Financial Administrative Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/27/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized Experience is defined as work that involves: Knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and specific and detailed knowledge of VA Standard Operating Procedures related to financial transactions including broad knowledge of transaction types used in VA accounting. Ability to manage team workload, anticipates teammate output and independently determines when to shift tasks to ensure adherence to priorities and timeliness expectations for each type of transaction. Knowledge of principles, concepts, and methodology of accounting techniques and procedures including knowledge of privacy and information disclosure policies regarding PII under the Privacy Act. Provide subject matter expertise regarding associated job aids, policies and SOPs regarding accounting processes and procedures and processes within Special Support and Operations Department. Highly knowledgeable in customer service and able to communicate effectively in writing and orally. Skilled in analyzing and prioritizing a large variety of concurrent tasks under limited supervision. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., OR, Combining Education and Experience: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Advisory Assistance Communication Customer Service Teamwork Problem Solving Task Management Technical Competence 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: Professional knowledge of the accounting methods, procedures, and techniques to conduct difficult and responsible analysis and determinations within a complete accounting system to validate transactions and to perform research to resolve. Extensive knowledge of account maintenance and accounting technician support positions. An extensive understanding Debt Management Center accounting systems, policies, and procedures in performing or supervising the examination, verification, and maintenance of accounts and accounting data. Extensive and subject matter expert knowledge of federal laws, guidelines, and precedents pertaining to debt collection and VA regulations and procedures which implement these laws. Intensive knowledge and understanding of the interrelationships between various financial management and electronic data processing (EDP) systems. Expert ability to Review, analyze, and validate that the research and transactions entered are correct and explain to others why a transaction may or may not be appropriate for and advise what steps should be taken to resolve complex and nuanced cases. Ability to exercise sound judgement, prioritization skills, and initiative to effectively manage team workload, anticipates teammate output and independently determines when to shift tasks to ensure adherence to priorities and timeliness expectations for each type of transaction, with minimal supervision. Develop training presentations, process documentation such as SOPs, job aids, and knowledge documents to provide on the job training to new and existing staff in group and individual settings, adjusting communication style as necessary. Evaluates and interprets financial data from multiple systems or sources to identify discrepancies, recommends corrective actions, and ensures accuracy and compliance with internal controls and standard operating procedures. Trains and mentors others to develop skills in this area. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from St. Paul MN. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 1 Federal Drive, Suite 4500, St. Paul, MN. This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs Debt Management Center (DMC), Support and Special Operations Division (SSOD), within the Office of Finance, Office of Management. The primary purpose of this position is to provide technical support and training for employees and other DMC stakeholders.