Financial Management Analyst (McCain Fellows)

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30 2026.

The Department of War is seeking applicants for the John S. McCain Strategic Defense Fellowship Program.

The application period opens on December 1 2025 with an initial cut off date of January 5 2026. Applications received before 11:59pm on January 5 2026 will be evaluated and assessed for current available positions. Subsequent cutoff dates include March 5 2026; May 5 2026; July 6 2026 and September 30 2026. Qualified applicants that apply after the initial cut off date will be considered and referred if initial vacancies are not filled and if future vacancies become available.

This Public Notice is to gather applications which may or may not result in a referral or selection.

This position is being filled under Section 932 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 and its later amendments Section 1113 of the NDAA Fiscal Year 2024 and Section 1112 of the NDAA Fiscal Year 2025.
NDAA FY25 Sec 1112
NDAA FY24 Sec 1113
NDAA FY19 Sec 932

Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration.

Assignments during the Fellows program are to an Excepted Service position either in the Office of the Secretary of War or other Department of War Components.

Typical work assignments may include the following:

• Conducts financial analysis and research on DOD programs financial data and relevant trends to identify potential issues and contribute to informed decision-making.
• Supports the formulation execution and monitoring of budgets within assigned areas ensuring compliance with established policies and regulations.
• Prepares reports briefing papers and responses to inquiries summarizing findings and providing clear and concise information to stakeholders.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship U.S. National or lawful permanent residency is required
• Males born aftermust be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see salary varies depending on location of position
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment
• Required to participate in the direct deposit program
• This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing
• The incumbent must adhere to DoD Standards of Conduct
• Position may require occasional travel away from your normal duty station for official business on military or commercial
• The incumbent may be required to work other than normal duty hours which may include evenings weekends and/or holidays and/or overtime
• This position requires the incumbent to obtain and maintain a Secret or Top Secret security clearance depending on organizations needs

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position you must meet the requirements described below.

You may qualify at the GS-12 level if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability in: 1) Financial oversight procurement policies budget formulation and/or budget execution 2) Researching and analyzing a wide variety of financial and budgetary issues to formulate solutions and 3) Oral and written communication to develop and deliver briefings and correspondence/reports to higher-level managers.

You may qualify at the GS-11 level if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal Service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability in: 1) Researching and analyzing a variety of financial and budgetary issues to formulate solutions and 2) Oral and written communication to develop and deliver briefings and correspondence/reports to higher-level managers
OR
Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education must have been completed in a college or university in the U.S. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts for verification)
OR
Have a combination of specialized experience and education.

You may qualify at the GS-10 level if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:
Have a masters degree or equivalent graduate degree or 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education must have been completed in a college or university in the U.S. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts for verification)

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g. Peace Corps AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g. professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community student social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience including volunteer experience.

All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the cut-off date for which you applied for and clearly documented in your resume.

Your resume may not exceed two (2) pages. For qualifications determinations it is recommended that applicants include their months and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. If a determination is not able to be made about the duration of your creditable experience for qualification requirements you will be removed from consideration.

Read more about what should I include in my federal resume at FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM HAS AN EDUCATION REQUIREMENT.
To be eligible for this Fellowship Program you MUST have a graduate degree (or higher) from an accredited college/university in the United States in any field of study that was earned no earlier than two (2) years prior to the acceptance into the program; OR within six (6) months of acceptance into the program. Acceptance into the program is defined as the Fellows Entry on Duty (EOD) date. Those who apply before the initial cut off date of 1/5/2026 the projected EOD date is in June 2026.

IF YOU ARE RELYING ON EDUCATION TO MEET THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS POSITION: This position has an education requirement. You MUST provide transcripts to support your educational claims. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution by the the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. See Department of Education Accreditation Search to verify school accreditation.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate schools definition of one year of graduate study 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

Additional information

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.