Financial Program Specialist

About the Role

This is a Recent Graduate appointment in the Pathways Program, designed as a one-year development program leading to a competitive civil service career. Successful completion may lead to non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position.

Key Responsibilities

• Gathering, compiling, entering, and reviewing financial data to support assigned financial programs, budgetary status, expenditure tracking, performance measures, and management reporting.
• Assisting with preparing recurring and ad hoc financial reports, summaries, analyses, instructions, procedures, and related materials.
• Reviewing financial data, workflows, office procedures, and operational processes to identify discrepancies, inefficiencies, and opportunities to improve financial controls, reporting, and service delivery.
• Assisting higher-graded staff in analyzing financial services and support activities, including compiling information and preparing analyses for program operation evaluation and improvement recommendations.
• Assisting in reviewing and resolving routine financial operating problems, including issues involving financial processes, automated systems, data quality, and related support activities.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service.
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years.
• Pre-employment processes will be conducted in English.
• May be required to pass a background investigation.
• Adherence to the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan.
• Compliance with government ethics standards.
• This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions - NTEU.

Qualifications

For GS-7

• 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
• Entering, updating, retrieving, or maintaining information in databases, spreadsheets, tracking logs, financial systems, or other automated systems.
• Gathering or compiling information from reports, records, forms, source documents, or automated systems.
• Reviewing records, reports, source documents, transactions, forms, or data entries to identify missing information, apparent errors, discrepancies, anomalies, or inconsistent information.
• Preparing routine reports, spreadsheets, summaries, worksheets, responses, or supporting documentation using established formats or instructions.
• Responding to routine customer, stakeholder, program office, or internal inquiries.
• Education Substitution (GS-7):
• A Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) may substitute.
• Successful completion of one year of full-time graduate education from an accredited college or university.

For GS-9

• 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
• Gathering, compiling, reviewing, and analyzing financial, budgetary, workload, resource, operational, and performance data from multiple sources.
• Preparing financial reports, summaries, analyses, and management information.
• Assisting in developing, revising, and documenting financial instructions, guidance, standard operating procedures, workflow processes, internal controls, and automated financial system procedures.
• Supporting financial studies, special projects, evaluation teams, and process improvement efforts.
• Coordinating with program staff, systems personnel, financial personnel, and other stakeholders.
• Education Substitution (GS-9):
• Master's degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education.

Combining Experience and Education

• Education and experience can be combined to meet qualification requirements.

Eligibility

• Must be an individual who completed, within the previous two years by 11/09/2026, a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or completed a qualifying career or technical education program.
• Veterans unable to apply within two years of degree due to military service have a full 2-year period of eligibility upon release or discharge from active duty.

Additional Information

• A Pathways Participant Agreement will be required.
• Expected Training and Development: Orientation, mentorship, Individual Development Plan, at least 40 hours of formal training annually.
• Recent Graduates are not eligible for promotions while in the one-year program. Promotion eligibility may occur upon successful program completion.
• Reasonable Accommodation (RA) requests for USA Hire Competency Based Assessments will be considered.

Note: For detailed information on residency requirements, education substitution, and veterans' eligibility, please refer to the original announcement.