Clarification from the agency

Current, permanent employees of the VISN 9 NETWORK ONLY and CTAP eligible.

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The Assistant Financial Manager is responsible for conducting an internal audit program to ensure that financial policies and procedures are being followed and are effective. This includes the auditing of cost control records maintained by other services. As the Assistant Fiscal Officer for the healthcare facility, the AFO exercises full responsibility of developing local budget instructions and policies within the framework of mandatory requirements for use by operating officials in preparing their budget estimates. After reviewing these estimates and negotiating with operating officials, the incumbent consolidates the results and presents the recommendations concerning the amounts to be approved to the Chief, Fiscal Service. The AFO also distributes funds to control points, analyzes actual funds as compared to the plan, and makes projections of adjustments which will be necessary to maintain equitable program balance. These changes occur quite frequently since it is difficult to estimate with a high degree of accuracy such factors as the introduction of new medical techniques and programs, the exact type of patients to be treated, the course of their treatment and the cost thereof, employee turnover, specific areas of emphasis and related requirements of medical groups.

The core duties of this position include but are not limited to:

• Review policies and procedures and reports relating to financial performance data to provide management accurate tools and information.
• Interpret and assess the impact of new and revised congressional legislation on the formulation and execution of budgets.
• Develop local policies for use by operating officials in preparation of budget estimates for individual services.
• Develop and present operating budgets to department managers and executive leadership.
• Supervise and oversee the effective implementation of new accounting and budget systems.
• Render technical advice and assistance in the areas of budget, accounting, payroll, travel, and revenue activity.
• Design automated and hard-copy report formats for facility wide reporting.
• Prepare working papers, spreadsheets, SharePoint sites for control and analysis by service chiefs and management using a variety of software applications such as Excel, Access, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Assist in the development, review and execution of the financial plans for the operation of a medical center or other large multifaceted corporate entity.
• Establish financial and budgetary goals against which the relative costs and benefits of agency program achievements can be measured.
• Communicate with a variety of individuals from varying backgrounds (medical center staff, volunteers, patients, visitors) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.
• Verbally present financial and technical findings to executive leadership in a clear and concise manner.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM CST
Telework: Ad Hoc Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Financial Manager (Assistant Financial Officer)/PD073660
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/06/2026.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

• Examples of appropriate SF-50s include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50s at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Individual Occupational Requirements: This occupation also has Individual Occupational Requirements. The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify for the GS 0510 occupational series, applicants MUST have one of the following:

A. Degree: 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. (The term "accounting" means "accounting and/or auditing" in this standard. Similarly, "accountant" should be interpreted, generally, as "accountant and/or auditor.")

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: 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;
2. A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; 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; (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.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: In addition to the Time-in-Grade Requirement and Individual Occupational Requirement, you must also meet the specialized experience/education requirement as described below to qualify for the Financial Manager position at the GS-13 grade levels.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as:
  • Providing day-to-day management of financial operations, including budget formulation and execution.
  • Developing, implementing, directing, and managing projects and administrative operations of a large decentralized organization.
  • Establishing priorities and meeting deadlines for a full range of organizational activities (i.e., short- and long-range planning, determination and management of resources, budgeting, review, and improvement of program activities, etc.).
  • Developing local budget instructions and policies within the framework of mandatory requirements.
  • Performing test audits to determine validity and accuracy of accounting records and application of accounting controls.
  • Analyzing problems, gathering and coordinating information, and integrating independent recommendations and actions.
  • Analyzing operating costs and distributing operating funds.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Budget Administration
• Communications
• Control of Funds
• Financial Analysis
• Financial Management
• Principles of Accounting

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Work is generally sedentary but requires some bending, walking, standing, lifting, and carrying various reports to areas of the Medical Center. Working at the computer for long periods of time.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.