Loan Assistant/Specialist (Agricultural)

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Farm Service Agency, Pennsylvania State Office, District 1, in the following locations: Mercer, Pennsylvania Indiana, Pennsylvania 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.

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.

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.

Specialized experience is defined as: Experience that demonstrates basic knowledge of loan examining and/or servicing principles, procedures and techniques as they apply to investigation, analysis, and evaluation of financial factors and credit risks in relation to granting and servicing of agricultural loans.

Experience may have been gained in such work as assisting in reviewing and passing upon applications for agricultural loans; servicing an agricultural loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; or similar work.

In addition, this experience must demonstrate basic knowledge of farm operations, land use and value, production of various crops and livestock, and prices and markets in the farming area where loans are made and serviced.

OR Education at the GS-7 grade level: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: finance, business administration, economics, accounting, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, statistics, or another field related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology.

OR 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/).

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience as listed above.

For the GS-9 grade level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-7 level in the Federal service or private sector equivalent.

Specialized Experience is defined as: Experience that demonstrates competence in agricultural loans.

Experience may have been gained in such work as reviewing and passing upon applications for agricultural loans; servicing an agricultural loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; or similar work.

Experience that demonstrates knowledge of credit principles and practices to assess the fundamental soundness of individual loans by independently examining applications, supporting documents, and credit reports, and maintaining servicing activities on small agricultural loans.

In addition, experience must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of farm operations, land use and value, production of various crops and livestock, and prices and markets in the farming area where loans are made and serviced.

OR Education at the GS-9 grade level: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: finance, business administration, economics, accounting, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, statistics, or other fields related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience as listed above.

For the GS-11 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as: Experience that demonstrates competence in agricultural loans.

Experience may have been gained in such work as reviewing and passing upon applications for a limited number and variety of agricultural operations (i.e., single owner, single enterprise operation, farm equipment and machinery, etc.); or servicing an agricultural loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association.

In addition, experience must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the technicalities of farm financing and credit, and a general working knowledge of farm operations, land use and value, production of various crops and livestock, and prices and markets in the farming area where loans are made and serviced.

OR Education at the GS-11 grade level: Ph.D.

or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Finance, business administration, economics, accounting, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, statistics, or other fields related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience as listed above.

MANDATORY SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: Must possess or have possessed Agricultural Loan Approval Authority.

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.

Time-in-Grade Requirement: 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 next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement.

Major Duties:

• 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.
• Providing technical advice, guidance, and credit counseling to loan applicants and borrowers.
• 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.