Clarification from the agency

U.S. citizens or U.S. Nationals; Military Spouses; no prior Federal experience is required.

This is an entry-level position with promotion potential to Accountant, GS-0510-12. At the starting grades, the selectee(s) will execute developmental assignments. Initial supervision and guidance will be greater than that required at the full performance level of GS-12. Assignments will become more challenging and performed with greater autonomy as selectee(s) performance level progresses. At the full performance level of this position (GS-12) duties include:

• Ensure that the bi-weekly payroll and accruals are posted in a timely manner without any errors or balancing differences.
• Reconcile all necessary action related to payroll.
• Analyze any adjustments requied by the program office, ensuring they are processed prior to posting of payroll.
• Review and post direct general ledger entries for TSP Breakage, Workers Compensation, Unemployment, and Unfunded Leave Liability.
• Serve as subject matter expert nd review, reconcile, and process all payroll suspense items, and post charges to the appropriate program office.
• Explain documentation to auditors related to the annual audits.
• Support the payroll helpdesk and provide subject matter expertise to resolve various tickets.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.
• If selected, your appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• You are required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report upon entering the position and annually (5CFR Part 2634, Subpart I USOGE, 6/08).
• This position works remotely, but the employee must live within a realistic commuting distance from the DOE Worksite. If selected, it is required to sign a remote work agreement detailing remote working conditions and expectations for position.
• A preliminary background check must be completed before a new employee can begin work. Current Federal employees or other individuals with an existing completed background investigation may not be required to undergo another background check.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Accountant: Transcripts must be provided.
A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher 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. Combination of Education and Experience: Must include 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. The applicant's 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; OR
(2) A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination (certificate must be provided); 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; AND (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.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

GS-07 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting All of the following

1. Assisting with a variety of routine accounting assignments such as recording financial transactions into various accounts and general ledgers, reconciling payroll accounts, adjusting accounting data, etc.
2. Assisting with customer inquiries concerning payroll accounting errors and/or balance differences.

OR

You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:

Education: One year of graduate level education or Superior Academic Achievement Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. S.A.A. is based on (1) Class standing-applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class, based on completed courses; or (2) Grade-Point Average-applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (3) Election to membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society - membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience as described above. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level.

GS-09 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting All of the following

1. Reconciling payroll errors or balancing differences to ensure payroll and accruals are posted timely.
2. Responding to customer payroll inquiries concerning payroll errors, suspense accounts, and/or balance differences ensuring issues are resolved.
3. Performing a variety of routine accounting assignments such as recording financial transactions into various accounts and general ledgers, reconciling accounts, adjusting accounting data, etc. OR

You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:

Education: Two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree, or master's, or equivalent graduate degree; which demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. For this position, this is defined as a degree in business administration, finance, or public administration, or a similarly related major.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: Acombination of education and experience as described above may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must (1) meet all of the requirements as described in this section; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as scoring in the in Well Qualified category (or higher).

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

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, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the self-assessment questions (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) will be evaluated and you will be placed into one of three pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

• Accounting
• Auditing
• Data Management
• Risk Management
• Strategic Thinking
• Technical Documentation
• Technology Management

Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.

Non-Competitive Hiring Authority for Military Spouses: If you are a military spouse eligible under this authority, and you meet the minimum qualification requirements for the position, you will be referred to the selecting official for consideration on a separate list specific to only military spouses.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as scoring in the in Well Qualified category (or higher).

Shared Certificates: The Department of Energy shares lists of applicants among its internal Departmental Elements and organizations. You may be referred for consideration to other DOE Hiring Managers throughout the Department for more than one position based on this application. By applying to this announcement, you understand your application materials may be shared with multiple Hiring Mangers throughout DOE. If additional positions are filled from this announcement conditions of employment may differ. You will be notified if you are referred for additional positions.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (06/25/2024) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, clickhttps://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12444369.