Duties

Summary

This position is located with the United States Department of Labor in the Directorate of Construction, Office of Engineering Services.

- This position is outside the Bargaining Unit.

- This position is at the Full Performance level.

- Additional vacancies may be filled using this announcement, if authorized.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Major duties for this position include but are not limited to the following:

• Conducts highly complex technical studies that include engineering analyses of static and dynamic responses of complex structures using advanced linear and nonlinear computer analysis programs.
• Ensures technical sufficiency and consistency with accepted professional engineering methods, techniques, and theories; and with OSHA policies and practices.
• Ensures quality engineering services to meet OSHA's overall commitment to providing a comprehensive construction safety program.
• Maintains awareness of technological developments in the broad field of construction safety and related engineering fields.
• Provides technical guidance and assistance to OSHA managers and field personnel covering a broad range of construction safety matters and issues.
• Provides technical and program information to the Office of Training and Education for development of training programs and educational materials.
• Collaborates with the Director/Deputy in management and oversight of OES's operations, including development and issuing reports.
• Ensures OES staff are focused on, and prepared to support and facilitate the attainment of Agency and Directorate operating and strategic goals.
• Provides input on formulation of strategic plans to improve directorate program policies, practices, and methods.
• Translates Directorate goals and objectives into effective operations and establishes control systems and progress reporting requirements that monitor production goals program priorities.
• Establishes goals and objectives, plans, and initiatives concerning the portion of the Agency's strategic plan dealing with compliance guidance and assistance related to OES.
• Understands Departmental and Agency operating plans and formulates strategies and solutions for program implementation and evaluation.
• Keeps Director/Deputy informed of significant program issues and events which could result in controversy or adversely affect image of the organization.
• Informs Office Directors regarding current developments in construction safety; and to other program offices concerning technological developments affecting construction industry practices and work processes, OSHA standards and practices.
• Advances the Agency's initiatives concerning cooperative or partnership efforts with industry by ensuring that industry and labor officials and others directly impacted by construction safety issues are regularly consulted and are kept informed regarding engineering services matters that impact construction industry operations affecting site safety and health.
• Assesses situation or problem and recommends a course of action to reduce adverse impact on the OES office programs and to promote support for overall objectives of Directorate.
• Advises OSHA program officers on engineering technological developments involving construction industry practices and work processes and their impact on OSHA standards, priorities and procedures.
• Plans and develops short-range and long-range office goals and objectives. Develops the office operating plans and practices and formulates the technical aspects of program activities.
• Provides direction and supervision to subordinate staff members in accomplishing day- to-day program activities.
  Assigns work to staff and ensuring work quality, assuring that assignment goals and objectives are met.
• Uses clear, precise and plain language writing to expresscomplex technical concepts to agency leadership, field office personnel, solicitors, and private stakeholders.
• Provides advice and counsel related to job performance, andother work life balance or administrative matters.
• Establishes directorate priorities with the Director/Deputyand establishes performance criteria and measures of success.
• Provides clear oral guidance to field office staff,construction related associations, trade groups, organizedlabor, workers, specific interest groups and Congressionaland State representatives when needed.

Travel Required

25% or less - Occasional travel maybe required.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
15 - This position is at the Full Performance Level (FPL).

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment to this position may require a background investigation.
• Must be at least 16 years old and a U.S. Citizen.
• Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
• Requires supervisory probationary period if requirement has not been met.

Applicants must meet time-in-grade, time-after-competitive-appointment and qualifications requirements within 30 calendar days after the closing date of the vacancy to be eligible for consideration for selection.

Federal Employees Please Note: Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met and reflects your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. competitive/excepted). In some cases you may need to submit more than one SF-50.

Reference the "Required Documents" section for additional requirements.

You may not be aware, but in the regulations for agency ethics programs, there are requirements for supervisors. Section 2638.103 of Title 5 of the CFR states:

Every supervisor in the executive branch has a heightened personal responsibility for advancing government ethics. It is imperative that supervisors serve as models of ethical behavior for subordinates. Supervisors have a responsibility to help ensure that subordinates are aware of their ethical obligations under the Standards of Conduct and that subordinates know how to contact agency ethics officials. Supervisors are also responsible for working with agency ethics officials to help resolve conflicts of interests and enforce government ethics laws and regulations, including those requiring certain employees to file financial disclosure reports. In addition, supervisors are responsible, when requested, for assisting agency ethics officials in evaluating potential conflicts of interest and identifying positions subject to financial disclosure requirements.

Qualifications

To qualify for the GS-15 Grade Level you must meet the Basic Requirements AND the Specialized Experience.

Basic Requirements:

Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.

2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as
described in paragraph A.

4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has
had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.)

