Supervisory Loan Specialist (AGRL)

About the role

This position is located in the Farm Service Agency, North Dakota State Office, Minot, Ward County, ND. This position manages and directs the Farm Loan Programs administered in one or more USDA Service Centers providing services to one or more counties in the State. USDA employees: Please refer to the Next Steps section.

What you will do

• Serves as the Service Center technical authority on the Farm Loan Programs and the primary point-of-contact on all farm loan issues addressed in the counties serviced.
• Supervises and directs the work of a subordinate staff responsible for making, servicing, and liquidating loans under FSA farm loan authorities.
• Has delegated loan approval authority and performs the full range of loan specialist duties.
• Attends public meetings with various groups and associations and performs public relations and outreach efforts in the geographic areas serviced.
• Applies knowledge of the technical and administrative concepts, principles, and practices of farm loan and financial management.
• Applies knowledge of farm operations, land use and value, and production and marketing of various crops and livestock.

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.
• If selected, you may be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints.
• Please note we are unable to reimburse for any fees incurred.
• The U.S. Government utilizes Trusted Workforce 2.0 to implement Continuous Vetting (CV) as a-whole-of government approach to personnel security.
• If selected for this position, you will be subject to continuous automated record checks of criminal, financial, and public record databases throughout your period of eligibility or employment, replacing traditional periodic reinvestigations.
• 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.
• 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 e-verify.gov.
• Subject to one year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable.
• New FPAC supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.
• Required to submit Confidential Financial Disclosure Report Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter.
• This position requires "Agricultural Loan Approval Authority" for the GS-12 Grade Level.

Education

College Transcript: If qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with course number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned.

If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g., special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college to ensure proper evaluation.

Your education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited toward qualifications. You may verify accreditation by visiting the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs website. We will verify your education accordingly.

Foreign Education: You must submit verification that education completed in a foreign institution, was recognized by an accreditation body accepted by the U.S. Department of Education.

You must include a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript.

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 National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Your transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

You may submit an unofficial copy of your 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 transcripts.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package. Your application will be reviewed to determine if you meet minimum qualification requirements as described in the qualifications section of the job announcement.

Additionally, the application involves a Technical Assessment. It is the applicant's responsibility to monitor their email for additional information about assessments and any deadlines that may need to be met. Structured Interview - Competency Responses: A panel of subject matter experts will review your responses during a Structured Interview.

These responses to questions/scenarios will be evaluated to provide your rating in the application process.

You will be assessed on the following competencies: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Leadership Oral Communication Problem Solving Reasoning (Clerical/Technical) Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates based on the technical assessment will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

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 Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process.

To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right. To view the application form, visit: *** 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 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).

Documents you must provide

• The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete.
• Encrypted documents will not be accepted.
• Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
• Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications.
• Resume cannot exceed 2 pages.
• If education is required or being used to qualify, 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.
• Current and former Federal employees: Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are/were in the competitive service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable.
• A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute.
• Time-in-grade documentation: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).
• Current permanent FSA County employees must submit your most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing your highest grade (or promotion potential) held on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) per above.
• Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.

What to expect next

Employees of the following USDA agencies who apply for this position, whose current permanent grade is equal to the grade of the advertised position, and whose selection would result in a relocation outside the commuting area of their current duty station may not currently be considered for selection to this position: Agricultural Research Service; Economic Research Service; National Institute of Food and Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service; United States Forest Service; Food and Nutrition Administration; Foreign Agricultural Service; Rural Development and component organizations; the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area, to include the FPAC Business Center, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Risk Management Agency, and Farm Service Agency and Farm Service Agency County employees; Office of the General Counsel; and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights.

This guidance is in alignment with the court order dated October 13, 2026, in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, et al. v. United States Department of Agriculture, Case No. 26-cv-09976-VC (N.D. Calif.).

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.

Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer.

An applicant may submit a complaint or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance.

To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to ***, subject line: Fair Chance Act.

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, RPL, or ICTAP 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. Locality Pay: The salary for each location may vary depending on geographically defined locality pay areas.

Locality tables may be found at Office of Personnel Management Salaries and Wages. Financial Disclosure: 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. Telework: This position is eligible for telework as determined by the agency policy. Incentives: Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

Bargaining Unit: This is a non-bargaining unit position. Agricultural Loan Approval Authority: If selected, applicant will be required to provide proof of Agricultural Loan Approval Authority within 7 days of receipt of the Tentative Job Offer.

Failure to provide required documentation will jeopardize further consideration.