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Career Opportunities
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
OFFICE OF
INSPECTOR GENERAL
FOREIGN SERVICE VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Position: Auditor, FS-511-7/6/5/4
Announcement No.: FS-04-04
(GS-07 thru GS-12 equivalent)
Promotion potential: FS-01 (GS-15 equivalent)
Multiple Positions
Opening Date: 01-15-2004
Closing Date: 12-31-2004
Salary Range: $32,699 - $74,155
Location: Office of Audit, Washington, DC Headquarters,
Budapest, Cairo, Dakar, Manila, Pretoria and San Salvador
Area of Consideration: All Sources
Job Responsibilities: Foreign Service Auditors
are required to perform audits of Agency programs in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards. The
purpose of these audits is to determine whether the programs
are being carried out in compliance with laws, regulations
and agreements; are being administered efficiently and economically;
and are achieving the desired results or benefits. This
work requires the development of audit programs and procedures
necessary to conduct audits; the
ability to write clear, concise audit reports; and the coordination
of audit matters with USAID and with other U.S. and foreign
government agencies. Successful applicants must be self-starters
capable of doing independent audit work in developing countries,
at times under hardship conditions.
I. A CAREER IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE:
The U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), Office of Inspector General is seeking entry level
auditors to serve at Regional Inspector General posts worldwide,
which currently include: Budapest, Cairo, Dakar, Manila,
Pretoria and San Salvador. Candidates must agree not only
to serve at any of the
overseas posts, but also in Washington, D.C., according
to the needs of the Foreign Service. The Foreign Service
is more than a job - it's a career. As a member of an overseas
team, you will not only help to accomplish the mission of
the Agency but also will be a representative of your country
to the people of
other nations. A Foreign Service career involves uncommon
commitments and occasional hardships, as well as unique
rewards and opportunities. A decision to enter this career
must involve unusual motivation and a firm dedication to
public service. The Foreign Service strives to maintain
diversity in the representation of gender, geographic region,
race and ethnicity.
BASIC BENEFITS:
- Travel at Government expense of employees
and their authorized dependents to and from posts of assignment
in the United States and abroad.
- Basic orientation at time of entrance on
duty and subsequent in-service professional training before
the first overseas assignment.
- Group life insurance and health benefits
programs.
- Accrual of annual leave ranging from 13
to 26 working days a year, depending on length of service
.
- Accrual of sick leave at thirteen working
days per year.
- Locality pay authorized under certain circumstances.
- Generous pension and Thrift Savings Plan
similar to 401K benefits.
BENEFITS WHEN ASSIGNED OVERSEAS:
- Travel expenses of employee and their authorized
dependents to and from posts abroad, including shipment
of personal effects.
- Government quarters or housing allowance.
- Cost of living allowance at posts where
the cost of living is substantially higher than in Washington,
D.C.
- Salary differential, which is taxable,
ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent of base pay at posts
where there are unusual hardships.
- Accrual of home leave at a rate of fifteen
working days per year served abroad.
- Paid round-trip transportation to a rest
and recuperation area for employees and authorized dependents
who are assigned to designated hardship posts.
- Educational allowance for dependents under
certain circumstances.
- Limited coverage for emergency medical
expenses of employees and authorized dependents.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYMENT IN THE
FOREIGN SERVICE:
- Applicants must be citizens of the United
States.
- Applicants must be at least 18 years of
age at the time of appointment. In accordance with Agency
regulation, all career candidates must be appointed to the
Foreign Service prior to the month in which they reach age
59.
- Male applicants born after December 31,
1959, must be registered under the Military Selective Service
Act.
- Applicants must be willing to travel to
a variety of overseas posts, some of which are classified
as hardship posts.
- Applicants must meet medical fitness standards
which are more rigorous than those of most other professions.
They must pass a thorough medical examination, which for
some applicants may include a cardiovascular stress test.
- Applicants must undergo a thorough background
investigation to determine eligibility for a security clearance,
as well as suitability for appointment into the Foreign
Service.
- Applicants must be capable of attaining
a certain level of foreign language proficiency. This can
be demonstrated by either language aptitude scores or evidence
of existing proficiency in a foreign language.