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, applicants must also meet the following Specialized Experience:

Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal Service, GS-14. Specialized experience is defined as experience a) serving as an expert authority and leader in a civil engineering or regulatory
specialization; b)developing broad and complex scientific or regulatory programs; c) providing information and consultation to individuals, federal agencies, private industry, universities, and/or foreign governments on scientific and consumer safety issues; d) giving presentations concerning the interpretation and analysis of related regulations and statutes to state, local and foreign governments, subject matter experts, upper levels of management, and industry.

Education

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 course work requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Additional information

DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees' differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential.

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION , ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION , FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Click here for Evaluation details. For Displaced Employees ONLY: if you meet the eligibility requirements for special priority selection under ICTAP / CTAP , you must be well-qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. ICTAP/CTAP eligibles will be considered "well-qualified" if they attain at least a rating score of 90 in a numerical rating scheme. Be sure to review DOL Account Eligibility Questions #24 and 27 to reflect that you are applying as an ICTAP/CTAP eligible and submit supporting documentation.

Evaluation Factors (Competencies) - All qualified applicants will be evaluated on the following key competencies:

Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Organizational Awareness - Knows the organization's mission and functions, and how it's social, political, and technological systems work and operates effectively within them; this includes the programs, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the organization.

Planning and Evaluating - Organizes work, sets priorities and determines resource requirements; determines short or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

Leadership - Influences; motivates, and challenges others; adapts to leadership styles to a variety of situations.

Oral and Written Communications - Makes clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed. Writes in a clear, concise, organized and convincing manner for the intended audience.

The information you provide may be verified by a review of your work experience and/or education, by checking references and through other means (ex. interview). Your evaluation may also include a review by an HR Specialist or panel and may include other assessment tools (ex. interview, structured interview, written test, work sample, etc).

The examining Human Resources Office (HRO) makes the final determination concerning applicant ratings. Your resume MUST provide sufficient information to substantiate your vacancy question responses. If not, the HRO may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the level of competency indicated by the content of your resume.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date. Warning: If you submit a document using the same document title, the 2nd submission will OVERWRITE the 1st submission. Also, do not upload password protected documents.

The following documents are required from all applicants (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY):

ARE YOU A CURRENT OR FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEE? If applying as a status candidate with current or former Federal Service, please provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" which shows your appointment eligibility for the position for which you are applying. Your SF-50 must identify the highest grade you held on a permanent basis, Pay Plan/Pay Schedule, Series, and Grade/Pay Band, and career status. Multiple SF-50 may be submitted to demonstrate your highest previous rate and eligibility.

*WARNING: An award SF-50 (ex. cash or time off award) may not indicate grade, step and competitive status. For current DOL employees, an award SF-50 DOES NOT indicate grade and step.

- Resume are required to provide a resume by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of your choosing. Cover letters are optional. To receive full consideration for relevant and specialized experience, please list month, year, and the number of work hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to the vacancy questionnaire.

- Most recent performance appraisal/evaluation signed and dated within 18 months is requested by the agency, but will not disqualify candidates if not submitted. If not submitted during the application process, one may/will be requested at the time of the interview if the opportunity is extended. Applies to current and former Federal employees.

- Land Management Eligibles: a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50 or equivalent) proving your eligibility for appointment under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act. This service must have been performed in the competitive service, under a time limited appointment in a Land Management Agency, as defined by P.L. 114-328. For more information, click here .

- Unofficial Transcript(s) (in English) - submit if using education as a basis for qualifying for this position. If so, you must submit all applicable academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the qualifying educational requirements (ex. BA/BS, MA, JD, PHD, etc). If specific course work is required to qualify, you must supply transcripts from each academic institution in which the required courses were taken in order to receive credit.

You may upload your transcript(s) as one document (3 MB size limit). If over 3 MB, please submit via fax feature.

OFFICIAL Transcripts MUST BE RECEIVED prior to selection and report date. Reference the "Education Section" for College Transcript and Evaluation of Foreign Education.

The following documents are required if applicable:

- Displaced Employee Placement Documents - Only required if requesting priority consideration under ICTAP / CTAP Eligibility.

- DD-214 - verifying military service, eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) and showing character of discharge (ex. Member Copy 4 and 2 are acceptable vs. Copy 1 which is not acceptable to adjudicate veteran's preference)

Special/Non-Competitive Appointing Authority Documents

- Applicants who are eligible for consideration, and wish to be considered, under one of the following non-competitive hiring authorities must submit appropriate documentation (click on the links below to see the documentation requirements): Military Spouses (MISP)

- Cover Letters are not mandatory and will not be used to verify experience, but may be submitted 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.

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.