Financial Specialist

About the role

The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in in the Smithsonian Institution, Office of Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, Under Secretary for Museum and Culture, Archives of American Art (AAA).

What you will do

• Financial Specialist is responsible for planning and executing financial management studies that analyze administrative processes such as budgeting, finance, procurement, and property management.
• In this position, you will: Advise management officials and department heads on financial operations, budget execution, travel payments, and financial compliance requirements; research and resolve complex financial, travel issues, and provide recommendations consistent with applicable policies, procedures, and internal controls.
• Manage budgeting, accounting, and payment operations by monitoring obligations, expenditures, commitments, and available balances; processing and overseeing travel reimbursements, vendor invoices, and other financial transactions; performing reconciliations; analyzing spending trends and financial data; identifying discrepancies; and recommending corrective actions.
• Assist with budgeting, accounting, and payment operations by monitoring obligations, expenditures, commitments, and available balances; reviewing and processing travel reimbursements, vendor invoices, and other financial transactions; performing reconciliations; analyzing spending trends and financial data; identifying discrepancies; and recommending corrective actions to support effective financial management and budget execution.
• Coordinate procurement and acquisition-related financial activities in collaboration with Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR), program officials, and other stakeholders; compile procurement packages, obtain required vendor quotes and supporting documentation, verify the availability of funds, and ensure financial and administrative requirements are satisfied before obligations are established.
• Serve as the Accountable Property Officer (APO) and oversee the accountability and control of assigned personal property, including inventories, transfers, disposals, reconciliations, and resolution of discrepancies; assist with the management and coordination of facilities operations for the Washington, DC and New York City offices, including facility service requests, repairs and maintenance, space requirements, safety and security needs, building access, and other operational requirements; and coordinate with facilities personnel, vendors, contractors, and internal stakeholders to facilitate and track facility-related activities and requests.
• Develop, prepare, and assist with financial reports, budget projections, reconciliations, statistical and trend analyses, and executive summaries to support management decision-making and financial performance monitoring; analyze financial data, identify trends and discrepancies, and recommend corrective actions; and assist with audit readiness, internal control reviews, audit findings and recommendations, corrective action plans, and process improvements to strengthen financial accountability, compliance, and operational efficiency.

Requirements

• Conditions of Employment Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.
• See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.
• For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

How you will be evaluated

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above.

The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria: Knowledge of Congressional, OMB, OPMB, and programmatic budget processes, procedures and requirements to formulate, justify, and monitor the execution of appropriated and no appropriated accounts.

Ability to analyze data from accounting systems (ERP) alongside cuff records to produce accurate financial reports and visual representations of data. Skill executing funds in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and Smithsonian Institution contracting policies, practices, and procedures.

Skill utilizing human resources management systems to enter and retrieve staffing data. Important Note: Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency.

If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Documents you must provide

• Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder.
• Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period.
• It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted.
• Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.
• For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.
• Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, “Notice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility.
• The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24).
• Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level.
• Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions.
• NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50's on their own.
• You may need to provide more than one SF-50.
• Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).
• Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify.
• If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
• Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.

Benefits

The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options. Please see Benefits at *** for a complete description.

Flexible Spending Accounts - *** Health Insurance - *** Leave - *** Life Insurance - *** Long Term Care Insurance - *** Retirement Program - ***

What to expect next

At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt.

The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process.

You may also check your application status by logging into *** and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing ***; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information: Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at *** The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses.

Additional information

This position is included in the bargaining unit. Current or Former Political Appointees: Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code.

If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Office of Human Resources.

Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment: Position title; Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee); Agency; and, Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI).

By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.