What are the responsibilities and job description for the County Program Technician position at US Farm Service Agency?
Duties
- Carrying out office activities and functions pertaining to one or more of the program areas administered in the county.
- Interpreting and explaining procedures, program regulations and forms to producers and other agency personnel.
- Utilizing various web-based software applications to maintain producer data and processing automated forms.
- Using a high degree of initiative and judgment in planning and carrying out assigned tasks and resolving problems encountered.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a US Citizen or US National.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service Registered or Exempt.
- Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
- Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
- Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
- Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
- Must be a high school graduate, or have a GED.
- Must be 18 years of age, or 17 years of age for high school graduates.
Qualifications
* Experience is defined as experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and is typically in or related to the work of the position being filled. To be creditable, experience must have been equivalent to at least 1 year in the next lower grade level.
Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date in the announcement, including the following specialized experience and/or education, as identified below:
You may start at the CO-03 level if you have one of the following qualifications:
- Successful completion of one year of education above high school in an accredited business, secretarial or technical, junior college, college or university in any field in which high school graduation or the equivalent is a prerequisite may be substituted for experience. OR
- Six months general experience related to office work, or equal background in the operations of a farm or ranch that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the duties of this position.
- Successful completion of two years of education above high school in an accredited business, secretarial or technical, junior college, college or university in any field in which high school graduation or the equivalent is a prerequisite may be substituted for experience. OR
- One year general experience related to office work, or equal background in the operations of a farm or ranch that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the duties of this position.
- Successful completion of four years of education above high school in an accredited business, secretarial or technical, junior college, college or university in any field in which high school graduation or the equivalent is a prerequisite or Bachelors degree from such an accredited college or university. OR
- One year of experience equivalent to the CO-4 level applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to farm or agricultural programs carried out by respective agencies or institutions. (e.g. USDA Agencies, State Departments, State or Local and Extension Services, Vocational Agriculture Schools.)
- One year of experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the CO-5 level applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to farm or agricultural programs carried out by respective agencies or institutions. (e.g. USDA Agencies, State Departments, State or Local and Extension Services, Vocational Agriculture Schools.)
- One year experience equivalent to grade CO-6 or GS-6 applying office methods and procedures to provide clerical and limited technical support to independently perform a full range of farm program processes. (e.g. USDA Agencies, State Departments, State or Local and Extension Services, Vocational Agriculture Schools.) Experience that shows your ability to perform progressively more complex, responsible, or difficult duties: and that shows your ability to learn the specific work of this position.
Education
College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit with your application package evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution was appropriately accredited by an accredited body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. Education standards. You may submit an unofficial copy of the 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 the transcript. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
Additional information
- Veterans' preference does not apply since this position is being advertised under Title 7 authorities.
- Relocation expenses are not authorized.
- When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.
- This is a Title 7, Non-Federal, Non-Civil Service position.
- This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.
- Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact: USDAs TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
- Optional - This position may be eligible to telework up to four (4) days per biweekly pay period (2 day per week) upon supervisory approval. This position may also be eligible for flexible work schedules in accordance with Department and Agency directives.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet:
- Minimum qualification requirements and
- Your resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.
Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your qualifications. Providing inaccurate information on County and Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to and including removal from County and Federal service.
Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.
To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12462927
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Required Documents
As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
- Resume that includes:
- Personal information such as name, address, contact information.
- Education.
- Detailed Work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; for current or previous Federal or FSA County employees, it should also include the Title, Pay Plan, Series and Grade and Step for each work experience entry.
- Other qualifications.
- If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient at the time of application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
- Performance Appraisal (Most Recent Signed) or a statement stating why you don't have a Performance Appraisal.
- SF-50 (Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) or equivalent showing position title, series, grade and salary.)
You will not be contacted for additional information.If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact us at holly.andrews@usda.gov well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, click "Apply Online" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
Once your application has been submitted, we recommend you save or print your completed application and a screen print of uploaded documents for your reference.Agency contact information
Amber BrissPhone701-893-2208Emailamber.briss@usda.govAddressFarm Service Agency - County Offices
1025 28th Street SW
Fargo, ND 58103
USNext steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account at USAJOBS account to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).Fair and Transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
- Criminal history inquiries
- Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
- Financial suitability
- New employee probationary period
- Privacy Act
- Reasonable accommodation policy
- Selective Service
- Signature and false statements
- Social security number request
Required Documents
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
- Resume that includes:
- Personal information such as name, address, contact information.
- Education.
- Detailed Work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; for current or previous Federal or FSA County employees, it should also include the Title, Pay Plan, Series and Grade and Step for each work experience entry.
- Other qualifications.
- If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient at the time of application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
- Performance Appraisal (Most Recent Signed) or a statement stating why you don't have a Performance Appraisal.
- SF-50 (Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) or equivalent showing position title, series, grade and salary.)
You will not be contacted for additional information.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
This job is open to
- The public
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Clarification from the agency
This position is open to all US Citizens and US Nationals.
