Accounting Technician

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Duties

Primary duties encompass monitoring the obligation status of the Salaries and Expenses (S&E) appropriation, the Buildings and Facilities (B&F) appropriation, Trust Fund Operations, and Inmate Deposit fund accounting. The incumbent is responsible for providing administrative and financial support services and maintaining the daily status of accounting data reflected in the Financial Management Information System (FMIS).

Manages purchase orders, contracts, travel authorizations, government transportation requests, and other source documents and assures they are obligated against the proper appropriated and non-appropriated funds. Reviews documents for coding accuracy and ensures accurate and timely entry into the on-line accounting system.

Maintains automated obligation records and source documents on a daily basis. Prepares, reconciles, and ensures funds are available for obligation accruals, adjusts accruals in the month and quarter in which the obligation is incurred and ensures accurate entry into automated accounting system. Recording of the obligations into undelivered orders and/or accounts payable shall be performed in accordance with GAO Title 7 and other government-wide accounting standards and in conformance with applicable auditing standards.

Perform travel functions in the FMIS Travel Module such as establishing a Travel Authorization (obligation), issuing Travel Advances and preparing Travel Vouchers.

Resolve Travel Advance problems at time of settlement due to the restraints of the module. Research and follow-up will be required when reconciling the Travel Advance account.

Assists in the preparation of monthly account reconciliations and adjustments of accounts for prior year appropriations. Work will involve the Building and Facilities Appropriation, the Trust Fund, the Salaries and Expenses Appropriation, and various multi-year appropriations.

Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staff correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Salary

• $61,557 - $77,855/year

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is Required.
• See Special Conditions of Employment Section.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP eligibility, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and score 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: Click Here

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements:

Education:

As a general rule, education is not creditable above GL-05 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position.

OR

Experience:

You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level in federal service. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position, and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of this qualifying experience are:

• Experience in validating, monitoring, controlling and maintaining transactions and accounting records for multiple accounts.
• Experience in maintaining control accounts and subsidiary accounts.
• Experience in processing accounting transactions for a wide variety of functions including obligations, accrued expenditures, disbursements, appropriation refunds, reimbursable orders, earnings, collections, expenditure vouchers, cost transfers, rejected transactions, inter-fund bills, and other accounts in connection with the general ledger.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable. ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. Other Information This position IS included in the bargaining unit. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3307, a maximum entry age of 36 has been established for initial appointment to a position in a Bureau of Prisons institution. The representative rate for this position is $66,990 per annum ($32.10 per hour). Special Conditions of Employment Section: Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit checks. All applicants not currently working in an institution will be required to complete a qualification inquiry regarding convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in order to be authorized to carry a firearm. The Core Value Assessment (CVA) is an in-person assessment that must be facilitated at a Bureau of Prisons Human Resource Servicing office. On the day of the scheduled interview, a CVA will be administered. The applicant assessment must be completed within a 70 minute time period and a passing score must be obtained. Further employment consideration will not be extended if the applicant fails to complete the examination or fails to achieve a passing score. Note: The Core Value Assessment will not be administered to current BOP employees. Successful completion of the "Introduction to Correctional Techniques," three-week training course at Glynco, Georgia is required. The addresses listed on the USAJOBS account/resume must be the primary residence at the time of application. You may be required to provide proof of residence. Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate. 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. Exceptions may apply. See 5 CFR part 11. Required Documents

Failure to provide legible required documents and/or follow the prescribed format often results in removal from consideration.  If uploading documentation, do not identify/save your documents utilizing a special character such as %, #, @, etc. Documentation should be identified/saved as VA Letter, DD-214, or Transcripts.

• Resume: Resume showing relevant experience (cover letter optional). Experience that would not normally be part of the Federal employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence of qualifying experience (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, Human Resource Manager, SF-52, etc.).
• To receive credit for experience contained in an application, the experience must be documented:
  • Reflecting start date and end date in month/year format (MM/YYYY) AND
  • Include the number of hours worked per week.
• SF-50: Current or former Federal employees NOT employed by the Bureau of Prisons MUST submit a copy of their SF-50 Form which shows competitive service appointment, tenure group, and salary. If you have promotion potential in your current position, please provide proof. If you are applying for a higher grade, and your experience was gained at a Federal agency other than the Bureau of Prisons, you MUST provide the SF-50 Form which verifies the length of time you have been in your highest grade and supports your claim for time in grade.
• Employees applying with an interchange agreement must provide proof of their permanent appointment.
• Current federal employees NOT employed by the BOP and former federal employees MUST submit a copy of their latest yearly performance appraisal/evaluation.
• CTAP, Click Here, if applicable.
• College transcript: includes the School Name, Student Name, Degree, and Date Awarded (if applicable).
  • NOTE: If you are selected, official transcript(s) will be required prior to your first day.

For more help, visit USAJOBS Help Center - What should I include in my resume?

We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software, delays in mail service, applicant application errors, etc.

How to Apply

You must apply through the online application system at www.USAJOBS.gov. Follow the prompts to register, answer a few questions and submit all required documents.

NOTE: It is recommended you limit your resume to 2-pages in preparation for future announcement requirements. Submission of a resume alone is not a complete application. This position may require the completion of additional forms and/or supplemental materials as described under the Required Documents section. Please carefully review the complete job announcement and the "How to Apply" instructions. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in your application not being considered for employment.

Required supporting documentation must be electronically uploaded or transferred from USAJOBS (uploaded).

All required supporting documentation MUST be received by the Consolidated Staffing Unit by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. You MUST include the vacancy announcement number on your supporting documentation.

NOTE: Failure to follow these application procedures will result in the applicant losing consideration for this position.

Paper applications: If applying online is impossible, please contact the Consolidated Staffing Unit at the telephone number listed below, prior to the closing date of the announcement for the alternate application procedure.

If applicable see Notice for Preference Eligible Veterans Applicants. 

Contact for Assistance in Applying On-Line:
DOJ, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Consolidated Staffing Unit
346 Marine Forces Drive
Grand Prairie, TX 75051
E-Mail: BOP-HRM-HRSC-ConsolidatedStaffingUnit-S@bop.gov
Phone: 972-352-4200