Clarification from the agency

Applicants who are current FDIC employees with status (i.e., current permanent Federal employees in the competitive service and former Federal employees with reinstatement eligibility);

***This vacancy announcement has been amended to extend the closing date from December 2, 2021 to December 9, 2021.***

Financial Institution Specialists receive on-the-job and formal classroom training designed to provide practical experience in the risk management function of the FDIC. 

Financial Institution Specialists participate in the assessment of financial institutions to determine the existence of unsafe and unsound practices; violations of law and regulation; the adequacy of internal controls/procedures; and the general character of management.   Financial Institution Specialists also:

• Write comments and analyses for inclusion in examination reports and meet with insured depository institution officials to discuss the findings of an examination and, if necessary, any corrective programs.
• Participate as a member of a risk examination team. Review pre-examination data and assists with analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating earnings, liquidity, and capital.
• Research, compile, manipulate and/or evaluate data to prepare a variety of documents, management reports and presentations.
• Prepare examination reports and related documents (e.g. examination scope memoranda, workpapers, Reports of Examinations, and Reports of Visitations).
• Attend meetings with FDIC officials, attorneys, accountants,  representatives of financial institutions or other private sector representatives, and/or other federal and state regulatory agency officials to discuss issues of mutual concern when applicable, and under the guidance of higher-graded specialists/examiners and/or supervisors.
• Meet with and conducts interviews of institution personnel of various levels to determine their awareness of current laws and regulations, obtain information and documents, and provide feedback regarding examination activities.
• Identify and report unusual transactions, irregularities, weaknesses or deficiencies of the file documentation to higher-graded specialists/examiners and/or supervisors.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship.
• Examiners are subject to credit limitations - see "How to Apply."
• Very frequent overnight travel, up to 3 weeks per month (most locations).
• Subject to relocation to any duty location to meet management needs.
• MUST be available for assessments January 25-27, 2022 in Arlington, VA.
• Pass automated writing assessment - see Qualifications/Evaluations Sections

Individuals who start their Federal government service after November 22, 2021, must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to their start date, except in limited circumstances where the law requires an exception. See “Additional Information” section.

Must complete all training benchmarks and obtain a commission in Risk Management in order to be promoted to the CG-11 level.  Those who do not complete these requirements within 3 and a half years (42 months) will be separated from employment.

Moderate Risk Position--Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) Required.

Registration with the Selective Service http://www.sss.gov.

Qualifications

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the Private or public sector. 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 spiritual; community; student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Applicants may qualify based on education, work experience, or a combination of both, as defined below: 

CG-7 Education-Based Qualifications Requirements: (Note: Applicants may substitute quarter or other credit hour equivalents for the semester hour requirements indicated.) 

To qualify based on education, candidates must meet one of the following two requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 

1. Completion of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university that included the following: (a) completion of a major course of study in accounting, banking, business administration, commercial or banking law, economics, finance, marketing or other related fields; (b) completion of at least 24 semester hours of combined coursework in business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, mathematics, statistics, or economics that included at least 6 semester hours in accounting; and (c) fulfillment of one or more of the requirements listed below for Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). 

Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): 

To qualify for SAA, applicants must have met one of the following: 

a. A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. 
b. A grade-point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. 
c. Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, University or major subdivision. 
d. Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. 

OR 

2. Completion of one academic year of graduate study at an accredited college or university in accounting, banking, business administration, commercial or banking law, economics, finance, marketing or other related fields. In addition, completion of at least 24 semester hours of combined undergraduate and graduate coursework at accredited colleges or universities in business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, mathematics, statistics, or economics that included at least 6 semester hours in accounting. 
 
OR

CG-7 Experience-Based Qualification Requirements: To qualify based on experience, candidates must have one year of experience which demonstrated skill in gathering and analyzing financial data; interpreting balance sheets and income statements. To be creditable, experience must be at the next lower grade, i.e. at the CG-5 for the CG-7.

OR

Combinations of successfully completed education and experience may be used to meet the full qualification requirements for the CG-7, as long as the education and experience demonstrates skill in gathering and analyzing financial data; interpreting balance sheets and income statements. 

The competencies/knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) you will be assessed on are listed below:

1. Knowledge of accounting principles.
2. Knowledge of financial analysis.
3. Ability to analyze financial reports.
4. Skill in oral communication to present findings and recommendations.
5. Ability to communicate in writing to prepare a variety of reports.
6. Ability to work with co-workers and the general public.

