Loan Specialist

Summary This position is in the Farm Service Agency, South Carolina State Office, located in Walterboro, South Carolina

About the position:

Assists the Farm Loan Manager in administering farm loan programs in a USDA Service Center serving one or more Counties.

Selectee's responsibilities will include making, servicing, and supervising loans and providing technical advice, guidance, and credit counseling to loan applicants and borrowers.

Responsibilities 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. Has delegated loan approval authority to approve loans within a specific limit. Makes recommendations on 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.

Recommends approval or disapproval of individual loans and guarantees above delegated amounts.

Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement 07/19/2024 including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined.

Specialized experience for the GS-9 level: Two full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or master's or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college or university with a major field of study in 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- 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.

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- A combination of education and experience as listed above.

Time in grade for the GS-9 level: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the GS-7 level.

Specialized experience for the GS-11 level: Applicants must have three full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or Ph.

D., or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited college or university with a major field of study in 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- Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-9 level in the Federal service or private sector equivalent.

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- A combination of education and experience as listed above.

Time in grade for the GS-11 level: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the GS-9 level.

In addition to the above requirements, GS-11 applicants must meet the below

Selective Placement Factor Requirement:
MANDATORY SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR FOR GS-11: Must possess or have possessed Agricultural Loan Approval Authority

NOTE:
Your resume must specifically address the experiences and Selective Placement Factor needed to be considered. Failure to document may result in an ineligible rating.

For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here:

Loan Specialist Series 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.

Education If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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.

Additional Information If selected, applicant will be required to provide proof of Agricultural Loan Approval Authority within 7 days of receipt of the Tentative Job Offer.

Failure to provide required documentation will jeopardize further consideration.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP and RPL eligible.

To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors.

CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section.

When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Farm Service Agency (FSA)

County Employees:

Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management.

However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements.

Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8-hour workday, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties.

Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

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