position classification, position management, employee and labor relations issues, human capital planning and performance management; and (5) Applying business and management principles involved in strategic planning and coordination of people and resources.

For the GS-14, candidates for this position must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. 

Specialized experience is defined as having experience: (1) Providing administrative and technical leadership or supervision to employees; (2) Managing budget operations, including long- and short-term budget formulation and execution; (3) Serving as Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) or equivalent experience managing contracts; (4) Interfacing with a Human Capital Management Division or equivalent organization for the coordination of talent acquisition and position classification, position management, employee and labor relations issues, human capital planning and performance management; and (5) Applying business and management principles involved in strategic planning and coordination of people and resources.

How you will be evaluated

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

Review your resume and responses carefully. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions. 

Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for this position, possession of any specialized experience, and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement. The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies:

1. Ability to oversee and manage budget operations, including long- and short-term budget formulation and execution.
2. Ability to perform studies and reviews to plan organizational structure, policy, process, strategic plans, operation and financial implications.
3. Ability to perform the full range of supervisory responsibilities for a team of administrative staff and additional assigned employees supporting operations across the USBG.
4. Ability to provide expert guidance on a broad range of procurement activities, to include purchase cards, contracts and reviewing scopes of work, solicitations and cooperative agreements.
5. Possessing effective communication skills in order to interact with employees, the public and high-ranking officials to settle controversial issues.

Your responses to the self-assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions.  Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. Your resume must support your answers to the self-assessment questions. Falsifying your background, education and/or experience is cause for non-selection or disqualification from further consideration.

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).