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Accountant (Staff/Cost), GS-0510-14 NF

National Science Foundation
This job announcement has closed

Summary

NSF is one of the best places to work! In 2022, 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 Accountant is located in the Office of Budget, Finance, and Award Management, Division of Institution Award and Support. Please click below for additional information.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/24/2023 to 05/08/2023
Salary
$132,368 to - $172,075 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Alexandria
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—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.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
DIAS-2023-0004
Control number
721429900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

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

Duties

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The employee serves as an Accountant with responsibility for oversight, monitoring, analysis, and compliance activities in support of DIAS.

Duties:

  • Provides DIAS management and staff expert advice and guidance on complex accounting matters/decisions regarding compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures (GAAP), Federal accounting Standards Board (FASB) related to potential, existing, and new NSF award recipients.
  • Analyzes financial data and provides expert advice on direct costs proposed on grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts in accordance with applicable federal cost principles. Serves as a subject matter expert (SME) on accounting and cost principles related to the full range of NSF funding mechanisms.
  • Reviews and makes determinations on allowability of costs proposed and charged under NSF awards in accordance with federal and NSF requirements. Based on determinations, provides expert advice and consultation to DIAS staff and leaders, program officers, grant and contract officers, awardees, and others involved in decision making and risk mitigation to ensure NSF funds are used for their intended purpose across all NSF funding mechanisms.
  • Monitors site visit teams to conduct evaluations of and provides expertise on awardee institutions' business, accounting, financial, management, and administrative systems, policies, and practices to determine financial capacity to carry out the terms of NSF award(s). Organizations may include academic institutions, state and local governments, profit and non-profit organizations, large corporations, and small and disadvantaged businesses. Mentors new staff and/or other cost analysts with less experience in conducting site visits and other reviews. Develops and participates in cross-training initiatives related to oversight functions of the Cost Analysis and Pre-Award (CAP) or Resolution and Advanced Monitoring (RAM) Branches, Division of Grants and Agreements (DGA), Division of Acquisition and Complex Support (DACS) DACS/DGA, and NSF program offices in areas of specialized expertise.
  • Conducts outreach activities that provide technical assistance to grantee communities (e.g., awardee institutions, professional societies, prospective grantees). Remains aware of changes in statutes, regulations, and NSF policies, and recognizes potential for adverse impact(s) on NSF’s awarding, oversight, and monitoring functions. As requested, introduces state-of-the-art professional standards of analysis and procedures that meet NSF requirements to ensure that Agency programs are effective, efficient, consistent, and in compliance with federal regulations and best practices.
  • Contributes to the development and enhancement of post award monitoring activities of NSF grants and cooperative agreements. Efforts include, but are not limited to, enhancements to the BFA annual risk assessment, development and implementation of analytical tools, metrics, reports, techniques, or other data products (such as Tableau, SQL, NSF Enterprise Reporting and Data Warehouse, Python, R, or other data processing and analysis tools) to improve DIAS operational efficiency and function as a data driven organization, as well as collaboration with the Division of Financial Management and the BFA Front Office on coordination of special projects designed to identify and mitigate emerging risks to the NSF portfolio.
  • Representative areas include grant outreach, presentations, and webinars, supporting the DIAS and the Branch in government-wide initiatives, and other special projects. Serves as the backup divisional and NSF representative, as requested, on internal committees, working groups, and interagency task groups to develop federal cost principles, policies, and procedures, and in outreach activities that reach the full range of NSF constituencies.
  • Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Background investigation may be required.
  • Selective Service registration required for male applicants, unless exempt.
  • US citizenship.

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/unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) & 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.

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

You must answer all job-related questions in the NSF eRecruit questionnaire & any external assessment that is included.

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 position is in the bargaining unit represented by AFGE Local 3403.

Qualifications

All candidates must meet one of the following basic requirements for accountant positions: 1. A degree from an accredited college or university in accounting and/or auditing or in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting. May include up to 6 hours of credit in business law. 2. A combination of education and experience - 4 yrs of experience in accounting or a combination of accounting experience, college level education, and training and one of following: 1) 24 semester hrs. in appropriate accounting or auditing courses (can include 6 hrs. of business law); 2) certificate as a Certified Public Acct. or a Certified Internal Auditor, from a written exam; 3) degree that included substantial accounting/auditing courses, (15 sem. hrs.), but less than 24 sem. hrs.

In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirement described above, candidates at the GS-14 level must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service in oversight, monitoring, analysis, and compliance activities: Examples of specialized experience are: experience using Oracle R12 E- Business Suite (EBS), SAP or Momentum functionality & financial management processes to make recommendations for financial system process improvements; analyzing & documenting financial reporting requirements, developing adhoc financial reports & queries; experience utilizing project management principles & best practices to support financial system designs, implementations, enhancements; skill in providing technical guidance related to financial system functionality & technical infrastructure to resolve technical issues associated with implementing & maintaining a Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) financial system; analyzing & interpreting data to ensure data quality & integrity; experience in analyzing & interpreting USSGL & related transactions to provide professional accounting advice for issue resolution & financial system design.

Education

You must meet the minimum education requirements as described in “Qualifications."

You must submit proof of meeting the basic education requirement described in the QUALIFICATIONS paragraph.  Therefore, you must submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met. 

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:

  • Accounting
  • Federal Awards and Cooperative Agreements

  • Financial Management/ Systems Knowledge

  • Critical Thinking

  • Collaboration

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