Financial Analyst

Summary

EBSA plays a vital role in protecting the retirement, health, and other job-based benefits of America's workers, retirees, and their families. We issue effective regulations, offer comprehensive education and assistance to workers, plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and service providers, and rigorously enforce the law. We serve workers, families, and the broader employee benefits community by protecting the security and integrity of the nation's benefit systems.

Duties

• The Financial Analyst position is located in the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Office of Enforcement (OE), Division of Investigative Strategies (DIS). DIS's primary mission is to conduct, develop, and pursue complex investigations, with a focus on identifying new investigative approaches, issues, plans, templates, and strategies that EBSA field offices can use to pursue similar cases in the future. The Financial Analyst plans and develops enforcement policies and strategies; supports the implementation of civil enforcement programs and, when applicable, criminal enforcement matters; evaluates enforcement program effectiveness; and provides investigative support to staff who investigate private-sector employee benefit plans and service providers to protect the interests of plan participants and beneficiaries. The Analyst initiates, conducts, and coordinates primarily civil investigations of alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Selectee(s) will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and be eligible for telework as determined by agency policy. This is not a remote position. Offices are located in Boston, MA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Silver Spring, MD; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; Plantation, FL; Chicago, IL; Fort Wright, KY; Kansas City, MO; Dallas, TX; Pasadena, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA. Selectee will report to National Office or Regional Office, as appropriate. The advertised salary reflects the pay range for the above locations. Upon selection, salary will be set in accordance with the selectee's assigned duty location. Major duties include but are not limited to: Evaluate employee benefit plan financial activities to detect imprudent investments, improper or prohibited transactions, excessive fees, and other violations, and assess their impact on the plan's operations and financial condition. Apply ERISA and related laws (e.g., tax, securities, HIPAA, COBRA) and Federal rules of evidence to investigative analyses and case development. Coordinate, participate in technical, and often, multifaceted civil investigations of large and varied employee benefit plans, service providers, trust departments, and other financial entities having relationships and conducting transactions with ERISA-covered plans. Provide financial analytical support for investigations and examinations of selected employee benefit plans, financial institutions, service providers, and related entities. Identify and assess targets using a variety of sources and methods, including enforcement priorities, national and local emerging trends, reporting and disclosure filings, patterns of improper plan transactions, media reports, and other relevant data. Use technology and data systems to collect and analyze financial information, identify connections among entities, review large transaction datasets, and evaluate technical assets such as real estate, derivatives, and private equity. Prepare comprehensive, well-documented reports, work papers, and in-depth financial analyses of planned financial activities. Create summary exhibits, charts, and demonstratives from voluminous financial documentation for investigations and trials. Produce written analyses and recommendations (including enforcement strategies) and reports on investigation targets using databases, case files, and intelligence information. Coordinate and collaborate with investigators, attorneys, government agencies, financial institutions, service providers, and industry partners to support and conduct technical investigations. Provide classroom instruction/training on financial analysis topics and represent the agency in meetings and conferences to gain information, share best practices, and resolve problems. Support trial preparations by conducting on-site visits, interviews, records reviews and assist in identifying and preparing expert witnesses for testimony. Evaluate enforcement program effectiveness and develop/enhance enforcement strategies, policies, procedures, and new financial analysis techniques.

Qualifications

You must meet the IOR (Individual Occupational Requirement) and Specialized Experience to qualify for the Financial Analyst position, as described below. For GS-14: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-13 in the Federal Service. Individual Occupational Requirements: Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study in one or a combination of the following fields - 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: Experience such as performing financial analysis and evaluation work requiring a comprehensive knowledge of (1) corporate finance and any specialized fields of finance required such as public finance, securities, international finance, money and securities markets, investments, and banking, and (2) the financial and management structure, operations, and practices of corporate and other organizations. For the GS-14 grade level: In addition to meeting the requirements above, applicants must demonstrate 52 weeks of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service. Applicants must meet at least 4 out of the 5 statements below: Experience analyzing financial practices, transactions, and control systems to identify prohibited transactions, imprudent investments, excessive or improper fees/charges, prohibited loans, and other improper or illegal financial activities, while determining their impact on employee benefit plan operations and financial status. Experience preparing comprehensive, well-documented analytical work products (e.g., reports, work papers, charts, exhibits, and summaries) derived from financial records to create demonstratives and supporting trial preparation. Experience providing litigation support, including in-depth analysis of financial transactions, assisting in the identification and preparation of testifying expert witnesses, and testifying as a fact witness. Experience performing valuation and analysis of technical and hard-to-value assets (e.g., real estate, closely held equity, debt securities, derivatives, swaps, hedge funds, private equity) and assessing portfolio construction, performance, and risk. Experience collaborating and communicating effectively with investigators, attorneys, law enforcement, private industry, banks, insurance companies, auditors, and other government agencies.

Education

There is no substitution of education for the specialized experience at the GS-14 level for this position. Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service. If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Required documents

The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date. Resumes: Required and applicants must provide a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one from your profile. To receive full consideration for relevant and specialized experience, please list the month, year, and number of work hours worked for the experience listed on your resume. We also suggest that you preview the vacancy questions and confirm that your resume supports your question responses. Veterans Documents (if applicable): To be considered as a 5-point (TP) preference eligible, you must submit a copy of your DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Your DD 214 must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. To claim 10-point (CP/CPS, XP) preference, you must submit a copy of your DD214 and the proof of entitlement of this preference, which is normally an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. In addition, a Standard Form (SF-15) should be included, but is not required. (For active-duty service members expecting honorable or general discharge or release within 120 days, click Tentative Preference for Active Duty). For more information, go to Feds Hire Vets - Veterans Preference. Displaced Employee Placement Documents: Only required if requesting priority consideration under CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. Unofficial Transcript(s) (in English) - If you are using education as a basis for qualifying for the Individual Occupational Requirement, you must submit all applicable academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the qualifying educational requirements (ex. BA/BS, MA, JD, Ph.D., etc.). If specific coursework is required to qualify, you must supply an unofficial transcript from each academic institution in which the required courses were taken in order to receive credit. You may upload your unofficial transcript(s) as one document with a maximum size limit of 5 MB. NOTE: The OFFICIAL Transcript(s) MUST BE RECEIVED, if you are selected, and prior to receiving the firm offer with a start date. Cover Letters are not mandatory and will not be used to verify experience but may be submitted. Do not upload password-protected documents. Applicants selected for employment who are not current DOL employees will be required to provide proof of citizenship, and the E-Verify system will be used to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: - your performance and conduct; - the needs and interests of the agency; - whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and - whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your 1 year probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.