Clarification from the agency

This is a Merit Promotion announcement for career and career conditional Federal employees, I/CTAP eligibles and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information. FWS- wide: Open to current U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees serving under a Career or Career-Conditional appointment, Land Management eligibles, CTAP.

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*Note: Area of Consideration: Anyone may apply; however, applicants must meet both of the following to be considered:

1. Be a current U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) employee or reside within the Southeast Region (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, PR); and
2. Live within the Southeast United States.

Only applicants who meet both conditions will be referred.

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

At the GS-11 level the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

• Performs budget and financial management for regional offices, including forecasting, monitoring, and reporting, but typically for smaller or less complex programs.
• Supports annual budget planning, prepares justifications, and monitors expenditures, but with more guidance and less authority to make major recommendations.
• Coordinates budget development and execution, reviews submissions for compliance, and assists with financial analysis and reporting.
• Conducts studies and manages data systems, but projects are less complex and often supervised.
• Advises staff on budget requirements and policies, but advice is more procedural and less strategic.
• Prepares and tracks financial reports, ensures accuracy, and supports audit readiness, but with less responsibility for major corrective actions.

At the full performance level (GS-12) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

• Develops and monitors long-range budget forecasts, evaluates cost effectiveness, analyzes spending trends, and recommends improvements to fund programs and projects.
• Supports annual operating budget planning by gathering data, determining priorities with program leadership, and preparing budget justifications.
• Coordinates budget development and execution for a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar program; reviews submissions to ensure compliance with regulatory, policy, and strategic requirements.
• Plans and completes complex projects supporting regional budget formulation, allocation, execution, and financial management. Conducts special studies and manages data systems that support financial analysis and reporting.
• Advises Assistant Regional Directorate staff on budget requirements, funding status, and relevant policies.
• Prepare and track monthly financial reports and apply knowledge of NRDAR Fund use to ensure accuracy and financial integrity maintaining audit readiness.

Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/06/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications for the GS-11:

A. I have one year experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in Federal Service. Examples of qualifying experience may include: Formulating and justifying budgets; Track, analyze and brief management and make recommendations on data analysis; analyzing budget submissions from a program or component for compliance with agency policy; reviewing commitments, obligations, expenditures and undelivered orders at the Treasury Account Symbol level for an assigned account. -OR-B. I possess three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D., or possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or LL.M if related, in Business or Finance or a directly related field that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position. -OR-C. I possess a combination of specialized experience and graduate education as outlined above which, in combination, equals 100% of the requirement.

Minimum Qualifications for the GS-12:

I possess one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility equivalent to grade GS-11 in the Federal service. Specialized experience may include: 1) compile data on program expenditures for audiences for presentation and reports; 2) review and monitor obligations and expenditures to ensure compliance with obligation; 3) compile and submit cost documentation packages; 4) respond to inquiries on budgetary matters on behalf of an agency; and 5) formulate and discuss budget plans, estimates, and justifications for management officials.

Volunteer Experience: 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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Accountability
• Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the USA Hire Assessment, if required.
The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

DUE WEIGHT: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level.