Accountant 09

Duties
Summary

This announcement will close when 300 applications have been received.

This is a GS-09 career-ladder position leading to the GS-12 full performance level.

Serves as an Accountant responsible for participating in the development, review, and analysis of accounting policies and procedures pertaining to SSA’s financial accounting system.

Read the entire announcement to ensure you understand and follow the application instructions.

Responsibilities

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

12

Qualifications
READ THIS SECTION IN ITS ENTIRETY. THIS INFORMATION IS CRUCIAL TO SUBMITTING A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION.

This position requires (1) specific education as well as (2) specialized experience. You must meet both qualification requirements; however, note that there are ‘in lieu of’ options for specialized experience. Read all options to ensure you understand what you need to meet and demonstrate.

You must submit documentation that fully supports your claim.

See Required Documents for more information on demonstrating this requirement.

(1) EDUCATION: any of the following will meet the educational requirement.

A. A bachelor’s or higher degree in Accounting.

B. A bachelor’s or higher degree in a related field (such as business administration, finance or public administration) which includes or is supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting (with no more than 6 semester hours in business law). (Highlight the 24 semester hours in accounting or auditing courses.)

C. At least 4 years of experience in accounting (or an equivalent combination of experience, college education and training that provided professional accounting knowledge) AND 24 semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality (this can include up to 6 hours of business law). (Highlight the 24 semester hours in accounting or auditing courses.)

D. At least 4 years of experience in accounting (or an equivalent combination of experience, college education and training that provided professional accounting knowledge) AND a certificate as a Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor (obtained through written examination)

E. At least 4 years of experience in accounting (or an equivalent combination of experience, college education and training that provided professional accounting knowledge) AND completion of the requirements for a degree that included at least 15 semester hours in accounting or auditing courses. You must submit documentation that demonstrates: (a) you have 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 you have 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 A above; AND (c) except for literal nonconformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, your education, training and experience fully meet the specified requirements.

If you choose C, D, or E, you must describe that experience in your resume.

(2) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to the educational requirement in (1) above, you must ALSO meet one of the following experience (or ‘in lieu of’) requirements:

A. At least 52 weeks of Specialized Experience as described below. This experience must have been gained in a federal position at or above GS-07 OR (if your position/experience is in another federal payscale or outside of federal service) by performing duties at a level equivalent to those performed in a federal position at or above GS-07. This Specialized Experience must have provided you with the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the functions of this GS-09 Accountant position.

Your resume must clearly describe duties you perform that meet the specific requirements for this position. Since Specialized Experience also has a time component, it must be evident that the duties you describe are at the required level for at least 52 weeks.

Duties should include (1) preparing, analyzing, interpreting or presenting accounting data, records or reports; (2) operating, maintaining and/or modifying accounting systems; or (3) using accounting information to advise or assist management with accounting and financial management matters.

OR

In lieu of specialized experience, you can meet the qualification requirements for this position if you have one of the following (in addition to the education claimed in (1) above):

B. a Master’s or equivalent graduate degree.

C. two full years of graduate level education leading to a Master’s or equivalent graduate degree.

D. a combination of experience and education that when added together meets 100% of the requirements for this position. NOTE: this is the most difficult option to meet and demonstrate – if you can meet requirement (2) in another way, indicate that instead.

You must submit a transcript.
You must submit a resume.

It’s expected that some applicants may qualify on education alone and may not have work experience (for example, a bachelor’s degree in accounting satisfies the educational requirement and a Master’s Degree satisfies the ‘in lieu of specialized experience’ requirement; additionally a bachelor’s degree in accounting followed by two years of graduate-level education also meets both requirements).

All applicants (with or without relevant experience) must submit a resume.

Resumes must show your name and contact information and should specify how you meet the educational qualifications for this position (e.g., if you have a degree in Accounting, state that on your resume; if you are claiming an educational option that includes a specific number of Accounting credits, state that information and list the qualifying courses; if you are claiming experience, you must show your employer, job title, work schedule (full or part time), hours worked per week, full start and stop dates for each position you include, and a clear description of the duties you perform(ed) in that position).

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

As stated above, this position has an educational requirement that must be met by all applicants.

You must submit a transcript that demonstrates this education and/or documents that support a combination of education and experience.

Unofficial transcripts or screenshots of electronic/web transcripts will be accepted for application purposes, but original transcripts will be required if you are selected for this position. Transcripts (copies included) must show your name, the name of the educational institution and the degree you earned. If you are claiming specific credits, highlight the relevant courses on your transcript.

Foreign Education: If your transcripts show education completed in foreign colleges or universities, you must also provide documentation that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

This announcement will close after 300 applications have been received.

This is a GS-09 career-ladder position leading to the GS-12 full performance level.

Duties will be gradually broadened so the incumbent is eventually performing the duties of the full performance level.

Consideration for promotion to successive levels is at the discretion of management and will be based on the existence of work at the next level, the employee’s ability to perform higher-level work, administrative requirements, and agency/organizational circumstances in effect at the time.

This position is eligible for telework consideration.

The selectee may be approved for telework after the initial probationary period has been served if all conditions for telework are met.

Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement.

This is a moderate risk public trust position. The selected employee will be required to complete a Standard Form 85P, Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions, in order to have the appropriate investigation conducted, unless the employee has been previously certified eligible to occupy a position at this level.

Location of Position:
Social Security Administration Headquarters – Woodlawn, Maryland
Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Budget, Finance and Management (DCBFM)
Office of Financial Policy and Operations (OFPO)
Office of Finance (OF)

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Applications for this vacancy will be ranked using the Category Rating method.

If you meet the basic eligibility requirements for this position, you will receive a scored based on your responses to the Online Questionnaire (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10861005) and will placed into one of three categories:

(1) Qualified – Candidates who meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements.

(2) Well Qualified – Candidates who meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements and demonstrate a satisfactory level of the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.

(3) Best Qualified – Candidates who meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements and demonstrate a high level of the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.

Resumes, transcripts, and other relevant supporting documents (if required) will then be reviewed.

Applicants eligible for Priority Selection (see below) will receive the first consideration.

Your resume should describe duties you performthat demonstrate how you meet the following Knowledge, Skills and/or Abilities as they pertain to the Specialized Experiencedescribed above.
– Knowledge of accounting/finance operations and reporting procedures and processes.
– Ability to use automated systems and personal computers to research information and prepare accounting reports.
– Ability to communicate orally and in writing.
– Ability to analyze, interpret and apply accounting policies, procedures and guidelines in a finance operation.

See "Required Documents" for additional information on submitting a resume.

PRIORITY SELECTION:

CTAP and ICTAPcandidates must meet the requirements for the Well-Qualified or Best Qualified category (as described above) to receive priority selection.

Veterans’ Preference eligibles will be placed ahead of other candidates in the category for which they have been rated.

Additionally, preference-eligibles who demonstrate a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent (AND who meet the minimum qualification requirements) will automatically be placed in the Best Qualified Category.

See Required Documents for information on how to support these claims.

Background checks and security clearance
Security clearance

Not Required

Drug test required

No

Position sensitivity and risk

Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process

Help
This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

US Citizens