Clarification from the agency

See Requirements section of this announcement for information on who may apply.

As a Financial Management Specialist work includes providing customer service on financial management transactions to the AOC jurisdictions and associated contractors and vendors, as well as to perform special projects needed by management within the AOC Office of the Chief Financial Officer.

Analysis of Policies and Procedures and Account Maintenance and Reconciliations

• Analyzes discrepancies and performs reconciliations for items identified in the course of processing transactions.
• Responds to customer inquiries by performing in-depth research utilizing IPP, FMS, Purchase Order data and related regulations and fiscal law.
• Reviews existing financial policies, procedures, guidelines and systems that encompass the agency's financial management program. Includes the analysis, interpretation and evaluation of trends and measurements which indicate the level of integrity, efficiency and effectiveness of the agency's financial operations.
• Designs, administers, plans, implements and coordinates on-going financial management projects. 
• Provides financial system education and training to Accounting Branch and other AOC personnel to enhance agency use of the data generated from such financial systems.
• Resolves financial management problems and discrepancies under the general guidance of the supervisor and/or lead financial management specialist.
• Provides assistance in the analysis, review and resolution of financial issues. 

Travel Authorization and Entitlement Processing

• Receives, reviews and routes AOC travel authorization requests and local and long-distance requests for reimbursement.
• Applies AOC travel policy guide contained on the AOC intranet, General Services Administration (GSA) per diem tables and Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) posted on the internet.
• Receives and reviews travel authorization requests, performing validations, confirming proper approvals and supporting documentation to justify the travel.
• Maintains the AOC travel card. Validates charges, reconcile credit card and resolves discrepancies with CATO travel office.

Invoice/Payment Transaction Processing

Uses various automated systems and manual processes in the processing/approval of vendor invoices for payment. Utilizes Treasury Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) and AOC’s Financial Management System (FMS) and may expand to additional systems. Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTRs) or Contracting Officers (COs) review and approve the items/services were received. 

Validates accuracy of vendor submitted data in IPP to FMS purchase order data by applying various methods such as:

• Performs critical reviews of invoice details to ascertain the nature of the goods/service performed and compares to the detail descriptions contained in the Purchase Order to validate what is being paid for is what AOC received. 
• Reviews and applies any special guidance from the COTR provided in their notes fields in IPP or via separate correspondence, taking care first to assess the validity of such guidance, considering such references as AOC Contracting and Accounting policies posted on the AOC intranet site; basic concepts of fiscal law, as gleaned from mandatory Appropriations Law training, which is a recurring requirement of all AOC employees involved in payment processing; and referencing Time, Purpose and Amount.
• Supports the Certifying Officer when assessing vouchers for payment by evaluating the reasonableness of funding citations (Time, Purpose and Amount) and object class codes (types of goods/services purchased) using references such as Title 31 of the U.S. Code, Money and Finance, Subtitle II, Chapter 11, Object Class tables in Office of Management and Budget Circular A-11 and FMS.
• Resolves errors working with Vendors, COTRs and COs by effecting corrections such as rejecting invoices for corrected billings; referring questions to the Office of General Counsel as necessary; approving Intragovernmental Payment Transactions. 

Customer Service, Communication and Collaboration

• Responds to both internal AOC customers and external vendors/contractors by answering inquiries verbally or in writing in a clear and concise manner. 
• Conducts in-person quarterly meetings at assigned jurisdictions’ sites, which may include providing PowerPoint briefings to train staff on general accounting or financial management issues.
• Maintains a positive work relationship with customers by explaining AOC accounting and financial management policies and procedures and personally demonstrates how to apply them to accomplish the work. 

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• You must be able to pass a drug test.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.

“To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet
one of the categories below:

• A citizen of the United States;
• A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B);
• A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible;
• A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or
• A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States.”

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, an applicant's one full year of specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

To qualify at the GS-11 level, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-09 level in the federal service. Examples of qualifying experience include the following types of tasks performed on a regular and recurring basis: 

• Researching, analyzing, and processing information related to financial transactions to ensure accuracy.
• Maintaining travel management software and management of federal funds regarding travel and reimbursing personnel.
• Using financial management systems to input, adjust, and analyze financial data and reports.
• Analyzing and evaluating reports and data from financial systems to identify issues and discrepancies.
• Developing, maintaining, and recommending improvements to procedures and processes for procurements/contracts and other administrative and financial programs. 

OR

Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or at least 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. To be qualifying, the higher-level graduate education must be in a major field of study in Accounting, auditing or other field of study with course work directly related to the work of this position.

OR

Have an equivalent combination of the above specialized experience AND higher level graduate education that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

How you will be evaluated

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

Review your resume and responses carefully. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions. 

Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for this position, possession of any specialized experience, and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement. The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies:

Financial Management - Knowledge of concepts and principles of financial management functions, systems, policies, and procedures for the examination, verification, and maintenance of accounts and financial data. 

Financial Analysis - Knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of financial analysis to interpret quantitative and qualitative data; includes the analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of trends and measurements to resolve financial issues;

Problem Solving -  Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations. 

Oral/Written Communication - Communicate effectively both orally and in writing with Jurisdiction, vendors, contractors and agency staff to answer questions, disseminate or explain information and address complaints in a diplomatic manner

Your responses to the self-assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions.  Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. Your resume must support your answers to the self-assessment questions. Falsifying your background, education and/or experience is cause for non-selection or disqualification from further consideration.

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).