Budget Analyst

Time-in-grade: Applicants who are/were federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7 level. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9 level. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level. To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase SF-50 (not an award or general adjustment SF-50). Some applicants may have to submit more than one SF-50 to demonstrate their eligibility. See the required documents section for more information. Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. GS-09 To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-7) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) Knowledge of finance and cost accounting activities relating to budgeting, budgeting regulations and manpower. (2) Comprehensive knowledge of budgetary policies, precedent setting decisions, procedures, and regulations to ensure budget forecasts, estimates, and data submissions meet Insurance requirements, guidelines, and financial objectives. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify at the GS-9 level. Master’s or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. OR Applicants can combine education and specialized experience to qualify for the position. If you have some, but not all, of the graduate education AND specialized experience described above, you may still qualify by combining the amount of creditable education and experience that you do have. To do so, first calculate the percentage of qualifying education you have as a percentage of the education required. Next, calculate the percentage of specialized experience you have as a percentage of the experience required. Then, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% for you to qualify for the position at the GS-7 grade level. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate education (i.e., 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of acceptable specialized experience (i.e., 50% of the experience required) would satisfy the qualification requirements for the position. If you qualify based on a combination of graduate education and specialized experience, you must submit a copy of your official college transcript with your application. GS-11 To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized Experience is defined as: (1) Knowledge of and skill in the application of quantitative techniques such as cost benefit analysis, linear and curve fit regression analysis and financial models. These skills are used to project the impact of variable economic conditions and alternative program goals and/or budget objectives. (2) Knowledge of the planning-programming-budgeting system in order to systematize the budget cycle and to develop schedules for the completion of each phase of formulation, analysis and revision process. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-11 level. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. Such education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level: Equivalent combinations of specialized experience and PH.D. graduate education. To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify. GS-12 To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) Knowledge of professional accounting and auditing theories, principles, practices and techniques. (2) Knowledge of Government fiscal laws, regulations, policies and principles as well as the work processes, technical aspects, organizational structure, long range plans and management of Insurance programs. This knowledge should be sufficient to monitor execution of the budget, to conduct in-depth research on any facet of program policy or procedures and to develop various alternatives and render an authoritative assessment on such issues. (3) Knowledge of the legislative process and research resources available to determine the status of legislative proposals and to assess the impact of new or proposed legislation. Skill in planning, organizing, and directing work, and knowledge of management principles, in order to manage the team and its projects. 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. The Office of Personnel Management’s group coverage qualification standards, associated individual occupational requirements (IOR), and individual qualification standards covering white collar occupations in the Federal competitive service can be found here.
VA Insurance Service directs and manages the operation of all Government life insurance programs. The Budget and Risk Management Division is responsible for the formulation and execution of the Insurance Programs Discretionary and Mandatory budgets. In addition, the Insurance Service provides supervision guidance, and direction to the Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI), Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) programs.