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LOAN SPECIALIST (AGRL)

Department of Agriculture
Farm Service Agency
PROGRAM OPERATIONS AND APPRAISALS DIVISION

Summary

These positions are located in the Farm Service Agency, Deputy Administrator for Farm Loan Programs, Program Operations and Appraisals Division.

The selectee serves as a senior specialist and performs the full range of functions assigned to the Division.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/23/2026 to 05/06/2026
Salary
$76,463 - $118,204 per year

The 2026 base salary is listed. Upon selection, salary will be adjusted to include locality pay.

Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Location Negotiable After Selection
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes - Required to submit Confidential Financial Disclosure Report Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter.
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
FSA-26-12908618-IMP-MM
Control number
866529700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted only from current permanent Farm Service Agency (FSA) employees with competitive status; CTAP/RPL eligible candidates and permanent Farm Service County Office employees.

Duties

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  • Develops and recommends operating policies and plans, conducting loan program evaluations, and developing and/or analyzing legislative proposals, position papers and decision memoranda.
  • Trains field personnel, reviewing and responding to complex Farm Loan Program issues, and establishes program requirements for IT systems.
  • Serves as program sponsor for one or more of the Farm Loan Program automated systems and works as an integral part of the FLP automation team.
  • Reviews and evaluates Farm Loan Programs to ensure they are being effectively carried out and are consistent with statutes, regulations, policies and program objectives.
  • Reviews, analyzes and responds to Farm Loan Program cases which present complex problems or exceed the delegated authority of the field.
  • Participates in Farm Loan Program Risk Assessments (FLPRA) and field visits.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected, you may be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are unable to reimburse for any fees incurred.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov.
  • Required to submit Confidential Financial Disclosure Report Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter.
  • This position requires Agricultural Loan Approval Authority.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts.

Individual Occupational Requirements:

Education

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or other fields related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology.

-or-

Experience

General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Experience that required gathering and analyzing facts and figures and presenting the information or conclusions in clear oral and written language; or that provided a knowledge of the principles of financial analysis or of insurance laws, such as contract, property, life, casualty, or marine insurance.

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience that demonstrated competence in agricultural, commercial, realty, or other types of loans. Experience may have been gained in such work as reviewing and passing upon applications for agricultural, commercial, bank or mortgage loans; servicing a loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; performing financial analysis of commercial concerns for investment purposes; appraising real estate to determine property valuation; or similar work.

In addition to meeting the individual occupational requirement, you must also possess experience listed below.


Specialized Experience Requirement

For the GS-12 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience that demonstrates competence with agricultural loans by reviewing and passing upon applications for various kinds of agricultural operations representing all types of ownership (i.e., single owner, partnerships, and corporations, etc.); and servicing an agricultural loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association. In addition, experience must demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the technicalities of farm financing and credit; farm operations, land use and value, production of various crops and livestock, and prices and markets in the farming area where loans are made and serviced.

For the GS-13 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience that demonstrates competence in agricultural loans; reviewing and passing upon applications for a wide and complex variety of agricultural operations or enterprises (i.e., single owner, partnerships, and corporations, etc.); servicing an agricultural loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; Experience that demonstrates broad and seasoned judgment in providing financial management guidance to agricultural borrowers; ascertaining and analyzing the many and often obscure facts regarding the borrowers financial capacity, and evaluating the general economic and financial conditions that affect the organization/governments risk in granting, guaranteeing, or insuring the loan. In addition, experience that demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the technicalities of farm financing and credit; farm operations, land use and value; production of various crops and livestock, and prices and markets in the farming area where loans are made and serviced.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Time-in-Grade Requirement: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

College Transcript: If using education to meet the Individual Occupational Requirement, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with course number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g., special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college to ensure proper evaluation.

Your education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited toward qualifications. You may verify accreditation by visiting the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs website. We will verify your education accordingly.

Foreign Education: You must submit verification that education completed in a foreign institution, was recognized by an accreditation body accepted by the U.S. Department of Education. You must include a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Your transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

You may submit an unofficial copy of your transcript at the initial phase of the application process. However, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting transcripts.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

Financial Disclosure: If selected, you will be required to submit Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter. Selectee is subject to financial Disclosure Requirements in accordance with 5 CFR, Part 2635, Sub part E regarding business or personal transactions with applicants, borrowers, or business contacts who have or who are seeking business with this Agency. Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. If selected you will be subject to a National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) and a credit report.

Telework: This position is not eligible for telework.

Incentives: Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit position.

Agricultural Loan Approval Authority: If selected, applicant will be required to provide proof of Agricultural Loan Approval Authority within 7 days of receipt of the Tentative Job Offer. Failure to provide required documentation will jeopardize further consideration.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package. A rating will not be used; all applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12908618

Farm Service Agency

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is an exciting and rewarding place to start, build and/or continue your career. Be part of our team and support the well-being of American agriculture and the American public.

FSA's diverse culture and benefits allow for a healthy balance between your career and home life. In addition to a generous salary, FSA offers a friendly and professional working environment with a diverse workforce, flexible hours/work schedules, and other family-friendly benefits such as: paid vacation and sick leave, paid holidays, retirement and supplemental savings plan, a wide array of health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans, flexible spending accounts, and long-term care insurance.

USDA is a great place to start or continue your career.

Agency contact information

Cheryl Manning
Phone
757-389-7630
Email
Cheryl.Manning@usda.gov
Address
Farm Service Agency
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US

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