Administrative Operations Specialist

Summary

NIST is seeking highly motivated Administrative Officers to support critical scientific, technical, and operational programs through strategic coordination of administrative and business operations. These positions play a key role in ensuring effective financial management, workforce support, acquisitions, travel, and organizational operations that enable mission success, informed decision-making, and efficient execution of program objectives across the organization.

Duties

• In this position, you will: - Coordinate and manage administrative and operational activities in support of organizational programs, priorities, and mission objectives. - Administer and monitor budget and financial activities, including tracking expenditures, analyzing funding usage, and supporting budget planning and execution. - Advise managers and staff on administrative policies, procedures, and organizational processes related to acquisitions, travel, human resources, financial management, and other operational activities. - Prepare and coordinate acquisition requests, interagency agreements, travel actions, and other administrative transactions in accordance with agency policies and regulations. - Analyze administrative processes, identify operational issues, and develop recommendations or solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness. - Utilize automated systems, databases, spreadsheets, and reporting tools to track, analyze, and communicate organizational and financial information. - Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to support organizational operations, resolve issues, and ensure timely completion of administrative activities. - Independently manage multiple priorities and provide responsive administrative support in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.

Qualifications

To qualify for the ZA-II, applicants must possess one of the following: A. Possess one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 (ZA-I at NIST) level. Specialized experience is defined as: - Experience providing administrative and operational support for an organization, including activities related to budget tracking, travel coordination, acquisitions, human resources support, property management, records management, or other administrative program functions. - Experience coordinating multiple administrative activities, applying organizational policies and procedures, and communicating with managers, staff, and stakeholders. OR B. master's or equivalent graduate degree OR C. two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR D. LL.B. or J.D. OR E. A combination of graduate education and experience. To Qualify for the ZA-III, applicants must possess one year (52 weeks) of specialized equivalent to at least the GS-11 (ZA-II at NIST) level. Specialized experience is defined as: - Experience independently coordinating and managing administrative and operational functions for an organization, including budget planning and execution, financial management, acquisitions, travel management, human resources administration, property management, and other organizational support activities. - Experience coordinating multiple administrative activities, applying organizational policies and procedures, and communicating with managers, staff, and stakeholders. 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. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. If requesting reconsideration of your qualification determination, please refer to the following site: Applicant Reconsideration

Education

This position allows applicants to qualify with education. Transcripts must be submitted to validate that the education requirement has been met. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. However, an official copy will be required before a final offer of employment. Use of foreign education for qualifications. An accredited organization must evaluate education completed outside of the U.S. to ensure that it is comparable to education received in accredited institutions in the U.S. Click here to view a listing of accredited organizations from the Department of Education's website. A copy of the foreign education evaluation (containing the results with course-by-course listing) is required with your application.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: USAJOBS Help Center - How to see your application and job status. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.