- Applicants must be available for and willing to accept
assignments throughout the world, including assignments
to Washington, D.C. They must also be willing to travel
frequently on short notice. In cases where both husband
and wife are foreign affairs agency employees, both are
expected to be willing to accept assignments to a post other
than that of the tandem spouse in order to meet the needs
of the Service.
II. APPOINTMENT:
In order to be eligible to receive a conditional
offer of employment, applicants must have successfully completed
the application assessment stages and have been placed on
a rank-ordered list of eligible candidates. A final offer
of employment is contingent upon the candidate successfully
completing the medical, security, and suitability stages.
Candidates who are offered employment are given probationary
appointments as Foreign Service career candidates for a
period not to exceed five years.
A. Medical Clearance:
Foreign Service pre-employment hiring policy
requires that candidates be medically cleared for worldwide
assignment according to the needs of the Service. Family
members are not required to obtain medical clearances prior
to a candidate's entry on duty. However, family members
must be medically cleared
before they can travel at U.S. Government expense to the
assigned overseas post. Family members who, for medical
reasons, are unable to accompany the employee on an overseas
assignment, may be eligible for a separate maintenance allowance.
Medical examinations may be performed by a family doctor,
in which case
USAID will reimburse the candidate. Alternatively, the examination
may be conducted at the Agency's medical facility in Washington,
D.C.
B. Background Investigation:
Eligible candidates will be asked to submit
forms required for a security clearance and suitability
determination for appointment to the Foreign Service. The
clearance process considers such
factors as registration for the Selective Service, failure
to repay a U.S. Government-guaranteed student loan, past
problems with credit or bankruptcy, failure to meet tax
obligations, unsatisfactory employment records, violations
of the law, drug or alcohol abuse, or a less then honorable
discharge from the armed
forces. Investigations, which usually take several months,
include current and previous contacts, supervisors and co-workers.
These investigations are conducted by OIG Security personnel
in cooperation with other federal, state and local agencies.
III. TENURE:
Foreign Service career candidates will be
considered for tenure by a Tenuring Board after they have
acquired a minimum of two years' overseas experience in
the Service. Each career candidate
is afforded two opportunities to receive tenure based on
the Board's review of the employee's written performance
evaluations which are prepared by a supervisor at least
once a year. A
career candidate who fails to perform satisfactorily may
be separated at any time during their probationary period.
Any employee who remains untenured after two reviews will
be separated from the Agency at the end of the five-year
probationary appointment. The appointment status of a career
candidate who receives tenure will be changed from probationary
to career.
IV. FOREIGN SERVICE AUDITOR CAREER:
Foreign Service employees will first be stationed
in Washington, DC. Each year, employee’s will be given
the opportunity to bid for available positions overseas.
The OIG will try to accommodate employees’ personal
preferences, however, program needs of the OIG, individual
career development needs, and the need for assignment continuity
will also be determining factors in making assignments overseas.
Salaries within the starting ranges for new
employees will be determined at the time of a conditional
offer of employment. The entry level salary for Federal
Civil Service candidates appointed to the Foreign Service
without a break in service will be at the rate, within the
Foreign Service grade to which they are
appointed, that is nearest to the base salary rate of their
previous grade.
Performance is evaluated in writing annually
by a supervisor. After one year in grade, the auditor is
eligible to compete annually for promotion with other auditors
at the same grade. Due to the limited number of yearly promotions
available, panels select candidates based on published criteria
and quality
performance. In general, persons with good performance will
receive a within-grade increase annually up through step
10 and biennially from step 10 through step 14 if they have
not received an equivalent increase during that period.
V. QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE
REQUIREMENTS:
- 24 semester hours in accounting or auditing
courses of appropriate type and quality (which can include
up to 6 hours of business law); or
- A certificate as a Certified Public Accountant or a Certified
Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination;
or
- Completion of the requirements for a degree that included
substantial course work in accounting or auditing, e.g.,
15 semester hours, but that does not fully satisfy the 24-semester-hour
requirement of paragraph A, provided that (a) the applicant
has successfully demonstrated the ability to perform work
of the GS-11 or higher grade level in accounting, auditing,
or a related field; (b) a panel of at least two higher level
professional accountants or auditors has determined that
the applicant has demonstrated a good knowledge of accounting
and of related and underlying fields that equals in breadth,
depth, currency, and level of advancement that which is
normally associated with successful completion of the 4-year
course of study described in paragraph A; and (c) except
for literal nonconformance to the requirement of 24 semester
hours in accounting, the applicant's education, training,
and experience fully meet the specified requirements.
