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Supervisory Physical Scientist/Environmental Engineer/Biologist

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Dec 1, 2020
Duties

Summary

This position is in the Office of Water, Office of Ground Water & Drinking Water, Drinking Water Protection Division. If selected, you must work at the location stated in this announcement. About Office of Water: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-office-water

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

You will:
  • Develop and implement program plans and exercise managerial authority to establish short and long-range planning efforts and strategic planning.
  • Provide guidance and direction to Division staff and managers by making assignments and determining responsibilities and priorities ensuring that managers and staff abide by the Office of Water Quality Management Plan, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water standard operating procedures, and applicable other policies, rules, regulations, and guidance.
  • Lead the program by ensuring effective communications and Integration of work efforts with EPA and with outside organizations.
  • Serve as a spokesperson for Division programs within and outside the Agency at meetings, conferences, workshops, and symposia.


You will spend less than 25% of your work time on contracts, grants/cooperative agreements, and/or interagency agreements.

Travel Required

25% or less - You may be required to travel up to 25% of each month.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
  • EPA and non-EPA applicants must submit transcripts/course listings.
  • You must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.
  • Position has education requirements--see Qualifications/Education section.


This position is designated as High Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

If you are selected, you must complete (or have already completed) a 1-year supervisory or managerial probationary period.

Upon acceptance of an initial appointment to a supervisory or managerial position with the EPA, you agree to complete all elements of the EPA Successful Leaders Program. This development program is designed to enhance leadership skills and abilities and meet the Agency's goal of providing new leaders with the skills and tools you need to be successful.

If you are selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure form within 30 days of your first day of employment and annually thereafter.

You must meet time in grade requirements no later than 30 calendar days after the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

In addition to the educational requirements, we are looking for at least one year of specialized experience related to this position as described below:

To qualify for the GS-15 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-14 level defined as experience managing a regulatory program consisting of regulation/rule development or implementation, conducting strategic planning and budgeting development, and developing and conducting briefings for management officials, as well as, working collaboratively with stakeholders and internal team members to accomplish organizational goals.

Your answers to the online assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:
  • Ability to serve as an authority in extending existing approaches and implement new approaches.
  • Skill in leading individuals with a common mission.
  • Ability to inform program improvements in organization efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity.
  • Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with individuals and groups.
  • Skill in developing written materials to convey information.
  • Skill in responding orally to criticism of the organization's functions or performance.
  • Skill in advising senior agency leadership and peers regarding key program message development, communication and program enhancement.
  • Skill in inter-agency and intra-agency cross-program complex communication collaboration.

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.

If you have part-time work experience, read this: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures .

Education

You need a degree or combination of education and experience as described below to qualify for this position.

A bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in:

0401 - General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Series:

A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. -OR-

B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

0800 - Engineering Series:

A. 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-

B. 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:
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.)

  • 1301 - General Physical Science Series:

    A. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. -OR-

    B. Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

    For information about accreditation requirements, visit EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures .

    Additional information

    Are you a Displaced Federal Employee? If so, please read the Required Documents section and visit the EPA website for additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures

    If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.

    Position has portable work and selectee may be authorized to telework after meeting eligibility requirements if approved by the supervisor/manager.

    This position is not in the bargaining unit.

    How You Will Be Evaluated

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

    We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your resume must address the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed in the Qualifications section. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be further evaluated based on your answers to the online assessment. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for the position and an applicable score assigned.

    We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. We will evaluate your qualifications and eligibility and notify you if you meet minimum qualification requirements. If you are referred for consideration, you may be subject to additional assessments.

    NOTE: We do not require a separate statement responding to the competencies, also referred to as Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). However, your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies.

    To preview questions please click here .

    Background checks and security clearance

    Security clearance
    Other

    Drug test required
    No

    Position sensitivity and risk
    High Risk (HR)

    Trust determination process
    Suitability/Fitness

    Required Documents

    Documents to be submitted online:

    NOTE: You should ensure your social security number, date of birth, and any other personal information are redacted.

    -- Resume clearly stating your experience related to this position as described in the Duties section and Qualifications section. In describing your experience, you need to be clear and specific. We may not make assumptions regarding your experience.

    -- Responses to the online assessment questionnaire (you must complete this online - it is not a document you need to upload).

    -- College transcripts - required to submit either unofficial transcripts or a list of courses that includes school(s) attended, school address, course title, grades earned, completion dates, department, and quarter or semester hours earned. NOTE: Official educational transcripts are not required at the time of application; however, if you are selected, you must provide official transcripts before you start work with EPA.

    -- