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Director Financial Assistance Policy and Oversight

Department of Commerce
Office of the Secretary
Office of Acquisition Management

Summary

This vacancy is for a Director Financial Assistance Policy and Oversight in the Office of the Secretary within the Department of Commerce. Serve as the subject matter expert on federal financial assistance policy and oversight and the program manager over suspension and debarment and vendor responsibility matters.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/08/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 8, 2026
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—Situational - as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$169,279 - $197,200 per year
Pay scale & grade
ZA 5
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
Yes
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
OS-OAM-IMP-26-12998999
Control number
875199700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current Department of Commerce (DOC) employees who are serving in the competitive service as permanent career or career-conditional employees, as well as current DOC employees who are eligible for reinstatement based on their career or career-conditional status in the competitive service, Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) eligibles, 30 percent or More Disabled Veterans, Military Spouses, People with Disabilities and VRA eligible candidates.

Duties

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As a Director Financial Assistance Policy and Oversight, you will:

  • Lead your team's work on researching, reviewing, and analyzing how federal grants are managed. Advise on how decisions may affect agency financial assistance business processes.
  • Stay current on relevant federal financial assistance laws, polices and regulations. Provide guidance on how these rules may affect agency programs and operations.
  • Administer and oversee the Department of Commerce's Suspension and Debarment Program. This includes working with the Office of Inspector General on cases involving potential instances of waste and abuse of federal funds and directing the development of case packages.
  • Use project management skills to foster collaboration, prioritize tasks, stay on track, and meet deadlines.
  • Represent the organization in meetings with internal and external partners and share ideas and expertise on key issues.
  • Coach, facilitate, solve work problems and communicate policy and guidance to the agency Federal Financial Assistance community.
  • Represent the organization in forums with both internal and external stakeholders and actively contributes to discussions.
  • Plan and manage the work of your team by setting priorities, assigning tasks, ensuring quality, supporting employee development, and overseeing performance.

This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Supervisory Grants Management Specialist,ZA-1109-5, positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  • You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use of possession of drugs.
  • A probationary or trial period may be required.
  • A supervisory probationary period may be required.
  • Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/).
  • If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
  • All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • Bargaining Unit Position: No
  • Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): No
  • Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: Will not be paid
  • License required: No
  • Drug Test Required: No
  • Pre-employment physical required: No
  • Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement unless eligible for special hiring authority, reinstatement eligible, non-current Federal employee applying as a VEOA eligible which do not require time-in-grade/band.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Occupational-Series

Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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; 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.

This position is being filled under the Department Of Commerce Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). Under CAPS, positions are classified by career path and pay band.

The ZA-V is equivalent to the GS-15 grade levels.


Under CAPS, supervisors may be eligible for supervisory performance pay allowing for salaries up to six percent higher than the maximum rate of their pay band, dependent upon performance rating and geographic location.

To qualify at the ZA-5 level you must meet the following:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-4 or GS-14 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience:

  • Performing as the official supervisor; organizing and delegating tasks, evaluating completed work for thoroughness and quality, and overseeing employee performance management; and
  • Overseeing a Suspension and Debarment program at the agency level, which includes evaluating case referrals, developing recommendations, and drafting written case documents; and
  • Developing and distributing financial assistance policies and guidelines to ensure the agency was compliant with Executive Orders, the Code of Federal Regulations, and other relevant federal requirements.

Education

There is no positive education requirement for this position.

See Qualifications Above.

NOTE:
Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

Additional information

The following links provide information on various hiring authorities that do not fall under competitive examining procedures; however, they may enable you to apply through merit assignment procedures, or be eligible for a non-competitive appointment.

  1. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)
  2. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)
  3. Military Spouse Non-Competitive Hiring Authority
  4. Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA)
  5. 30% or more disabled veterans
  6. Persons with disabilities

ICTAP and CTAP Eligibles: CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Guide to Career Transition

Military Spouse The spouse of a member of the armed forces seeking eligibility under the non-competitive hiring authority of certain military spouse MUST submit various required documentation by the closing date of the announcement in accordance with one of the three below eligibilities:

  • Spouse of a member of the armed forces serving on active duty,
  • Spouse of service member who incurred a 100% disability, or
  • Un-remarried widow or widower of a service member killed while performing active duty.

Please review the "Required Documents" Section for specific documents pertaining to each of the above eligibilities that MUST be included with your application, if you are applying as a Military Spouse.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

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 how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., two-page resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, the result of the Structured Resume Review and Structured Interview required for this position.

Structured Resume Review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two (2) pages of your resume. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Applicants passing the structured resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.

Structured Interview: A structured interview is an assessment method designed to measure job-related competencies of candidates by systematically inquiring about their behavior in past experiences and/or their proposed behavior in hypothetical situations.

For Certain Military Spouses: All applicants who meet the qualification requirements and military spouse noncompetitive eligibility requirements (see "Additional Information" section above") will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration on a separate referral list. While veterans' preference is not a consideration when filling positions under the military spouse non-competitive hiring authority, preference eligibles are encouraged to submit their supporting documentation (DD-214, stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.).

All:

"Performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive due weight, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.)".

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

The assessments will evaluate you on the following general/technical competencies required to perform the job; please do not provide a separate written response:

  • Grants Management Laws, Regulations, and Guidelines
  • Reasoning
  • Project Management
  • Oral Communication
  • Manages Human Resources
To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. Do NOT include the following types of information in your resume/application. If any are included, you will be deemed INELIGIBLE for consideration.
  • Classified or government sensitive information
  • Social Security Number (SSN)
  • Photos of yourself
  • Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
To preview the questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12998999

Office of the Secretary

The Office of the Secretary is the general management arm of the department and provides the principal support to the Secretary in formulating policy and in providing advice to the President. It provides program leadership for the department's functions and exercises general supervision over the operating units. It also directly carries out program functions as may be assigned by the Secretary and provides - as determined to be more economical or efficient - administrative and other support services for designated operating units.

The Office of the Secretary consists of the Secretary, certain secretarial officers, designated staff immediately serving those officials and a number of offices which serve department-wide functions or perform program functions directly on behalf of the Secretary.

Agency contact information

Conchita Lawrence
Email
CLawrence@doc.gov
Address
Office of the Secretary
1401 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20230
US

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https://www.commerce.gov/

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