Loan Assistant/Specialist (Agricultural)

Summary

This position is located in the Farm Service Agency, Iowa State Office, located in Guthrie Center, Iowa. This position assists the Farm Loan Manager in administering farm loan programs in a USDA Service Center serving one or more Counties. Farm Loan Officers 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

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.
• •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.

Qualifications

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. Basic Requirement GS-1165 Education- Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study - finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or other fields related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology. OR Experience-General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Experience that required gathering and analyzing facts and figures, and presenting the information or conclusions in clear oral and written language; or that provided a knowledge of the principles of financial analysis or of insurance laws, such as contract, property, life, casualty, or marine insurance. Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience that demonstrated competence in agricultural, commercial, realty, or other types of loans. Experience may have been gained in such work as reviewing and passing upon applications for agricultural, commercial, bank or mortgage loans; servicing a loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; performing financial analysis of commercial concerns for investment purposes; appraising real estate to determine property valuation; or similar work. In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below. For the GS-5 grade level: General Experience Requirement: You must have three years of general experience, one year of which was equivalent to at least GS-4 grade level. General experience is defined as: gathering and analyzing facts and figures and presenting information or conclusions in clear oral and written language; OR that provided a knowledge of the principles of financial analysis or insurance laws, such as contract, property, life casualty, or marine insurance. OR Education at the GS-05 grade level: A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree or a bachelor's degree in 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 from an accredited college or university. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience as listed above. For the GS-07 grade level: Specialized Experience Requirement: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 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-07 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, farm management, ranch management, rural sociology, dairy science, domestic agricultural development or agronomy. Superior Academic Achievement: A bachelor's degree in 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 from an accredited college or university with either: 1) a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 based on a 4.0 scale; 2) a 3.5 GPA based on a 4.0 scale for required courses completed in a major field of study during the last two years of undergraduate study; 3) class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision of the college; 4) membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College Honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies; OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience as listed above. For the GS-9 level: Specialized Experience Requirement: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 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 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-09 grade level: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduat