Associate FCA Examiner

Summary

This position is located in the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), Office of Examination, Staff Development Division. Our ideal candidate for the Associate FCA Examiner position is a recent graduate with a Finance, Accounting, or Agricultural Business degree with at least six credit hours in Finance and Accounting and a GPA above 3.0. Candidates with a Master's or in process of obtaining a Master's by June 2027 are encouraged to apply for the VH-34 and VH-35.

Duties

• As an Associate FCA Examiner, you will perform analytical assignments and receive on-the-job and extensive formal training designed to provide practical experience in evaluating an institution's financial and lending operations, management, information technology, and compliance with federal regulations. You will: Work in a team environment to gather (research and investigate), organize, and analyze (draw conclusions and support the conclusions with facts) institution data (e.g., loan portfolio management, financial condition, policies and procedures). Determine institution compliance with laws and regulations as well as sound business practices, prepare written reports, and recommend corrective action. Conduct interviews with institution personnel to obtain relevant information. Monitor and analyze the financial condition and performance of assigned institutions for emerging risks and issues that could impact operations, condition, and performance. Use electronic and computer databases extensively. Participate in an intensive, four-year, on-the-job and formal classroom training to learn oversight and examination procedures and practices as well as knowledge of the Farm Credit System. If selected, you will travel (during the weekday) up to 50% of the time and undertake a rigorous 4-5-year training program consisting of proficiency exams during the first 2 years and culminating with a Commissioning Test. You will spend the majority of the time analyzing the financial condition and performance of the financial institutions FCA regulates as well as evaluating individual credit risk, board governance, and management effectiveness. You will document all analytical work with supporting facts and write external reports and present examination findings and conclusions to external parties.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements, including completion of education, must be met by June 12, 2027. 1. ELIGIBILITY FOR PATHWAYS RECENT GRADUATE PROGRAM · To be eligible for this position, you must be a college graduate from a qualifying educational institution with an undergraduate and/or Master's degree (see required fields of study noted in 2 below), within 2 years of your application. · Students scheduled to receive their qualifying degree (see required fields of study noted in 2 below) no later than spring 2027 are also eligible. · Veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree, due to military service obligation, have as many as six years after degree completion to apply. 2. DEGREES REQUIRED FOR APPLICATION Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Your Undergraduate major field of study must be one of the following: Accounting, Agribusiness, Agricultural Business, Agricultural Finance, Agricultural Economics, Animal/Diary Science, Analytical Finance, Banking, Business Administration, Commercial or Banking Law, Economics, Finance, Marketing, Mathematics, - or areas of major study directly related to the position such as agricultural sciences, statistics, data analytics, management information systems, public policy. If pursing a Master's degree, either your undergraduate or graduate major field of study must be one of the following noted above. 3. QUALIFICATIONS TO QUALIFY AT THE VH-34 BAND LEVEL (GS-07 equivalent), applicants must have ONE of the following: A) One (1) full year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of graduate level study education AND an undergraduate degree by June 12, 2027. Either your Undergraduate degree or Master's must be one of the following fields: Accounting, Agribusiness, Agricultural Business, Agricultural Finance, Agricultural Economics, Animal/Dairy Science, Banking, Business Administration, Commercial or Banking Law, Economics, Finance, Marketing, or Mathematics - or areas of major study directly related to the position such as agricultural sciences, statistics, data analytics, management information systems, public policy. (Must submit transcripts with application). OR B) A bachelor's degree in Accounting, Agribusiness, Agricultural Business, Agricultural Finance, Agricultural Economics, Animal/Dairy Science, Analytical Finance, Banking, Business Administration, Commercial or Banking Law, Economics, Finance, Marketing, Mathematics - or areas of major study directly related to the position such as agricultural sciences, statistics, data analytics, management information systems, public policy AND have superior academic achievement (SAA) by June 12, 2027. To qualify for SAA, applicants must have met one of the following: i. A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study at the time of application. ii. A grade-point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study at the time of application. iii. Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, University or major subdivision. iv. Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. TO QUALIFY AT THE VH-35 BAND LEVEL (GS-09 equivalent), applicants must have ONE of the following: A) One year of specialized experience equivalent to the VH-34 (GS-07) band level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position includes examining or auditing such financial institutions as savings and loan associations, savings or commercial banking institutions or trust companies, farm credit associations, or Federal or State credit unions. OR B) A master's or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in one of the fields of study listed above; or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or possession of a LL.B. or J.D degree, if related. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position. OR C) A combination of education and experience as listed above.

Education

In addition, you must meet EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS to qualify for this internship. Your undergraduate or graduate-level education must be in one of the following major fields of study: Accounting Agribusiness Agricultural Business Agricultural Finance Agricultural Economics Animal/Dairy Science Analytical Finance Banking Business Administration Commercial or Banking Law Economics Finance Marketing Mathematics Other areas of major study directly related to the work of the position such as agricultural sciences, statistics, data analytics, management information systems, public policy You MUST submit copies of your transcript(s) that include: your name, the name of the educational institution, course titles, number of semester/quarter hours, cumulative GPA, grade(s) earned and degree(s) awarded. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. Educational institutions must be accredited by one of the accrediting agencies or associations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society. GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study. FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/college-accreditation

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/), all your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Human Resources Division. Please contact FCA HR Division at [email protected] between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, at least two business days prior to the closing date of this announcement to obtain an alternative application.