Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Operations Specialist, GS-0301-11/12 NF

National Science Foundation
This job announcement has closed

Summary

NSF is one of the best places to work! In 2021, NSF was ranked No. 2 among mid-sized agencies in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® Rankings. Come join our talented and diverse workforce and help us keep NSF at the frontier of discovery!

This position is located in the National Center of Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). For additional information about NCSES click here

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/14/2022 to 11/29/2022
Salary
$74,950 to - $116,788 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
Alexandria, VA
FEW vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
NCSES-2023-0002
Control number
689071600

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

NSF agency employee on OR eligible for permanent competitive service appointments.

Duties

Help

As an Operations Specialist, you will work closely with the Program Support Manager (PSM), and:

  • Administer the division’s operations that involves budget execution, monitoring and tracking budgetary administrative activities; assist in budget formulation; budgetary reporting and analysis; forecast and analyze the usage of funds; account reconciliation; certifying/obligating funds; allocating funding and resources for the division; as well as small contract management;
  • Execute obligation of funds and ensure appropriate documentation for travel orders for division;
  • Track proposal actions, assign and manage proposal actions;
  • Manage panel costs and track proposal review progress;
  • Assist with and manage proposal administrative review;
  • Help conduct studies of program operations in the areas of human capital, procurement/contracting, finance/budget, information technology, facilities and space management etc.;
  • Run queries to monitor the progress of projects and anticipate any issues (e.g., lack of resources, funding);
  • Stay abreast of new information technology and administrative support systems (e.g., records, equipment inventories, communications and documentation of data and reports) to improve the efficiency of administrative support and/or program operations and procedures; and
  • Recommend changes or improvements in organization, staffing, work methods, and procedures based on results from studies on employee/organizational analyses.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • US citizenship.
  • Background investigation may be required.
  • Selective Service registration required for male applicants, unless exempt.
  • Selectee may be required to serve a 1-year trial/probationary period

It is NSF policy that NSF personnel employed at or IPAs detailed to NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign government talent recruitment programs.  Failure to comply with this NSF policy could result in disciplinary action up to & including removal from Federal Service or termination of an IPA assignment & referral to the Office of Inspector General. Foreign Talent Definitions

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, & skills & can provide valuable training/experience that translates directly to paid work.  You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience

You must meet eligibility & qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date.

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/equivalent.

You must answer all job-related questions in the NSF eRecruit questionnaire & any additional assessment.

All online applicants must provide a valid email address.  If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full/blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Qualifications

To qualify at the GS-11 level you must have one year of analytical experience, equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service, that demonstrates knowledge of, and ability to solve problems related to the administrative programs needed to manage an organization. Experience must demonstrate knowledge of human resources or budget principles and practices, as well as be in one or more of the following areas: human resources, budget/finance, procurement, space administration, and management analysis. OR 
 
 Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related, may be substituted for the specialized experience. OR

Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education in excess of one year and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.
 
To qualify at the GS-12 level you must have one year of analytical experience, equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service, that demonstrates knowledge of, and ability to solve problems related to the administrative programs needed to manage an organization. Experience must demonstrate knowledge of human resources and budget principles and practices, as well as be in one or more of the following areas: finance, procurement, space administration, and management analysis.

Education

Education may be substituted for experience as described in “Qualifications" at the GS-11 level. If qualifying based on education, you must submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met.

Education may enhance skills required for this position at the GS-12 level; however, no substitution of education for specialized experience may be made at the GS-12 level.

Additional information

Relocation Expenses will not be paid.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP):
ICTAP and CTAP provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP or CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP or CTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified you must meet the following: OPM qualification requirements for the position, all selective factors, where applicable; special OPM approved qualifying conditions for the position; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate, to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and receives a rating of at least “Very Good” on the questionnaire.  You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP or CTAP eligibility, or a copy of your separation personnel action form.
Additional information regarding ICTAP or CTAP eligibility is available from OPM's Career Transition Resources

Veteran's Preference:
If you are entitled to veterans' preference, you should indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming on your resume. Your veterans' preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency. For 5-point veterans' preference, please provide your DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty, or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that proves your military service was performed under honorable conditions. For 10-point veterans' preference, please submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, DD-214, and the VA letter or other required documentation as specified on the SF-15.

NSF has determined that all of its positions are eligible for telework. Work suitable for telework depends on job duties; therefore, employees must receive approval from their supervisor for telework and have a telework agreement in place. Entering into a telework agreement is voluntary.

For additional information on the NSF eRecruit system, please visit our NSF eRecruit Applicant Guide.

This announcement may be used to fill like positions in other organizations within the National Science Foundation.

The Selected Candidate(s) may be subject to a background investigation.

How you will be evaluated

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

Ratings will be assigned based on your responses to the occupational questionnaire.  In some cases, additional assessment processes may be used.

Review your resume and responses carefully.  Responses that are not fully supported by the information in your application package may result in adjustments to your score.  A Human Resources Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the selecting official.

Applicants eligible for selection preference under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) must meet the agency definition of "well qualified." At NSF, this means a score of 90.0 or higher.

In the merit promotion selection process, formal performance appraisals may be considered if voluntarily submitted by the applicant.

Competencies:

  1. Executing Tasks
  2. Solving Problems
  3. Making Decisions
  4. Communication

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.