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Accountant (Recent Graduates)

Department of Health and Human Services
Program Support Center
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Health And Human Services, Program Support Center, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

Additional selections may be made across the Department of Health and Human Services in multiple locations through this vacancy announcement.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
03/26/2020 to 04/26/2020
Salary
$48,670 to - $83,897 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Locations
San Francisco, CA
Few vacancies
Bethesda, MD
Few vacancies
New York, NY
Few vacancies
Dallas, TX
Few vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Recent Graduates
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
HHS-PSC-RG-20-10715211
Control number
563798800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Recent graduates who have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. Veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree, due to military service obligation, have as much as six years after degree completion to apply.

Duties

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  • Analyzes and reconciles a variety of routine accounts and transactions in support of a HHS program.
  • Prepares a variety of routine financial reports and implementing fiscal year-end closing procedures for specific HHS programs and funds.
  • Applies standard procedures to be used in the design or modification of automated accounting systems.
  • Provides advice to management of organizations serviced.
  • Assists management in applying financial data and recommends alternatives to resolve routine accounting problems.
  • Adjusts differences between the general ledger and subsidiary accounts.
  • Analyzes financial and statistical data from domestic and/or foreign business firms and assists higher graded Accountants.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service - http://www.sss.gov
  • Suitable for federal employment
  • Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. All information concerning qualifications is subject to investigation.
  • Documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System.
  • All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date.
  • Financial disclosure statement may be required.
  • One-year probationary period may be required.

Qualifications

Basic Qualification Requirements:

A. Must have at least a bachelor's degree in 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 credit in business law.

OR

B. Must have a 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. You 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 Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; or

3. Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in accounting or auditing, e.g., 15 semester hours, but that does not fully 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.

Additional Requirements: In addition to meeting the Basic Qualification Requirements, candidates must also:

For GS-07 Grade Level:

A. Have at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service performing accounting work including the maintenance of accounting records; reviewing accounting data for accuracy to ensure the integrity of records; running and evaluating reports from financial systems; gathering financial data from various sources related to a specific financial issue; utilizing office automation software, such as MS Excel.

OR

B. Have successfully completed one (1) year of graduate-level education in 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 credit in business law. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study.

OR

C. Have at least a bachelor's degree and meet Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) criteria.

S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.

1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.

2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.)-- Applicants must have a grade-point average of:a.3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or b.3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. These honor societies are listed by the Association of College Honor Societies at http://www.achsnatl.org/.

OR

D. Have a combination of experience as described in "A" above and graduate education as described in "B" above.

For GS-09 Grade Level:

A. Have at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service applying accounting principles, concepts, methods, and techniques to independently perform basic accounting duties, such as reconciliations or close outs for various types of accounts; preparing financial reports and statements; collaborating with team members to complete accounting and financial projects; preparing a variety of accounting and financial documents for delivery or presentation to management and team members; utilizing office automation software, such as MS Excel, and other accounting systems.

OR

B. Have at successfully completed two (2) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in 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 credit in business law. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study.[

OR

C. Have a combination of experience as described in "A" above and graduate education as described in "B" above.


Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through national Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to gain employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. If such experience is on a part-time basis, you must provide the average number of hours worked per week as well as the beginning and ending dates of the experience so it can be fully credited.

Education

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov.

CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS:
Recent Graduates may be non-competitively converted to a term or permanent, competitive service appointment within HHS upon successful completion of Pathways Program requirements. However, non-competitive conversion or placement is not guaranteed, this is based on various factors such as budget, organizational needs, student performance, education, etc.


Eligibility for Conversion to Competitive Service:
- Complete one continuous year of work experience acquired through a Recent Graduate Program.
- Complete 40 hours of formal interactive training.
- Meet the qualification standards for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted.
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0500/accounting-series-0510/
- Meet any agency-specific requirements specified in the Participant's Agreement.
- Demonstrate successful job performance that results in a rating of record of at least Fully Successful and a recommendation for conversion by the first level supervisor

Additional information

Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses may be paid: No

Bargaining Unit Position: No

Drug Screening Required: No

Recruitment incentives may be authorized: No

Student loan repayment incentive may be authorized.

Annual leave for non-federal service may be authorized.

Advanced pay for new hires (ATM) may be authorized.

Veterans' Preference - https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans/

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible see http://opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp#ictap. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 85.0 or above on the rating criteria for this position.

Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office.

If you are unable to apply online, please go to https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information for more information on our alternate application method.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, a review of the resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. Category rating procedures will be used to rate and rank candidates. The category assignment is a measure of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Qualified candidates will be ranked into one of three categories:

  • Best Qualified - Applicants who have experience that is almost identical to those required by the position.
  • Well Qualified - Applicants who have experience that is very similar to those required by the position.
  • Qualified - Applicants who meet minimum qualification requirements, but do not identify any additional qualifying experience or skill.

Candidates in the highest category will be referred to the hiring agency.

The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher). Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):
    • Minimum Qualifications
To preview the assessment questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10715211

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