Assistant Financial Manager (Assistant Chief)

Summary
Duty Location of Phoenix VAMC is preferred. Will consider a highly qualified applicant for a virtual duty location. A virtual final job offer is contingent on the selected candidate living within 50 miles of a VA Medical Center - VA facility or VA-leased space; and must receive approval to work at a VA Medical Center - VA facility or VA-leased space. This is not a remote role.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 09/25/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. The grade may have been in any occupation - but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year - it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade - as required by the announcement. In this instance - you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. The DCFO executes the duties and responsibilities of a professional accountant as covered by the OPM standards for GS0510-13 in addition to the inherent management and supervisory duties of a service line manager. You may qualify based off your education and/or experience as below:
Basic Requirements
Degree: 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."")
OR 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
The applicant's background must also include one of the following: Twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality
This can include up to 6 hours of business law
A certificate as 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 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 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
Specialized Experience: In addition to meeting the basic requirement above - to qualify for this position you must also meet the specialized experience qualification requirements.GS-13 You may qualify based on your experience as described below: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization
Examples of specialized experience include - but not limited to: Managing and supervising personnel - accounting - payroll and audit experience
Expert experience with accounting principles - procedures - and policies in order to manage - provide advice - and make sound judgements regarding assets - liabilities - fund balances - expenses - and revenues
skill in analyzing - interpreting - and applying complex legislation - regulatory decisions to develop budgetary plans - policies - and guidance and to make adjustments to the budget
providing managerial oversight to a full range of fiscal activities
developing accounting policies and standards covering operations
utilizing in-depth knowledge of financial management systems - including administering an accounting system
serving as an expert authority on the maintenance and reconciliation of integrated accounts
and skill in applying investigative and/or root cause analysis techniques in support of accurate and appropriate cost and workload distribution
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Financial Management Financial Systems Internal Controls Principles of Accounting Principles of Finance 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
religions
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
Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week
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
Physical Requirements: Work of the position is mainly sedentary
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/.
Duties
30 Day Hiring Model The Department of Veterans Affairs is implementing a streamlined 30-Day Hiring Model designed to accelerate hiring while maintaining the highest standards of merit-based selection
This improved process reduces traditional hiring timelines by integrating early coordination - faster assessments - and efficient pre-employment actions
Applicants can expect a more transparent - predictable - and efficient hiring journey from announcement to entry on duty
What Applicants Can Expect Expedited Candidate Review Once the announcement closes - Human Resources will quickly review applications - issue certificates of eligible candidates the day after the announcement closes and refer applicants for hiring manager consideration
Quick Interviews & References HR may arrange interviews and will request references within 3-5 days after being referred to the hiring manager
Streamlined Pre-Employment Requirements: Following a tentative offer - applicants should be prepared to complete required steps - such as fingerprinting and background check - credentialing - and medical examination within 3 days of the offer
Clear and Timely Communication: Applicants will receive clear communication at key milestones - including referral - tentative offer - and onboarding instructions
After meeting pre-employment requirements - candidates will receive a final job offer and start date
Onboarding tasks may continue after starting - with HR ensuring timely completion for a smooth transition into VA service
If selected - applicants should be prepared to come onboard within 30 days of the announcement closing
The Assistant Financial Officer (AFO) is under the general supervision of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
AFO is responsible for Budget - Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) - Agent Cashier - Accounting - Managerial Financial Reporting - Auditing - Payroll - and Travel
He/she is guided by a thorough knowledge of Federal statutes - VA Regulations - Comptroller General Decisions - and regulations of the Treasury Department and the Bureau of Budget
The AFO must see to it that the service provided is prompt - efficient and courteous
Major duties include but are not limited to: Direct supervision of the Supervisory Accountant - Supervisory Budget Analyst - Payroll Supervisor - and VERA Coordinator
Supervisory Responsibilities include but are not limited to: Recruits and hires subordinate staff in line with merit staffing procedures and EEO guidelines Assigns work to staff and provides technical and policy direction to their efforts Reviews completed work and provides feedback to encourage top performance to enhance an atmosphere of team Plans training and development with subordinate employees to assure they acquire and maintain both technical competencies in their fields and cross training in related fields Evaluates the work performance of subordinate staff members

Work arrangement
No