About This Position
You will serve as a Budget Analyst with the National Park Service. This position is located in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in the Division of Administration.
Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/27/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted.
An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.
To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). (NOTE: GS-05 Budget Assistant/Technician work is NOT generally creditable, but GS-06 experience may be qualifying). Examples of specialized experience include: developmental experience entering budget programming data in a computerized system of record; comparing program expenses against budget plans and documenting exceptions; reconciling payroll; reallocating expenses as needed, requesting or establishing accounts in an electronic accounting system according to established procedure; entering transactions for accounts receivable or accounts payable; making purchases on a government purchase card in accordance with regulation and policy; using automated computer systems to query data and generate documents or reports such as systems to track and manage cash, inventory, or commodities, or systems to generate reservations, permits, or approval documents for authorized activities.
You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full academic year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of graduate level education towards a major in business administration, accounting, marketing, business law, finance, or other position-related fields. IMPORTANT
NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must submit a copy of your transcripts. -OR- SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: Must have a directly related bachelor's degree AND Superior Academic Achievement. (Superior Academic Achievement. (SAA) is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. (1) 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. (2) Grade-point average (G.P.A.)--Applicants must have a grade-point average of: (A) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their 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 (3) Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. These honor societies are listed in the Association of College Honor Societies: Booklet of Information (1992-95) and/or Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (1991).
Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. IMPORTANT
NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must submit a copy of your transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, I have 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and 9 semester hours of directly related graduate level college study in an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education). IMPORTANT
NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must submit a copy of your transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). (Note: GS-07 Budget Assistant/Technician work is not generally creditable, but experience at the GS-08 may be qualifying). Examples of specialized experience include: Applying established principles and practices of budget execution to identify sources for meeting organizational requirements and ensuring proper allocation of resources; Familiarity with established processes for handling budgetary and accounting documents, including transferring funds between accounts and processing transactions in compliance with applicable regulations and policies; Providing financial management advice and assistance to staff on department budgets, program budgets, allowances in financial systems, and requests for funds analysis; Using financial and budgetary software tools to accurately process accounting documents, analyze cost data, and monitor fund status to support organizational decision-making; Using oral and written communication skills to articulate ideas clearly, grasp complex concepts, and exercise sound judgment in situations requiring reflection, consultation, and evaluation within established time constraints.
You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two full years of progressively higher-level of graduate level education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree in business administration, accounting, marketing, business law, finance, or other position-related fields. The total education offered to meet this provision must have provided the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the work of this position. (Eighteen semester hours or 27 quarter hours or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study is considered to be equal to 1 full year of graduate education.) IMPORTANT
NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must submit a copy of your transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, I have 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and 27 semester hours of directly related graduate level college study in an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education). IMPORTANT
NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must submit a copy of your transcripts. Volunteer Experience: 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.
Major Duties
Performs duties of limited scope and complexity in all aspects of budget activities. Combines productive work with the learning of a variety of advanced skills, techniques, and procedures. Assignments are primarily for the purpose of increasing ability to perform in higher-level budget and finance positions.
Receives formal and on-the-job instruction and training designed to familiarize the employee with functions and operations of the organization, and to provide experience in the practical application of laws, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures involved in budget work. Participates in program and budget planning and correlation of work plans with administrative and regulatory requirements involving appropriated and other funds, materials, and staffing levels. From specific instructions, performs assignments from inception to final accomplishment of project including all necessary study, collection of pertinent information, data recording, drafting correspondence, assisting with reports, etc.
Examples of work are analyzing and developing details of portions of the unit's budget or auditing specific financial records. Performs other related work as assigned. Assignments in other administrative areas may be included to broaden understanding of NPS activities.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level. Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.
GS-07: $50,460-$65,599 per year; GS-09: $61,722-$80,243 per year. For more information about Great Smoky Mountains National Park, please visit: Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service).
Conditions of Employment
Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
You may be required to travel overnight away from home.
You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.
This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized.
In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Education
You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted.
Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs.
Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. How do I receive credit for a college degree obtained in a foreign university in another country? - OPM.gov Applicants must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, commonly called a credential evaluation service.
To be acceptable, the foreign credential evaluation must include/describe: The type of education received by the applicant; The level of education in relation to the U.S. education system, and state that its comparability recommendations follow the general guidelines of the International Education Standards Council; The content of the applicant's educational program earned abroad and the standard obtained; The status of the awarding foreign school's recognition and legitimacy in its home country's education system; and Any other information of interest such as what the evaluation service did to obtain this information, the qualifications of thee valuator, and any indications as to other problems such as forgery. Foreign credential evaluations that do not contain the above information or that state there is insufficient information provided by the applicant on which to base an evaluation should not be accepted. If the requested evaluation shows the foreign education to be legitimate and comparable to that expected of a candidate with U.S. credentials, it may be accepted at the discretion of the agency.
How You Will Be Evaluated
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.
Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.
You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Accountability Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork
In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the USA Hire Assessment, if required. The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies.
You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered.
You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.
Additional Information
Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement. Promotion Potential: Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor. Telework: The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application.
Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision.
You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S.
Department of the Interior.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, select appropriate hiring eligibilities, and submit all 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 11/27/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement to receive consideration.
Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13113245 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. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.
Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. 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. Eligibilities: Please ensure you complete the Eligibility section of this application. This section determines the hiring paths under which you may be considered for this position.
You will only be considered for the eligibilities you select. Applicants are strongly encouraged to reach each eligibility carefully to understand the requirements and select all that apply. For each eligibility selected, you must upload the required supporting documentation. Review the eligibility descriptions to confirm you are providing the correct documents.
You may select more than one eligibility, if applicable. If you do not select at least one eligibility, you will not be considered for this vacancy. To learn more about federal hiring paths, visit USAJOBS - Unique Hiring Paths. To view the announcement status or your application status, visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.
Required Documents
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) -11/27/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement: Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates in month-year format (include month/day/year format if needed for 52 weeks of experience), and indicate hours worked per week (or full-time).
Your resume must clearly show how long you have held each grade/rank.
Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
Your 2-page resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements. If you have federal experience, you should include series, and grade for each position held, and if experience is part of a career ladder position, you must clearly distinguish the job duties and length of time working for each grade level. More information on how to write a Federal Resume: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include Complete All Required Assessment(s).
Performance Appraisals and Awards: You must submit your most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor dated within the past 18 months. If unavailable, a written explanation is required (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level). Performance awards dated within the past 5 years may also be submitted for due weight consideration.
All College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education. Eligibility Documentation: Current and former Federal employees must submit latest SF-50 (i.e. Promotion, Separation, Within Grade Increase (WGI)) showing tenure 1 or 2 in block 24, grade, and if applicable, an additional SF-50 showing the highest grade or promotion potential held.
Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s. If your SF-50 showing highest permanent grade held has an effective date within the past year, your resume must clearly show that you held that grade for one year. Do not submit award SF-50s.
Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA): you must submit ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH Competitive time-limited appointment (block 34, code 1); AND Documentation of satisfactory performance for each period of employment claimed, such as, performance evaluations, memorandum of record, whereas the supervisor(s) documented an acceptable performance level for a specified rating/employment period. If not currently employed by agency, you must have been most recently separated by the hiring Bureau. Interagency Career Transition (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): You MUST submit proof of eligibility including 1) copy of the agency notice, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc.; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal.
To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be well qualified. For more information visit: USAJOBS Help Center - Career Transition Programs (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL). Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package.
It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted. Do not submit photographs with your application package. Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents.