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Summary This position is in the Farm Service Agency, South Carolina State Office, District 1, located in Florence, South Carolina. About the position: This position assists the Farm Loan Manager in administering farm loan programs in a USDA Service Center serving one or more Counties. Responsibilities Conducts interviews with loan applicants, reviews loan applications, and makes preliminary inquiries to develop factual information to assess the eligibility of applicants. Providing technical advice, guidance, and credit counseling to loan applicants and borrowers. Has delegated loan approval authority to approve loans within a specific limit. Applies knowledge of agency farm loan programs and eligibility requirements. Applies technical knowledge of farm financing and credit, financial management concepts and practices, farm operations, land use and value, production and marketing of various crops and livestock, and prices and markets in the serviced farming areas. This position works in a developmental capacity receiving on-the-job and classroom training in the administration of farm loan programs. These positions assist the Farm Loan Manager in administering farm loan programs in a USDA Service Center serving one or more Counties. Upon completion of training program, FLOs may be reassigned, at any time, to a different duty station if workload activity changes or vacancies occur. Farm Loan Officers (FLOs) are required to successfully complete all of the requirements of the Farm Loan Training Program. FLOs may be reassigned to another training office during their training program. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts. Individual Occupational Requirements Education Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or other fields related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology. -or- Experience General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Experience that required gathering and analyzing facts and figures and presenting the information or conclusions in clear oral and written language; or that provided a knowledge of the principles of financial analysis or of insurance laws, such as contract, property, life, casualty, or marine insurance. Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience that demonstrated competence in agricultural, commercial, realty, or other types of loans. Experience may have been gained in such work as reviewing and passing upon applications for agricultural, commercial, bank or mortgage loans; servicing a loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; performing financial analysis of commercial concerns for investment purposes; appraising real estate to determine property valuation; or similar work. In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below. General Experience Requirement For the GS-5 grade level: You must have three years of general experience, one year of which was equivalent to at least GS-4 grade level. Education at the GS-05 grade level: Four-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree Advancement to positions up to GS-5: Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest non-temporary competitive appointment. Specialized Experience Requirement For the GS-7 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Education at the GS-07 grade level: One full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. SAA is based on: Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses, OR Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/). Time-in-Grade Requirement for the GS-7: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the GS-5 grade level. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement. For the GS-9 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Education at the GS-09 grade 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 Time-in-Grade Requirement for the GS-9: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the GS-7 grade level. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. of this announcement. Education College Transcript: If qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with course number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g., special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college to ensure proper evaluation. Your education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited toward qualifications. You may verify accreditation by visiting the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs website. We will verify your education accordingly. Foreign Education: You must submit verification that education completed in a foreign institution, was recognized by an accreditation body accepted by the U.S. Department of Education. You must include a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Your transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. You may submit an unofficial copy of your transcript at the initial phase of the application process. However, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting transcripts. Additional Information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP & RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. Telework: This position is not eligible for telework. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized. Bargaining Unit: This is a non-bargaining unit position. Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. Financial Disclosure: If selected, you will be required to submit Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter. Selectee is subject to financial Disclosure Requirements in accordance with 5 CFR, Part 2635, Sub part E regarding business or personal transactions with applicants, borrowers, or business contacts who have or who are seeking business with this Agency. Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. If selected you will be subject to a National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) and a credit report. Agricultural Loan Approval Authority: If selected, applicant will be required to provide proof of Agricultural Loan Approval Authority within 7 days of receipt of the Tentative Job Offer. Failure to provide required documentation will jeopardize further consideration.