Summary This position is located in the Farm Service Agency, Arizona State Office, located in Holbrook, Navajo County, Arizona. Responsibilities Provides support and assistance to the Farm Loan Chief, and Farm Loan Specialists, and County Offices that perform a range of lending activities, closing, disbursement, monitoring, liquidating, and servicing of agricultural loans. Under the direction of the District Director and the Farm Loan Manager, works collaboratively with Farm Loan Officers and loan staff. Performs analysis, evaluation and advisory assignments related to the effective delivery of loan making and servicing activities. Assists in the formulation and implementation of farm loan programs, policies, and procedures for the assigned farm loan area. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined. For the GS-5 level: Completed a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, or I possess a bachelor's degree in any field of study; OR Three years of general work experience that is progressively responsible experience (one year of which is equivalent to at least a GS-4) that demonstrates my ability to analyze problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions; to plan and organize my work; and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing; OR A combination of education and experience as listed above. For the GS-7 level: Superior Academic Achievement: A bachelor's degree in any field of study from an accredited college or university with either: 1) a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 based on a 4.0 scale; 2) a 3.5 GPA based on a 4.0 scale for required courses completed in a major field of study during the last two years of undergraduate study; 3) class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision of the college; 4) membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College Honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies; OR One year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-5 level in the Federal service or private sector. Specialized experience is experience that demonstrates knowledge of basic principles, concepts, and methods of fact-finding, analysis, and problem solving techniques as they apply to investigation, analysis and evaluation of financial factors and credit risks in granting and servicing of agricultural loans. In addition, I have knowledge of and skill in applying analytical and evaluative techniques to assist in assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of farm loan program operations to make recommendations for improvements; OR One year of graduate education from an accredited college or university with a major in finance, business administration, economics, accounting, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, statistics, or other fields related to the position such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology; OR A combination of graduate education and experience as listed above. For the GS-9 level: Two full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or master's, or equivalent graduate degree (LLB, JD, LLM, Ph.D., etc.), from an accredited college or university with a major in finance, business administration, economics, accounting, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, statistics, or another field related to the position such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock, farm management, ranch management, rural sociology, dairy science, domestic agricultural development or agronomy; OR One full-time year (12 months) of specialized work experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-7 level in the Federal service. Experience that demonstrates knowledge of credit principles and practices to assess the fundamental soundness of loans by independently examining applications, supporting documents, and credit reports, and maintaining servicing activities on agricultural loans. In addition, experience applying analytical and evaluative techniques to assist in assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of farm loan program operations to make recommendations for improvements; OR A combination of education and experience as listed above. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/Standards/group-stds/gs-admin.asp. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Education If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You must submit a copy of your transcripts to include course number, title, completion and grade. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. 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 for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information. Failure to provide all of the required documents/information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating. Additional 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. Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8 hour work day, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.