Full job description

Duties

Responsible for directing and managing program and administrative operations for one or more counties.
Carrying out permanent and ad hoc farm bill programs and policies established by USDA as well as crop insurance operations under policies established by the Risk Management Agency (RMA).
Providing basic FSA farm loan program services.
May perform additional farm loan program assignments based on authorities delegated.
Performing office and field activities as needed to accomplish program objectives.
Managing and directs activities of subordinate staff.

Requirements

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.
Must be a high school graduate or equivalent.
Must be 18 years of age or 17 years of age for high school graduates.
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 supervisory/managerial probationary period, if required.
Financial Disclosure Required (FSA-324).

Qualifications

Qualifications are in accordance with requirements in Handbook 27-PM.

Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date in the announcement. including the following specialized experience and/or education, as identified below:

You may start at the CO-05 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

Four-year degree in an accredited business, college or university in any field in which high school graduation or the equivalent is a prerequisite: OR
One year of qualifying general experience , equivalent to CO-4 or GS-4, applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to any farm or agricultural program. OR
Combination of education and experience described above. Experience that shows your ability to perform progressively more complex, responsible, or difficult duties: and that shows your ability to learn the specific work of this position.

You may start at the CO-07 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

Four-year degree in an accredited business, college or university in any field in which high school graduation or the equivalent is a prerequisite with a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0-point scale: OR
One year qualifying general experience equivalent to grade CO-5 or GS-5 applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to independently perform a full range of farm program processes. Experience that shows your ability to perform progressively more complex, responsible, or difficult duties: and that shows your ability to learn the specific work of this position. OR
Combination of education and experience described above.

You may start at the CO-09 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

A Masters or equivalent graduate degree or two full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree from an accredited college or university: OR
One year qualifying general experience equivalent to grade CO-7 or above or GS-7 or above applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to independently perform a full range of farm program processes. Experience that shows your ability to perform progressively more complex, responsible, or difficult duties, and that shows your ability to learn the specific work of this position. Experience in providing program interpretation, and instruction for an agriculture program area or operational phases of farm loan programs. Such work experience included acquiring data and providing information to producers, farm loan borrowers and farming operations; writing summary reports; assisting staff with policy guidance; arranging and scheduling activities of subordinates to complete technical/clerical review: OR
One year supervisory experience
A combination of education and experience as listed above.

You may start at the CO-11 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

One year of qualifyinggeneral experience at the CO-9 or GS-9 level directly related to the functions of the position to be filled or equivalent experience in a related activity. Experience in independently conducting agricultural operation or in the overall administration of one or more agricultural program areas.

You may start at the CO-12 level if you have one of the following qualifications:

One year of qualifying general experience at the CO-11 or GS-11 level directly related to the functions of the position to be filled or equivalent experience in a related activity. Experience in administering or significantly impacting administration of one or more agricultural programs. Such work experience included providing technical information and assistance regarding farm programs to representative of business and community groups; leading in the development of local farm program policies; manages all day-to-day operations of the office; employs subordinate staff.

Education

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit with your application package evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution was appropriately accredited by an accredited body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. Education standards. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process; however, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting the transcript.

Additional information

Veterans preference does not apply since this position is being advertised under Title 7 authorities.
Relocation expenses are not authorized.
When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.
This is a Title 7, Non-Federal, Non-Civil Service position.
This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact: USDAs TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
Optional - This position may be eligible to telework up to two (2) days per biweekly pay period (1 day per week) upon supervisory approval. This position may also be eligible for flexible work schedules in accordance with Department and Agency directives.

Benefits

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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

All applicants will be considered on the basis of their education, experience, supervisory appraisal, training, awards and education as it relates to the qualification requirements and on the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) listed below.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING ELIGIBILITY QUESTIONS CAREFULLY. During the online application process, you will be asked to address the following items:

Describe your ability to plan work and make decisions independently. Be sure to include specific examples.

Describe your ability to identify and resolve problems. Be sure to include specific examples explaining the situation you encountered, the action you took, and the resolution you achieved.

Describe your ability to communicate orally and in writing being sure to include specific examples.

Describe your ability to supervise and lead people. Be sure to include specific examples including any supervisory or leadership roles you may have held.

Describe your knowledge of FSA farm programs and practices including details regarding how you obtained this knowledge.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on application documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Benefits

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.
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.

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
- Resume that includes:
1) Personal information such as name, address, contact information
2) Education
3) Detailed work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; for current or previous Federal or FSA County employees , it should also include the title, Pay Plan, Series and Grade, Step and Salary for each work experience entry
4) Other qualifications
- For current or previous Federal or FSA County employees, you must attach a copy of your Most Recent Notification of Personnel Action SF-50, SF-50B, or equivalent , that provides current position, grade level, salary, and duty location. Award SF-50 or SF-50B (or equivalent) will result in an ineligible rating.
- Current USDA employees (both permanent and temporary) must submit your most recently completed annual performance appraisal/summary rating (dated within the last 18 months) which identifies the employee's official rating of record and is signed by the supervisor. If a performance appraisal/summary rating is not available, you must submit a statement advising why the performance appraisal/summary rating is unavailable. Do not submit a performance plan. Failure to submit either a performance appraisal/summary rating or a statement regarding the reason for not submitting a performance appraisal/summary rating will result in an ineligible rating.
- Former USDA employees (both permanent and temporary) must submit your latest annual performance appraisal/summary rating or a statement advising why the performance appraisal/summary rating is unavailable. Do not submit a performance plan. Failure to submit either a performance appraisal/summary rating or a statement regarding the reason for not submitting a performance appraisal/summary rating will result in an ineligible rating.
If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact us at kyle.mansfield@usda.gov well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.

To begin, click "Apply Online" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.

NOTE : Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.

Once your application has submitted, we recommend you save or print your completed application and a screen print of uploaded document for your reference.

Agency contact information

Brandon Maienbrook

Phone

317-295-5903

brandon.maienbrook@usda.gov

Address

Farm Service Agency - County Offices
5981 Lakeside Blvd.
Indianapolis, IN 46278
US

Next steps

Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account at USAJOBS account to check your application status.

You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).

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

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

Resume that includes:

1) Personal information such as name, address, contact information
2) Education
3) Detailed work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; for current or previous Federal or FSA County employees , it should also include the title, Pay Plan, Series and Grade, Step and Salary for each work experience entry
4) Other qualifications

For current or previous Federal or FSA County employees, you must attach a copy of your Most Recent Notification of Personnel Action SF-50, SF-50B, or equivalent , that provides current position, grade level, salary, and duty location. Award SF-50 or SF-50B (or equivalent) will result in an ineligible rating.
Current USDA employees (both permanent and temporary) must submit your most recently completed annual performance appraisal/summary rating (dated within the last 18 months) which identifies the employee's official rating of record and is signed by the supervisor. If a performance appraisal/summary rating is not available, you must submit a statement advising why the performance appraisal/summary rating is unavailable. Do not submit a performance plan. Failure to submit either a performance appraisal/summary rating or a statement regarding the reason for not submitting a performance appraisal/summary rating will result in an ineligible rating.
Former USDA employees (both permanent and temporary) must submit your latest annual performance appraisal/summary rating or a statement advising why the performance appraisal/summary rating is unavailable. Do not submit a performance plan. Failure to submit either a performance appraisal/summary rating or a statement regarding the reason for not submitting a performance appraisal/summary rating will result in an ineligible rating.

If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

Help

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency

Open to US Citizens and US Nationals.