Summary This position is located in the Farm Service Agency, Tennessee State Office in Selmer, Tennessee. About the position: Performs a wide range of technical and administrative duties related to loan processing, loan servicing, and office management. Direct Hire Authority: This position is being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Direct Hire Authority for this occupation. Responsibilities Assists guaranteed lenders to prepare and close guaranteed loans by reviewing applications for completeness and noting problem areas. Advise borrowers on various loan requirements and provisions such as supervised bank accounts, required insurance coverage, repayment and security agreements, development plan requirements, qualifications for debt settlement, etc. Closes loan and grants; determines if lien priority is correct and disburses funds. Provide technical assistance to loan closing participants regarding FSA procedural requirements for loan closing. Assure that all clerical operations are completed in a timely manner and in compliance with FSA procedures. Monitor automated tracking system and informs manager of borrower's progress. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements of the announcement including the following specialized experience and/or education, as identified. Specialized experience for the GS-5 level: Four years of education above high school in an accredited business, secretarial or technical, junior college, college or university in any field in which high school graduation or the equivalent is a prerequisite -OR- Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-4 level in the Federal service or private sector equivalent applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to any program -OR- A combination of post-high school education (in excess of the first 60 semester hours) and the specialized experience described above. Specialized experience for the GS-6 level: One full academic year of graduate education or master's or higher-level graduate degree 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- Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-5 level in the Federal service or private sector equivalent applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to process and service loans or agricultural programs. Specialized experience for the GS-7 level: One full academic year of graduate education or master's or higher-level graduate degree 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- Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-6 level in the Federal service or private sector equivalent applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to independently perform a full range of farm loan program processes. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/general-business-and-industry-series-1101a/ 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 For more information on OPM's authorization of Direct Hire Authority, please visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/direct-hire-authority/ 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. 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. Selections made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the Federal service. Current Federal employees would therefore be given a new appointment. 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/relocation incentives may be authorized.