Business Operations Specialist

Summary

This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Office of the Director (OD).

In this position, you will participate in establishing federal assistance policy for the programs of NIFA by assisting in planning, developing, and recommending policies and procedures. You will be assigned new and complex agency programs to implement as well as complicated and overarching grant policy issues to resolve.

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Duties

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• Analyze the circumstances surrounding policy issues, unresolved questions, current trends, long-range effects, and implications of possible courses of action to determine effects of proposed changes on NIFA Grants Management Policy.
• Research proposed and newly enacted legislation, regulations, and policies relating to grants, agreements, and special projects for changes in grants management policies and procedures.
• Conduct financial, compliance, and administrative reviews of agency grant programs to ensure compliance with agency staff and program participants
• Provide outreach and assistance to university and other grants officials in maintaining their financial systems follow federal laws and regulations.
• Develop recommendations for changes in regulations and Government-wide guidance for grant programs applicable to NIFA.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit
• Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Time in Grade : Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet the time in grade requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

Specialized Experience : Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience includes one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level; or its non-Federal equivalent that included experience:

Advising program officials, recipients, or grants/contract administrators on application of policies, procedures, regulations to grants/contract technical issues; recommends changes in existing grants/contract administration policy based upon to resolve procedural issues; conduct compliance review of grants/contracting activities to ensure compliance with existing agreements and regulation.

- OR -

Awarding and administering grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts to include developing proposals, awarding, negotiating terms, administration, and closing out of the agreement.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.