Administrative Assistant - USDA

Duties

• Properly processing a Farm Bill application, administrative support for ranking, pre-approval, and approval workload, administrative support for proper contract management regarding payment processing, scheduling, and associated correspondence, assist local staffing support of mission support services involved with human resource management, property and procurement, and financial management.
• Tracks Farm Bill contracts and technical service provider projects; reviews and assembles documentation and certification required for contracts and payments. Examines files to confirm completeness and correct obvious errors. Enters contract data into agency-specific software programs and prepares reports.
• Processes applications and certifications of eligibility: reviews payment requests and verifies payment documents to ensure complete information is provided and all data is added to the files or matched properly. Remediate problems with applications. Recommends changes in procedure to prevent delays.
• Establishes a schedule for regular visits to field offices and assists develops a quality review process for use by field offices to assist landowners. Assure timely answers to policy questions. Help customers understand needed paperwork for payment requests.
• Provides a variety of administrative information to landowners and other program participants as needed, including programs and eligibility, application requirements and guidance, and payment process explanation
• Preparing and processing documents and correspondence and checking for accuracy, completeness, reconciliation, record keeping, and maintaining files.
• Accounting functions that assist in unfilled customer orders, including reviewing, monitoring, and tracking billing and collections of the agency’s receivables.
• Assisting staff with purchasing, records management, and correspondence management and distribution. Preparing reports and answering inquiries. Gathers data for reports, inputs information into databases, and helps with special projects.
• Reviewing and verifying technical and professional materials prepared by staff specialists for format and grammatical accuracy, including interpretative materials, technical reports, memorandums, advisory notices, and technical notes.
• Maintaining office files, manuals, handbooks, and reference library, both paper and electronic, according to NRCS and department guidelines and requirements.
• Answers telephone and greets visitors. Some interaction with the public in an office setting.
• Utilizing a variety of computer hardware and software applications and small office machines, to include agency-specific software such as SharePoint, Pro Tracts, NEST, Conservation Desktop, CART, FA Tracker, Document Management System (DMS),BOX/One Span, and locally developed Excel databases to extract information.
• Travel to other NRCS offices may be required on occasion.

Background

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is committed to “helping people help the land”. Their mission is to provide America’s farmers and ranchers with financial and technical assistance to voluntarily put conservation on the ground, not only helping the environment but agricultural operations, too.

For more information regarding the agency and its programs visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/.

Requirements

• Must possess and maintain a state-issued driver’s license. Any violations must be noted before use of Government Vehicle;
• Experienced in utilizing a variety of computer hardware, software, and word processing such as Microsoft Windows, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Teams; Adobe Acrobat Professional;
• Must be able to utilize Microsoft Outlook for email and calendars and internet browsers such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge;
• Experienced in operating small office machines such as calculators, fax machines, scanners and copy machines;
• Experienced in general office procedures, such as preparing reports, spreadsheets and filing;
• Ability to learn and utilize agency specific software and web-based applications;
• Familiarity with certified mail and return-receipt mail procedures;
• Skillful in working and communicating with the general public;
• Capable of working independently;
• Possess basic telephone skills;
• Must be able to pass a Government background check; and
• Fluent in English

We expect this position will be included in the recent federal Executive Order (EO) and subsequent guidance, requiring federal contractors and employers with more than 100 employees to implement a vaccine mandate; therefore, it is expected that anyone hired into this position will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 upon commencement of employment in accordance with the EO and any subsequent guidance unless an accommodation is legally required.

Heartland Consulting is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer of individuals with disabilities and veterans. We are proud to state that we do not discriminate in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or disability status. We E-Verify all employees.