Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Office of Policy and Governmental Affairs, Office of Legislative Affairs and Policy Communications and is a key member of the Legislative Analysis team. The incumbent serves as an authority concerning the effects of congressional and executive branch proposals and activities on the Federal-aid highway program.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As a Transportation Specialist, you will:

• Serve as a consultant to FHWA leadership and program offices on program-wide issues. In this capacity, the incumbent responds to program- and statutorily-related inquiries from FHWA management and staff, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), Congressional staff, and other customers (both internal and external).
• Review proposed and enacted legislation to determine its likely impact on the Federal-aid highway program and identify problems or issues related to legislative changes. The incumbent may also advise on the policy or programmatic impacts of possible statutory interpretations. Summarize legislation in a variety of formats to meet the needs of internal and external audiences.
• Assist FHWA leadership and program offices (and OST, as appropriate) throughout the process of reauthorizing the Federal-aid highway program. Coordinate the implementation of enacted legislation.
• Monitor Congressional and executive activity that may affect FHWA programs. Communicate activities and developments to the team, the office, and other FHWA staff on these activities and developments.
• Serve as an instructor for the "Highway Program Funding" course and assist the lead instructor in updating or modifying course materials.
• Review agency and interagency circulations for accuracy and consistency with agency and Administration policies. The incumbent may also review speeches and presentation materials prepared by others for top policy officials to ensure consistency of message and appropriateness of tone.

The ideal candidate is a senior-level professional with strong writing and analytical skills, political and organizational savvy, and a customer-service orientation who can work comfortably and capably in a fast-paced, flexible, and team-oriented work environment. The ideal candidate is familiar with the Federal-aid highway program and the law that governs it, has a strong understanding of the legislative process and substantial experience analyzing and interpreting legislation that may impact the Federal-aid highway program, and can effectively communicate agency policy and the substance and implications of legislative changes to a variety of audiences, including senior executives.

Travel Required

25% or less - Occasional travel is required.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
• Review Required Documents Section as documents are required by closing date
• Announcement also advertised Status & VEOA: FHWA.HPL-2019-0011.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
• DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience requirements for the grade in which you want to be considered.

To qualify for the Grade 13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include:

• Experience with the Federal-aid highway program.
• Experience analyzing and tracking Federal legislation related to transportation.
• Experience communicating orally and in writing to a wide variety of audiences.

To qualify for the Grade 14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include:

• Experience working with the Federal-aid highway program and the laws that govern it.
• Experience developing, analyzing, and tracking Federal legislation directly related to surface transportation.
• Experience communicating agency policy, orally and in writing, to a wide variety of audiences.

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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.

Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.


Education

Additional information

Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition .

EEO STATEMENT: The Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains a model federal work environment that is free of discrimination. DOT ensures equal employment opportunity for employees and applicants for employment, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), genetic information, age, disability, sexual orientation, or protected activity.

This vacancy may be used by any DOT agency to fill similar positions within 90 days.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze, which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top-rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If your resume does not support the specialized experience or if your application does not support your answers to the Vacancy Specific Questions, your final rating may be modified and/or you may be disqualified from consideration.

Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package. If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and was created within USA Jobs Resume Builder and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy.

The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position and consideration for which you are applying.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive due weight, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).

VETERANS: Your last DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility. It need not be official.

• If you are applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214.
• If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
• If you are applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) ( https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa ), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214, which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.

NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.

DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85 or falling in the Gold Category) and provide all of the following documents:

• your most recent performance appraisal,
• the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
• your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.