Do I meet the minimum qualifications for Financial Management Officers?

To be considered as a candidate for the Financial Management Officer position, you must meet the minimum education and experience qualification requirements listed below.

Quiz
Education	Specialized Experience	Check Your Level
BA/BS degree with a minimum of 24 semester hours (36 quarter hours) in accounting or finance	3 years
----- OR -----
BA/BS plus one full academic year of graduate education in business or public administration, with a concentration in accounting or finance	2 years
----- OR -----
BA/BS plus completion of all requirements for a master's or equivalent degree, or 2 full academic years of graduate education in accounting or finance	1 year
----- OR -----
BA/BS plus completion of all requirements for a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent), or 3 full academic years of graduate education in accounting or finance	0 years
----- OR -----
None of the above

Notes

In addition to education and experience requirements, candidates must be able to pass a computer-based skills test.
Specialized Experience: work experience in a medium or large organization with a multimillion dollar budget(s). This experience must include more than one area of financial management (e.g., budget preparation, accounting and reporting, accounts payable, payroll, accounts receivable, cash management, disbursing, tax reporting, and audit and internal controls). Examples of specialized work experience include:
1. Experience in financial management work that involved the preparation, justification, or management of an organization's budget, or participation in budget hearings on appropriations for a government agency.
2. Experience as a financial management officer in a government agency or in a business or industrial concern with responsibilities for program planning, organization, methods, and procedures.
3. Experience in government or private sector accounting, including interpretation and use of financial data for informed decision-making and the efficient and optimal use of resources.
4. Teaching comprehensive budget, fiscal or accounting courses in an accredited educational institution above the high school level.
5. Experience in the development and/or implementation of internal controls and compliance with laws and regulations related to financial management, including experience in the audit and financial management review of procedures and requirements.
6. Experience in banking, currency purchasing, or treasury operations.
7. Experience in payroll plan development and/or administration.
8. NOTE: Consumer loan management/approval and individual tax preparation are not considered to be specialized experience.

Further, to be considered for the Financial Management Officer position, you must be willing to move around the world.

Question	Verification
Are you willing to be mobile and available anywhere around the world, including moving one’s home base, uprooting children from school, etc., every 2-3 years, and having to re-establish friendships or professional contacts at new locations?
Are you willing to spend one tour at a hardship and/or danger pay differential post or at an unaccompanied post?
Furthermore, are you willing to spend time, often brief (e.g., few days) but occasionally prolonged (e.g., month or more) away from your family because of job responsibilities?

Factors Influencing Your Competitiveness

There are a wide variety of factors influencing who is offered a position as a Financial Management Officer. These include how well a candidate performs on the oral assessment, the number of vacancies, the number of eligible hires already in line, and the number of people who accept job offers. Even though there are no guarantees that anyone will be offered a position, there are certain evaluation factors used to distinguish between candidates.

Below is a list of some of the factors used to evaluate candidates. By rating yourself honestly, you can get an idea of how competitive you might be. When you are finished, click the "Submit" button to view an analysis of your competitiveness. The self-evaluation is a guide for your use only. The U.S. Department of State does not use, pass on, or even record and retain the information contained in this questionnaire.

Experience

Please rate yourself on the extent to which you possess the experience. Use the following scale:

Score	Experience Description	Typical Years of Experience
5	I am considered an expert in performing this task. Because of my expertise, I am normally the person who is consulted by others to train them in doing this task.	3 years of direct experience
4	I have routinely performed this task independently with little or no supervision.	2 years of direct experience
3	I have performed this task on the job with occasional assistance.	1 year or less of direct experience
2	I have had education or training in performing this task, but I have not yet performed it on the job.	No experience
1	I have not had education, training, or experience in performing this task.	No experience

Experience	1	2	3	4	5
Experience with providing a full range of financial services by developing budget and financial plans, which includes anticipating obligations and expenditures, administering payroll plans, providing for wage increases, funding new contracts and renewal of existing ones, etc.
Experience with providing written and oral guidance to senior management concerning the planning of funds in order to promote their most efficient use.
Experience with managing financial aspects of projects, including providing technical assistance and support to management.
Experience with managing budgets and ensuring that obligations are properly substantiated and do not exceed authorizations.
Experience with gathering and analyzing information on expenses, contracts, etc., and reporting status to management for forward planning, in order to allocate funds for the coming year.
Experience with managing the consequences of a tight budgetary environment by developing contingency cost-cutting financial plans.
Experience with compiling required financial reports of various kinds.
Experience with advising stakeholders through regular meetings to assist them in making process improvements that will keep them within approved budgets.
Experience with demonstrating leadership effectiveness, including planning and implementing policy and process improvements.
Experience with supervising staff by assigning work, developing and setting priorities, resolving disputes, effecting minor disciplinary measures, and recommending candidates for promotion.

Please continue by rating your knowledge and skills.

Knowledge and Skills

Please rate yourself on the extent to which you possess the following knowledge and skills. Use the following scale:

Score	Knowledge and Skills
5	I am considered an expert in this knowledge or skill. Because of my expertise I am normally the person who is consulted by others to train them.
4	I have knowledge or skill in this area and can use it on the job with little or no supervision.
3	I have some knowledge or skill in this area and can use it on the job with occasional assistance.
2	I have had education or training in knowledge or skill, but have not performed it on the job.
1	I have not had education, training, or experience in this knowledge or skill.

Knowledge/Skill	1	2	3	4	5
Knowledge of financial procedures, applicable laws, regulations and other guidance in order to prepare financial plans.
Knowledge of the principles and application of cost accounting.
Knowledge of the fundamentals of economics, statistics, accounting, banking and financial markets.
Knowledge of fraud detection, both in cash operations and financial systems.
Knowledge of management principles including Equal Opportunity Guidelines (EEO) guidelines.
Skill in applying accounting concepts, including auditing and program evaluation concepts, principles, methods, and techniques.
Skill in management of financial resources by determining how funds will be spent in order to maximize benefits from limited resources.
Skill in financial negotiation (e.g., to achieve a fair allocation of budget or cost services).
Skill in acquiring and analyzing financial data, discerning relationships and trends, and making projections.
Skill in using basic office computer programs such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc.
Skill in leading, coordinating, motivating, and directing a diverse, sometimes large, and usually multinational group of people.

Amount of Self-Assessed Fit for Financial Management Officer

The table below indicates how well your self-indicated knowledge, skills and abilities, and experience fits with the requirements of the job and many of the factors with which candidates are evaluated.

Self-Evaluation of Competitiveness for Financial Management Officer

Score Key

Score (%)	Amount of Fit
74-100	High
47-73	Medium
20-46	Low

For salary, detailed job description and information on how to apply for this position, please review the vacancy announcement.