Chief Financial Officer

Summary

Employee will be assigned to Finance Service, VA New Jersey Healthcare System, East Orange, NJ.

Employee will serve as the Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for establishing and maintaining a complex integrated system of financial service that provides major impact and control over facility operations.

Duties

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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Directs the work of subordinates and assigns tasks as needed.
• Conducts employee performance evaluations, provides counseling, and initiates personnel actions like promotions or disciplinary measures.
• Interviews candidates, establishes performance standards, and ensures proper training is provided to team members.
• Directs and promotes the effective use, analysis, and implementation of advanced accounting techniques.
• Plans, organizes, and manages an integrated finance and accounting system for the facility.
• Oversees operational accounting programs and controls within the facility.
• Communicates with facility representatives and other independent agencies on managing special accounts and reimbursable activities.
• Directs and promotes the effective development and execution of the organization's operating budget.
• Conducts budget presentations and hearings, serving as the principal advisor to the Executive Leadership Team.
• Develops local policies to assist operating officials in preparing budget estimates and business plans for their fund control points.
• Reviews budget estimates and negotiates with management officials to determine funding levels.
• Distributes funds to various fund control points, analyzes actual performance against the budget plan, and projects to recommend necessary adjustments to the financial operating plan.
• Serves as a senior technical advisor, providing guidance and advice to Managers, Service Chiefs, the Executive Leadership Team, and the Medical Center Director on all financial aspects of the organization.
• Convenes meetings with professional, technical, and management staff and serves as a key member of the Medical Center Director's top advisory boards.
• Directs and evaluates a range of special projects, studies, and task forces to improve operations, productivity, and cost efficiency.
• Investigates complex financial issues that require significant expertise and a comprehensive understanding of integrated financial programs.
• Combines information from accounting and budget reports with non-financial data to provide a comprehensive analysis of program accomplishments in financial terms.
• Directs a thorough audit and quality assurance initiative to ensure that the agency's financial and operational policies and procedures, as well as those of external authorities, are adhered to and effective.
• Conducts internal and external audits to identify vulnerabilities, weaknesses in internal controls, and potential waste, fraud, or abuse within the organization.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday (7:30am - 4:00pm)

Recruitment-Indiv: May be authorized

Relocation Incentives: May be authorized

Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. This position requires the application, assessment, and questionnaire to be fully completed. The assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Required Documents" below for details.

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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

Possess a bachelor's degree in accounting; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting. The 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in business law. (The term "accounting" means "accounting and/or auditing" in this standard. Similarly, "accountant" should be interpreted, generally, as "accountant and/or auditor."). NOTE: You must submit transcripts with your application. Education will not be credited without transcripts.

OR

Possess a combination of education and experience: at least 4 years of experience in accounting, or an equivalent combination of accounting experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional accounting knowledge. Your background must also include one of the following:

1) Twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality. This can include up to 6 hours of business law (Transcripts or proof required); or,

2) A certificate as a Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination (Copy of Certificate required); or,

3) 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 worked at the full-performance level in accounting, auditing, or a related field, e.g., valuation engineering or financial institution examining; (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 a 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. NOTE: You must submit transcripts with your application. Education will not be credited without transcripts.

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, you must also possess the specialized experience below to be eligible for this position.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: For GS-14: Possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skill, and ability to successfully perform the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is developing short- and long-range plans to effectively utilize revenue for billing and collections; participating with management in strategic planning; plans, recommending, and implementing programs and programs changes that impact facilities; implementing ways to eliminate or reduce significant bottlenecks and barriers to production and promote building.

This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration.

The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Possess experience establishing and maintaining a complex integrated system of financial service that provides major impact and control over healthcare facility operations. (Application/resume materials must reflect this experience in detail to receive credit for this selective placement factor).

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Conflict Management
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Manages Resources
• Partnering
• Planning and Evaluating

Supervisory Situational Judgment Test. Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment and decision-making skills that align with relevant competencies, organizational values, and best practices. Assessment results may be used as part of the evaluation, ranking and referral process. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. The assessment for this application does not include a cut score for a minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. However, you must answer each item in the assessment.

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. Work is performed in an office setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

There is no educational substitution at this grade level of GS-14.

NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. gove