You do not need to respond separately to these KSAs.  Your answers to the online questionnaire and resume will serve as responses to the KSAs.

AND

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR:  In addition to meeting the qualification requirements as described above, this position has the following Selective Placement Factor:

Ability to effectively communicate in writing as evidenced by using proper grammar to compose written documents which are clear, concise, thorough, and free of spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors.  

Automated Writing Assessment:  Candidates must demonstrate that they meet the Selective Placement Factor by passing an automated writing assessment. Candidates who self-assess at 85 or above on the vacancy announcement assessment questionnaire will receive notification with a link via e-mail within two weeks from the closing date of the announcement to take the automated writing assessment. Candidates will be allotted twenty-five (25) minutes to complete the assessment after clicking on the “Begin Assessment” button.  Candidates will have three days to complete the assessment.  The completion deadline will be indicated in the notification e-mail. Candidates must complete and pass the automated writing assessment in order to receive further consideration for this position. Candidates who fail will be deemed not qualified for failure to meet the Selective Placement Factor and will receive no further consideration for this position.

If you PASS the writing assessment, your score is valid for twelve (12) months for the entry-level FIS position within the FDIC only.  If you FAIL the writing assessment, your score is valid for (6) months for the entry-level FIS position within the FDIC only. You will not be able to retake the assessment for a period of 6 or 12 months from the date you complete the assessment. You will be notified of your assessment results and your assessment retake eligibility date.  Your assessment results will be used for this entry-level FIS placement opportunity and reused for future entry-level FIS job opportunities for 6 or 12 months should you elect to apply for those opportunities.  Disclaimer:This does not restrict your ability to apply to other FDIC entry-level FIS job opportunity announcements within this 6 to 12 month window; however, if you previously failed the assessment you will be found ineligible.

For this job opportunity announcement:  If you previously completed the automated writing assessment see "How to Apply". 

Tablet/phone mobile devices do not support all features for the assessment; therefore, it is recommended that you use a desktop/laptop to complete the assessment.  If you have questions about the computer requirements please contact PFhelpdesk@PDRI.com.  If you wish to request a reasonable accommodation for the automated writing assessment, you must email us at CEPHRB@fdic.gov by the closing date of this announcement.  If your reasonable accommodation request is submitted after the closing date of the announcement, it will be considered on a case-by-case basis as there may not be adequate time to process your request.

How you will be evaluated

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

You must demonstrate that you meet the Selective Placement Factor by completing and passing an automated writing assessment in order to receive further consideration for this position.  If you self-assess at 85 or above on the vacancy announcement assessment questionnaire, you will receive notification with a link to the automated writing assessment.  (Refer to Qualifications Section - Selective Placement Factor).

If you pass the automated writing assessment, your resume will be reviewed, including the vacancy announcement assessment questionnaire, to determine whether you meet the remaining qualification requirements outlined in this announcement. Therefore, it is imperative that your resume contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make the qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, duties performed, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, the position series and grade level. If you rate yourself higher on the questionnaire than what is supported by your resume, your overall qualifications assessment may be adversely affected. This could mean that you pass the automated writing assessment, thereby demonstrating that you meet the Selective Placement Factor, but are later deemed to be "not qualified" for failure to meet the remaining qualification requirements. 

If you are found qualified, your resume will be evaluated to measure the degree in which your background and responses to the assessment questions match the qualification requirements of the position.The highest-ranked candidates for each location may be invited to Arlington, VA to participate in an assessment process from January 25-27, 2022, at the FDIC’s expense. If invited, attendance will be required to receive further employment consideration. During the event, candidates are assessed on several job-related factors by means of taking the following assessments: a math assessment, a persuasive oral presentation assessment, a teamwork assessment, and a structured interview. The assessments and the interview are governed by a set of benchmarks. Hiring decisions are made based on governing regulations and the candidate’s performance against the benchmarks of each assessment.

FDIC provides reasonable accommodations to candidates with disabilities. If invited to the event and you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the event (including reasonable accommodation for the series of assessments), we will ask that you please notify us within three days of receiving the invitation to allow us adequate time to consider the request; however, you can make a reasonable accommodation request at any time once invited. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis. 

Applicants who are selected to participate in the hiring event will receive an invitation no earlier than two weeks prior to the event.