Auditor

Summary

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is an independent office within the Department of Agriculture whose mission is to ensure economy, efficiency, and integrity in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs and operations through the successful execution of audits, investigations, and reviews.

Duties

• Strategic Planning: Provides overall guidance and prioritization in engagement planning; creates, oversees, and reviews the development of base-content, risk assessments, planning ideas, engagement templates, and new products.
• Written and Oral Communications: Prepares and delivers a wide variety of high-level briefings, reports, studies, memorandums, information papers, and other documents to high-level officials and staff members.
• Technical Competence: Revises and establishes new policies and/or procedures to ensure engagements are conducted in accordance with prescribed professional audit and accounting standards.
• Recommends changes in audit policies and/or procedures to improve oversight effectiveness and to address actions received during external quality assessment/peer reviews.
• Audit Systems Analysis and Development: Develops creative solutions to controversial problems; studies and integrates findings of numerous audit efforts to define audit targets and develop audit criteria or new approaches for use by other auditors.
• Customer Satisfaction and Liaising: Meets with key customers and coordinates with officials to assess customer satisfaction; explains organizational policy and procedures, resolves significant problems that arise.

Requirements

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 https://www.e-verify.gov/. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period depending on your appointment type, unless previous federal service is creditable. During this time your employment will be evaluated, and we may consider: your performance and conduct, the needs and interests of the agency, whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government, and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement: Degree: auditing; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, public administration or accounting. or Combination of education and experience: at least 4 years of experience in Performance/Financial Auditing, or an equivalent combination of performance/financial auditing experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional auditing knowledge. The applicant's background must also include one of the following: A certificate as a Certified Internal Auditor or a Certified Public Accountant, obtained through written examination; or Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in auditing or accounting, e.g., 15 semester hours. In Addition to the IOR above you must meet the Specialized Experience below for the respective grade: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-14: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower gradeGS-13. Specialized experience is described as mastery of a professional knowledge of the theory, concepts, principles, and practices of accounting and, as required, auditing, and financial management sufficient to conduct difficult assignments involving interfaces and inter-relationships between and among programs, systems, functions, policies, and various issues. FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS (GS-14): Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-13 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-14 level. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks. NOTE: Applicants applying as VEOA candidates who are current GS civil service employees or are prior GS civil service employees within the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements.

Education

While applicants are unable to qualify based solely on education you MUST submit transcripts to verify basic qualifications. You must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, official transcripts will be required 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. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13043089 Other Information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP 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/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). If selected, you will be required to submit Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter. Selectee is subject to financial Disclosure Requirements in accordance with 5 CFR, Part 2635, Sub part E regarding business or personal transactions with applicants, borrowers, or business contacts who have or who are seeking business with this Agency. Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. If selected you will be subject to a National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) and a credit report. This is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter. Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use. 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.