Grants Management Specialist

Grants Management Specialist

Department: Department of Labor

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $70623 - $133142 Per Year

Job Summary: These positions are loocated in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Office of Grants Management (OGM). The OGM is responsible for providing centralized services to ETA program offices for federal assistance (grants management) to ensure effective and uniform implementation of Federal and Departmental procurement and assistance regulations and guidelines within ETA. This position is inside the bargaining unit.

Major Duties:

• This is a career ladder progression position; the duties described below are at the full performance level, GS-12. If selected at a grade below GS-12, the incumbent will serve in a developmental capacity, wherein the work is less complex in nature and the supervisor or a senior level employee provides specific instruction and guidance. Major Duties at the GS-12 grade level: Works on grants management and cooperative agreements for one of several major grants programs within the ETA; participates in the administration of grant/cooperative agreements including, but not limited to technical panel reviews of applications, building grant awards, modification reviews and processing, assisting with financial reporting, researching policy questions, resolving audits or performing closeout duties. Performs work in the development of federal assistance objectives for applicable programs in compliance with governing regulations federal assistance standards. Supports grantee financial reporting by responding to questions, conducting training, reconciling e-grants reports and assisting with system enhancements; reviews and analyzes closeout documents. Communicates with grantees regarding any closeout deficiencies and submits final closeout packages to the Closeout Grants Officer for approval; forwards audits assigned to grantees for response. Reviews and analyzes documentation submitted by grantees. Prepares Initial and Final Determinations within specified timeframes for approval by the Grants Officer; responds to various inquiries including - formal protests/appeals, congressional inquiries, program office fiscal or regulation interpretations and grantee questions. Prepares position papers/answers questions relating to the overarching program legislations, federal assistance regulations or other application laws/regulations. Performs grants management and cooperative agreement administration typically including incremental funding, reviewing and preparing modifications, reviewing and processing grant extensions and incorporating grant revisions into the grant agreement. Assists with the preparation/review/publication of Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs), developing and incorporating language for the FOA to ensure compliance with assistance requirements and merit review procedures; receives and controls applications. Provides guidance to program officials, grants applicants and recipients in the interpretation, application and implementation of applicable laws and regulations, policies, procedures pertaining to all aspects of federal assistance program activities, e.g., grants, cooperative and interagency agreement planning and solicitation through program administration, expiration and closeout, etc. Participates in various meetings and conferences in the field and at headquarters where grants and cooperative agreement items are discussed; may serves as a trainer for grantee orientations or workshops. Develops planning of negotiation strategy, participates in negotiations conducted with grantees to develop the budget and grants terms and assists in the preparation of award document for signature. Responds to official written inquiries from members of Congress, other federal agencies and instrumentalities of the Federal Government, public and private organizations, and interested citizens concerning specific questions about individual grants managed and/or general questions about the intricacies of grants management and federal assistance activities.

Qualifications: For the GS-09: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-07, in the Federal Service. Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Qualifying specialized experience for GS-09 includes ALL of the following: Experience working with grants/cooperative agreements programs by providing grants-related assistance and services covering the grant life cycle; Experience developing formal written recommendations to senior leadership based on research and interpretation of authoritative sources such as program regulations, directives, curriculars, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), etc; and Experience analyzing grant policies and/or procedures to provide recommendations to improve grant program operations. OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.B. or J.D., if related. OR Combination of experience and education: Possess a combination of specialized experience as described above AND graduate education as described above, which when combined would equate to at least 100%. For the GS-11: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-09, in the Federal Service. Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Qualifying specialized experience for GS-11 includes ALL of the following: Experience working with grants/cooperative agreements programs by providing grants-related assistance and services covering the grant life cycle; Experience evaluating and researching a variety of sources such as regulations, policies, and/or directives in order to make gram program interpretations; Experience developing formal written recommendations to senior leadership based on research and interpretation of authoritative sources such as program regulations, directives, curriculars, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), etc; and Experience analyzing grant policies and/or procedures to provide recommendations to improve grant program operations. OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related. OR Combination of experience and education: Possess a combination of specialized experience as described above AND graduate education as described above, which when combined would equate to at least 100%. For the GS-12: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-11, in the Federal Service. Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. To qualify at the GS-12 you must have experience in any of the following areas working with workforce development programs (youth, apprenticeship, adult, dislocated workers, older workers, homeless) through grants/cooperative agreements. In addition to the requirement above, you must have at least five of the six specialized experience statements below: Experience working with grants/cooperative agreements programs by providing grants-related assistance and services covering the grant life cycle; Experience evaluating and researching a variety of sources such as regulations (e.g. Uniform Guidance), policies, and/or directives in order to make grant program interpretations; Experience developing formal written recommendations to senior leadership based on research and interpretation of authoritative sources such as program regulations, directives, Curriculars, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), etc.; Experience analyzing grant policies or procedures to provide recommendations to improve grant program operations; Experience developing and providing training (technical assistance) to internal and external stakeholders on grants management including fiscal and administrative topics; Experience participating or leading workgroups or program teams on projects. Education Requirements: There is no education substitution at the GS-12 level.

How to Apply: Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, including submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the vacancy closing date to receive consideration. Important - Save your information before the 30 minute system timeout! For help, go to USAJOBS Help Center. STEP 1 - Create USAJOBS Account on www.usajobs.gov, including Resume and Saved Documents. For each employment period, include start/end month & year and note full-time or part-time (if part-time, include # of hours worked per week) otherwise, your application may be considered incomplete. NOTE: In alignment with the Presidential Memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, applicants may only submit a resume limited to two (2) pages. Only the résumé uploaded under the 'Resume" document type in USAJOBS will be reviewed. If the resume submitted exceeds two (2) pages, the application will be deemed ineligible for further consideration. STEP 2 - Complete the 1st part of the application process (USAJOBS). Once you have identified a job on USAJOBS that you wish to apply for, click on the job title and then click the Apply button. For questions about the vacancy, contact the Agency Contact at the bottom of the announcement. Proceed through the steps noted at the top of the USAJOBS page. You will be able to select a resume and documents from your USAJOBS Account that you can submit as a package as part of your DOL application. In the final step, once you have certified your application, click the Continue to agency site button. STEP 3 - Complete the 2nd part of the application process (DOL). On the Department of Labor (DOL) page, create a DOL Account if you have not already and click Apply to this vacancy. Continue through the progress steps at the top of the DOL page. The 2nd progress step is where you answer the vacancy-specific questions. The 3rd progress step Documents is where you submit the required documents (only if applicable to you) specified in the Required Documents section of this vacancy. STEP 4 - On the Review and Submit step, verify each section of your application is complete and correct. In order to submit your application, you must have a check mark next to each section listed. If there is an X, return to the appropriate section and follow the prompts. When it is ready for submission, certify your application and click the Submit Application button. STEP 5 - Edit Application as needed by 11:59 pm Eastern Time of Closing Date by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy, then Update Application. 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 about 2 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. 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. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. For more detailed information on applying for positions with DOL click here to view the U.S. Department of Labor, How to Apply website.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-06