Summary

This position is located in Office of Inspector General (OIG), Audit Services (AS), Higher Education Oversight Team. Audit Services is responsible for all audit, inspection, and other activities relating to improving ED programs and operations. It fulfills this responsibility, in large part, through teams that are aligned to provide oversight of assigned functional areas that include ED operations, elementary and secondary education, and higher education.

Duties

Often referred to as America's watchdogs, it's the OIG's job to help ensure that the hard-earned tax dollars that fund ED programs and operations are used as intended by law, achieve the desired results, and reach the intended recipients.

The OIG conducts audits and reviews of issues involving Federal student aid, K-12 schools, charter schools, special education, career and technical education, adult education, and more. When our work identifies problems, we propose solutions. Our work has resulted in improvements to ED programs and changes to some of the most important Federal education laws in our country.

The OIG also conducts criminal and civil investigations into suspected fraudulent activities by schools, colleges, universities, contractors, subcontractors, school officials-any entity or individual that participates in ED programs or receives ED funding. Through our work, we have unraveled multimillion-dollar fraud schemes by people placed in positions of trust to educate our children. We're also on the cutting edge of cybersecurity, using the latest technology and techniques to discover and defeat current and emerging threats from cyber and economic crime.

We tackle new and emerging issues head-on and continually work to improve our techniques and capabilities. We consistently expand our expertise by training and developing our staff. This dedication has enabled the OIG to become a leader in the Federal government in the areas of audits, investigations, and fighting cybercrime.

Whether you're just entering the workforce or are a seasoned professional, if you're looking for a career rather than just a job, and interested in shaping the next generation of Americans tackling tomorrow's challenges, consider joining our team.

Audit Services is responsible for all audit, inspection, and other activities to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness, and prevent and detect fraud and abuse, in ED programs and operations. To help facilitate its work and meet its functional requirements, Audit Services employs teams that are aligned to provide oversight of assigned functional areas. Each team is managed by a Director and one or more Assistant Directors. This is a Director position with the Higher Education Oversight Team.

This team (based in various offices throughout the country) conducts audit-related work focused on Federal higher education programs, including the Federal student aid programs, as well as career and technical education programs. ED, through its Federal Student Aid (FSA) office, oversees the delivery of more than $120 billion annually in Federal student assistance, in the form of loans, grants, and Federal work study, to more than 9.9 million postsecondary students and their families. FSA also directly manages or oversees a loan portfolio of more than $1.6 trillion, representing about 217 million student loans to more than 45 million borrowers, and oversees approximately 5,400 postsecondary institutions that participate in Federal student assistance programs. The team provides the means for the OIG to build and maintain program or technical expertise in these areas.

As a Supervisory Auditor (Performance), GS-0511-15, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

• Plan for and direct reviews, in compliance with applicable professional standards, to identify and reduce fraud, waste, and abuse and promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in ED programs and operations.
• Ensure that team members develop relevant technical skills and expertise in ED programs, activities, and operations specific to their assigned functional area, and that work is accomplished collaboratively in a team environment.
• Direct the preparation and publishing of reports based on sufficient, competent, and relevant evidence collected through the review process; brief OIG senior management and ED officials on findings and recommendations; and establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure the overall effectiveness of the team's work planning activities by applying expert-level knowledge of activities, operational environment, challenges, and opportunities to oversee the development of risk-based project proposals.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Condition of Employment:

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

If you are a current federal employee, you must meet all time-in-grade and time-after competitive appointment qualifications within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. To verify that you meet these requirements, we will review your responses to the core eligibility questions on the occupational questionnaire, as well as your submitted resume and required documents. To make an accurate determination, you will need to include on your resume your federal position title, pay plan, occupational series, grade level, agency, dates for which you held the grade level (stated as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY, OR MM/YYYY to PRESENT), and total hours worked per week.

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).

Key Requirement (probationary period) - As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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 OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Key Requirement - Must be a US Citizen.

Key Requirement - Relocation will not be paid.

Key Requirement - Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.

Key Requirement - You may be subject to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period.

Key Requirement - May be required to complete a background clearance and fingerprint check.

Qualifications

Individual Occupational Requirements for Performance Auditors

1. Degree: auditing; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, public administration or accounting.
   OR
2. Combination of education and experience: at least 4 years of experience in Performance Auditing, or an equivalent combination of performance auditing experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional auditing knowledge. The applicant's background must also include one of the following:
   
   1. A certificate as a Certified Internal Auditor or a Certified Public Accountant, obtained through written examination; or
   2. Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in auditing or accounting, e.g., 15 semester hours.

In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements above, the incumbent must also meet the minimum qualification requirements below:

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-15, if you possess the specialize experience.

Specialized Experience for the GS-15. One year of experience in federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS- 14 performing the following duties or work assignments:

1. Supervising the planning and execution of performance audits, inspections, evaluations, and/or reviews in accordance with the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS).

2. Producing high-quality written reports with substantive and actionable recommendations, presenting results to internal and external stakeholders in a clear and concise manner, and building productive relationships through collaboration and coordination.

3. Leading staff, including managing performance and developing employees to support organizational goals and mission priorities.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1. Knowledge of Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) and other professional standards applicable to government audits, inspections, evaluations, and other reviews; and demonstrated skill in executing on projects in compliance with these standards.

2. Ability to plan work to be accomplished by employees; set and adjust priorities; prepare work schedules; assign work; evaluate employee performance against established standards; and give advice, counsel, and instruction to employees on work and administrative matters.

3. Ability to write reports that are clear, concise, and convincing, and that require limited editing or revision for organization, content, and compliance with standards; and to effectively communicate results to auditees, OIG senior management, ED officials, and others.

4. Knowledge of ED programs and operations, including applicable laws, regulations, and guidance; and demonstrated skill in identifying challenges in these programs and operations, using available data to assess risks, and prioritizing relevant and impactful work.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement listed in the Qualification Section.

Foreign Education:

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must submit a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, please click Foreign Education.

Additional information

Veterans' Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email [redacted] to schedule a session with a career counselor ("Veterans Counseling Session" should be placed in the subject line of the email).

Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.

Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check.

Essential/Non-Essential: This position is considered non-essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures.

Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the competitive service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement within 90 days from the date the selection certificates are issued, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency.