LEAD Accountant

Who may apply

Limited to the following applicant groups:

  • Internal to an agency
  • Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
  • Land and base management
  • Special authorities
  • Veterans
  • Individuals with disabilities
  • Military spouses
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey Naval Air Warfare Center, Lakehurst, New Jersey Cherry Point, North Carolina Naval Base, Norfolk, Virginia Orlando, Florida Norfolk, Virginia Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida Naval Air Station San Diego, California Washington, District of Columbia Patuxent River, Maryland Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia Point Mugu, California Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland Orlando Naval Warfare Center, Florida
Full-time Security Clearance: Secret
Application Deadline:
2026-08-25
Posted:
2026-08-18

6 days left to apply

Salary: $91,427 – $158,322 per year (NH-3)

Salary context

Based on 52 annual-salary jobs in the same occupational series. This role pays around the middle of similar positions.

Job Details

Position Overview

You will serve as a Lead Accountant in the Accounting Department of NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND.

Duties

  • You will assist the Division Head to provide the general fund accounting policy and procedures to be used throughout the Command.
  • You will act as a lead accountant in developing, issuing, implementing, and reviewing accounting policies and procedures for the Command.
  • You will assist in the oversight of the efforts of the civil service accountants and financial analysts assigned to the Department
  • You will assist in advising the Department Head, NAVAIR Budget Office, Portfolio Acquisition Executive and other NAVAIR program financial personnel on matters of financial management
  • You will represent the Division Head, Department Director and Comptroller at conferences, working groups, meetings and special teams with other agencies and organizations to develop policy, procedures and systems.

Qualifications & Requirements

In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11/NH-02 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Posses a mastery of the principles, theories, techniques and methodology of accounting sufficient to oversee and manage a complex, large-scale accounting function.2) Posses knowledge of NAVAIR's mission, organizational structure and reporting relationships, business processes and lines of authority. 3) Apply interpersonal, organizational and leadership skills to assist in the development of an effective team to determine and implement new business processes into an ERP environment. 4) Analyze, review, and interpret financial execution data to resolve variances. 5) Communicate clearly, both orally and in writing, for the purpose of providing information and guidance to management or customers at all levels.


Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0500/accounting-series-0510/

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

Education

Applicants must meet the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual: Applicants must possess
  1. Degree: accounting; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting. The 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in business law. (The term "accounting" means "accounting and/or auditing" in this standard. Similarly, "accountant" should be interpreted, generally, as "accountant and/or auditor.")

    OR

  2. Combination of education and experience: at least 4 years of experience in accounting, or an equivalent combination of accounting experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional accounting knowledge. The applicant's background must also include oneof the following:
    1. Twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality. This can include up to 6 hours of business law;
    2. A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; or
    3. Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in accounting or auditing, e.g., 15 semester hours, but that does not fully satisfy the 24-semester-hour requirement of paragraph A, provided that (a) the applicant has successfully worked at the full-performance level in accounting, auditing, or a related field, e.g., valuation engineering or financial institution examining; (b) a panel of at least two higher level professional accountants or auditors has determined that the applicant has demonstrated a good knowledge of accounting and of related and underlying fields that equals in breadth, depth, currency, and level of advancement that which is normally associated with successful completion of the 4-year course of study described in paragraph A; and (c) except for literal nonconformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, the applicant's education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements.

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a US Citizen.
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
  • Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
  • New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Generally, current federal employees applying for GS jobs must serve at least one year at the next lower grade level. This requirement is called time-in-grade. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
  • This is a Financial Management Level II certified position per the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2012, Section 1599d. You must achieve this level within prescribed timelines. Certification requirements are in DoD Instruction 1300.26

Evaluations

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.

When the application process is complete, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and application package, along with your supporting documentation to determine your ability to demonstrate the following competencies:



This recruitment will utilize the following technical assessment tools: Structured Resume Structured Interview

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All eligibility, qualifications, and time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Required Documents

You are required to provide documentation that supports the eligibility and qualification claims made in your resume. You must submit the applicable documents listed here and those listed with the eligibilities you select in the announcement questionnaire with your application package. Applicants who do not provide supporting documentation that fully support their claims will not be referred to the hiring manager. Cover letter is optional.

A complete resume is required. Resumes are restricted to no more than 2 pages. Illegible/unreadable resumes will not be considered. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week if experience was less than full time (35-40 hours per week), pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.

Are you applying for a promotion? For GS positions, to be considered for a promotion, you must provide SF-50(s) that shows you have held the next lower GS grade for at least one year. SF-50s that have an effective date within the past year (e.g., General Adjustment SF-50 from this year or Within Rate/Grade Increases (WRI/WGI) SF-50 within a year) do not clearly show that you meet the one-year time-in-grade requirement. That means if you submit an SF-50 dated within the last year, you must submit another SF-50 dated more than one year ago to clearly demonstrate you meet the time-in-grade requirements. If you are a DoD employee, you can obtain a copy of your SF- 50(s) from MyBiz.

Are you claiming membership in any professional organizations, or possession of a license, certificate or credentials? Check the Conditions of Employment section above to see if any are required. If you claim membership, license, certification, or credentials, you must submit a copy of said document in your application package.

Are you using education as a substitute for some or all of the experience requirement? Is there a basic education requirement for this position? Check the Education section above to see what is allowed and what is required. Any claims you make in your resume regarding education or degrees MUST be supported by submitting with your application official or unofficial transcripts or a list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned issued from your school. While unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application, an official transcript will ultimately be required if you are selected for the position. You may submit a copy your degree(s) if specific coursework does not have to be verified.

Are you a veteran claiming 5-point veterans' preference or claiming sole survivorship preference? You must submit a copy of your latest DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (any copy that shows all dates of service, as well as character of service [Honorable, General, etc.] is acceptable) OR a VA letter that shows dates of service or service connected disability AND character of service. If you have more than one DD-214 for multiple periods of active duty service, submit a copy for each period of service. If you were issued a DD-215 to amend aforementioned information on the DD-214 you must submit that too. If you are not sure of your preference eligibility, visit the Department of Labor's website: Veterans' Preference Advisor

Are you a disabled veteran or claiming 10-point veterans' preference?
If you are eligible to claim 10 point veterans preference you must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty as described above for 5-point preference.

You must also provide the applicable supporting documentation of your disability (e.g. disability letter from the VA) as described on Standard Form-15 (SF-15). http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf.

Are you an active duty service member? Active Duty Service Members are required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc.).

Application documents, including supplemental ones, may be shared outside the Human Resources Office. Supplemental documents may contain your SSN, DOB, or personal information of others (e.g., on military orders, marriage certificates). You may redact this information before submitting; however, if selected, you must provide unredacted originals.

How to Apply

Click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
1. Complete resume with relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Resumes are restricted to no more than 2 pages. Illegible/unreadable resumes will not be considered. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week if experience was less than full time (35-40 hours per week), pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.
2. Supporting documentation

Failure to submit a complete application package will result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration.

Your complete application must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 08/25/2026. Applications received after 08/25/2026 will generally result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration. If more than one resume is received, only the last resume received and processed will be reviewed.

For additional information on viewing your application status, click https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.

You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

Do not email or send hard copy resumes/applications to the Contact Information or Agency Information listed in this vacancy announcement. All resumes/applications received at the addresses listed in the Contact Information or Agency Information will be destroyed and will not be considered for this vacancy announcement.

It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that all information in their resume and documents are legible and accurate. HR will not modify answers/documents submitted by an applicant. When the application process is complete, your complete application will be reviewed to determine if you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements for which you requested consideration. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and technical assessment(s), along with your supporting documentation to determine your level of knowledge, skill, and ability related to the job requirements.

Generally, only best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager. Sometimes well qualified and minimally qualified candidates are referred. Occasionally, candidates eligible for priority consideration are referred, and no other candidates are referred.

The hiring manager may choose to conduct interviews.

You will be notified of our rating and referral decision. If you are referred, you will be notified when a hiring decision is made.

NOTE: If you have any questions or need assistance, please email the DON Employment Information Center at [email protected]