Financial Management Specialist

Summary

This position is located in The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage ("CFCH" or "the Center") promotes the understanding, appreciation, and sustainability of highly diverse community-based, living cultural heritage found across the United States and around the world through research, education, public presentation, and community engagement.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

This job is open to

• Individuals with disabilities
• Federal employees - Competitive service
  
  Current or former competitive service federal employees.
• Land & base management
  
  Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.
• Military spouses
• Family of overseas employees
  
  Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.
• Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista
• The public
  
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
• Special authorities
  
  Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.
• Veterans

Clarification from the agency

This Merit Promotion position is open to Current Federal Employees and Former Federal Employees with permanent status or reinstatement eligibility. Individuals who are eligible for a special appointing authority may also apply such as Individuals with Disabilities (Schedule A), former Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Vista volunteers; certain Military Spouses, or individuals eligible under various programs for Veterans (VRA, VEOA, 30% disabled).

Duties

Financial Management Specialist provides a variety of administrative management services in support of unit functions, under general supervision.

In this position, you will:

1. Initiate personnel action requests, recruitment actions, separations, promotions, classification requests and disciplinary actions.
2. Prepare detailed calculations, statistical and narrative justifications and other pertinent information and documents to support unit budget requests. This includes issues such as cost-benefit analysis, projections, management by objective and probability theory.
3. Initiate contracts and purchase orders.
4. Perform routine fund reconciliation comparing reports generated from ERP with Excel spreadsheets and resolving discrepancies.
5. Runs reports and compares initial estimates to budget actuals.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

Qualifications

Experience:

Grade 11 You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as using procedures to execute the contracting and procurement activities of an organization, including initiating the competitive bidding process for contracts; writing/editing statements of work for appropriateness and completeness, and entering in contract and purchase order modifications, work orders, and expenditures. Experience preparing reconciliation budgets for an organization is also required.

Or Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or

LL.M., if related.

Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement.

Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualification. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards.

Experience:

Grade 12 You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as managing the contracting and procurement activities of an organization, including overseeing the competitive bidding process for contracts, determining the appropriate solicitation for purchase orders/contracts, monitoring statements of work for appropriateness and completeness, and tracking contract and purchase order modifications, work orders, and expenditures. Experience preparing reconciliation budgets for an organization is also required.

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Education

No Basic Education.

Additional information

This position is included in the bargaining unit.

Current or Former Political Appointees: Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Office of Human Resources. Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

• Position title;
• Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
• Agency; and,
• Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

• Benefits
  
  The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.
  
  Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description.
  
  Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/
  Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
  Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
  Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
  Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com
  Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online multiple-choice questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job-related competencies below:

• Knowledge of personnel processes to process personnel actions, gained through experience.
• Knowledge in the application of methods and techniques to analyze and evaluate financial transactions.
• Ability to initiate contracts and purchase orders for an organization, gained through experience.
• Ability to use computer applications and software, e.g. word processing, spreadsheets to produce reports and other written materials and maintain an automated record keeping system for an organization to monitor their programs/financial tracking capabilities, gained through experience.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

• Benefits
  
  The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.
  
  Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description.
  
  Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/
  Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
  Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
  Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
  Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com
  Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/
• Required Documents
  
  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.
  
  Your application package should include the following documents:
  
  
  • Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.
  
  
  For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.
  
  
  • Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, "Notice of Personnel Action," that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level. Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions. NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50's on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50.
  
  
  Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).
  
  
  • Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
  • Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
  • Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA
  • Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
  • Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
  • Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.
  
  
  
  If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
  
  Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
  schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
  
  Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
• How to Apply
  
  Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note:
  
  
  • You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
  • You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process.
  • The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
  • If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.
  
  
  Agency contact information
  
  Marie Parks
  
  Phone
  
  202-633-6332
  
  TDD
  202-633-6409
  Email
  
  Parksma@si.edu
  
  Address
  
  SMITHSONIAN
  
  Office of Human Resources
  
  POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517
  
  Suite 5060
  
  Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012
  
  United States
  
  Next steps
  
  At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt. The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information:
  
  
  • Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at https://www.si.edu/OHR/howtoapply.
  • The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses but recruitment incentives may be authorized.
  • The Smithsonian embraces diversity and equal employment opportunity (www.si.edu/oeema).
• Fair and Transparent
  
  The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
  
  
  • Criminal history inquiries
  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
  • Financial suitability
  • New employee probationary period
  • Privacy Act
  • Reasonable accommodation policy
  • Selective Service
  • Signature and false statements
  • Social security number request

Required Documents

Your application package should include the following documents:

• Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.

For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.

• Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, "Notice of Personnel Action," that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level. Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions. NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50's on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

• Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
• Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
• Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA
• Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
• Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
• Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note:

• You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
• You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process.
• The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
• If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.

Agency contact information

Marie Parks

Phone

202-633-6332

TDD
202-633-6409
Email

Parksma@si.edu

Address

SMITHSONIAN

Office of Human Resources

POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517

Suite 5060

Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012

United States

Next steps

At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt. The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information:

• Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at https://www.si.edu/OHR/howtoapply.
• The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses but recruitment incentives may be authorized.
• The Smithsonian embraces diversity and equal employment opportunity (www.si.edu/oeema).

Fair & Transparent

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

• Criminal history inquiries
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
• Financial suitability
• New employee probationary period
• Privacy Act
• Reasonable accommodation policy
• Selective Service
• Signature and false statements
• Social security number request