Summary These positions are located in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Chicago Field Division. These position(s) primary purpose is to support the Domestic Division Financial Procurement Unit (FPU) with processing various types of accounting transactions, analyzing financial information, and providing customer support within the assigned Division offices. Responsibilities As a Financial Management Specialist, your typical work assignments may include: Analyzing and developing cost data for a broad operating program utilizing a variety of sources. Providing customer service to assigned Division office(s)/group(s), vendors, and financial analysts. Assisting in the preparation of financial reports and making recommendations to the Senior Financial Management Specialist as needed. Collecting, analyzing, and validating budget data to help monitor and track resources for assigned program areas. Conducting research, identifying, and analyzing trends in the use of funds, and recommends adjustments in programs that require the rescheduling of program workloads. Reviewing and processing accounting transactions for broad and varied range of functions including obligations, accrued expenditures, disbursements, appropriation refunds, reimbursable orders, expenditure vouchers, and rejected transactions. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet the Specialized Experience requirements as noted below. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification. You may qualify at the GS-09 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrate your ability in: 1) Assisting in performing a variety of financial and budget related functions and administrative work in connection with financial and accounting systems within an office; 2) Reviewing documents for valid budget expenditure limitations, completeness and correctness of all financial data; 3) Responding to basic financial and accounting issues and inquiries; 4) Monitoring and maintaining financial transactions; and, 5) Ensuring funds are adequately safeguarded against fraud, waste, and abuse. OR Education: Have a Master's or equivalent graduate degree -or- two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B. or J.D., if related. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. You may qualify at the GS-11 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrate your ability in: 1) Assisting in managing an organization's financial operations and related administrative support; 2) Processing various types of accounting transactions into automated financial management systems (e.g., Unified Financial Management System (UFMS); 3) Performing analysis of financial information using queries and reports; 4) Interpreting and explaining financial legislations and procedures to customers; 5) Identifying and resolving recurring issues related to financial and accounting transactions; 6) Monitoring and maintaining financial transactions; and, 7) Ensuring funds are adequately safeguarded against fraud, waste, and abuse. OR Education: Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree -or- three (3) full academic years of graduate level education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. Specialized 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. One year of specialized experience for this position includes: Competencies: Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competencies in the following areas: Additional information on the position qualification requirements are located in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Standards Handbook. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Education This position requires specific coursework and/or a degree to meet the basic education requirement. You must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Your transcript(s) must clearly demonstrate the course(s) listed in the qualification requirement section. If the transcript(s) does not clearly demonstrate this you must submit a copy of the course description and/or other documentation demonstrating that the courses are equivalent. If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show 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 an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in lost consideration. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, DEA requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation (Critical-Sensitive/Top Secret, Special-Sensitive/Top Secret, or Non-critical Sensitive/Secret). This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. Must be able to perform the essential duties of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation. DEA committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, conducts random and other drug testing of its employees in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. EEO POLICY STATEMENT Veterans' Preference: Certain veterans are eligible to apply as a status candidate under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). View Feds Hire vets for more information For more information on veterans' preference see http://www.fedshirevets.gov/. 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. Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP): This program applies to Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed, or employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 80 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. Well-Qualified includes those applicants whose knowledge, skills, and abilities clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp Additional selections may be made beyond the total number of vacancies specified using this vacancy announcement. Further selections may also be made for additional organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.