Applicants who wish to qualify for positions
at higher grade levels (FP 7 or GS 7 and above) must also
meet the requirements shown in the following table, in addition
to meeting the basic requirements.
FP Class
GS Grade
Education
or Specialized Experience
FP 7
GS 7
1 full year of graduate-level education or superior academic
achievement
1 year equivalent to at least GS - 5
FP 6
GS 9
2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education
or master's or equivalent graduate degree
1 year equivalent to at least GS - 7
FP 5
GS 11
3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education
or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree
1 year equivalent to at least GS - 9
FP 4
GS 12
1 year equivalent to at least GS - 11
Additional related finance/accounting experience, a CPA,
working knowledge of consumer software (Microsoft, Word
Perfect, Quattro Pro etc...) and foreign language proficiency
- particularly
French or Spanish - is highly desirable. The ability to
communicate both orally and in writing is essential for
all candidates under consideration.
Note: Education and experience may be combined
for all grade levels for which both education and experience
are acceptable.
HOW TO APPLY:
All applicants, including current USAID and
USAID/OIG employees,
must submit one of the following application forms:
- Resume and OF-306, Declaration for Federal
Employment
- OF-612, Optional Application for Federal Employment and
OF-306
- SF-171, Application for Federal Employment
Your application must contain all of the following
information or it will be marked incomplete:
Announcement number, and title and grade
level you are applying for;
Full name, date of birth, social security
number, complete mailing address and day and evening phone
numbers, country of citizenship, veterans preference, if
applicable, reinstatement eligibility, highest Federal civilian
grade held;
High school - name city and state, date
of diploma or GED; Colleges and universities - name, city,
and state, major, type and year of any degrees received;
Job title, duties and accomplishments;
employer's name and address, supervisor's name and phone
number, hours per week, salary; do not incorporate or attach
position descriptions; indicate whether we may contact your
current supervisor; and job-related training courses, job-related
licenses and
certificates, job-related honors, awards, and special achievements,
computer software programs used, foreign language proficiency,
academic honors, and extra-curricular activities in college.
OTHER DOCUMENTS REQUIRED IN ADDITION TO THE
APPLICATION
FORM:
- A two-to-three page, typed (double-spaced)
narrative
autobiography which discusses your:
- personal background;
- personal interests; hobbies and travel;
- professional experience which was not included in the
employment application; and,
- motivation for applying for a Foreign Service Auditor
career.
- Applicants currently employed by the Federal
Government must submit a copy of their most recent performance
appraisal (dated within the last 18 months).
It is the responsibility of the applicant to insure that
his/her application is complete. The personnel office will
not be responsible for soliciting additional information
from applicants.
Application packages should be submitted to:
U.S. Agency for International Development
IG/M/PS
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
RRB, Room 8.07-A
Washington, D.C. 20523-8700
Attn: Personnel Services
If you need a copy of the vacancy announcement,
please call (202) 712-4189. Applications must be postmarked
by the closing date and postmarks will be accepted up to
five days after the closing date. Candidates who fail to
submit all of the foregoing documents cannot be evaluated
for further consideration.
NOTE: JOB FINALISTS MAY BE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE
A DECLARATION FOR
FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT (OF-306).
As a condition of employment, male applicants
born after December 31, 1959, must certify that they have
registered with the Selective Service System, or/are exempt
from having to do so under the Selective Service law.
SECURITY CLEARANCE: This position requires
a top secret security clearance. Upon selection, applicants
must provide sufficient information to support the investigation.
DRUG TESTING: This position is subject to
drug testing, in accordance with the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services' guidelines, as required under
Executive Order 12564. Prior to appointment, all applicants
tentatively selected will be required to submit to urinalysis
to screen for illegal drug use.
PLEASE NOTE: INITIAL EMPLOYMENT RELOCATION
EXPENSES WILL NOT BE PAID.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:
In selecting personnel for appointment to
USAID, OIG positions, there will be no discrimination based
on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, politics,
marital status, physical handicap, age, or membership or
non-membership in an employee organization. Applicants must
be U.S. citizens.
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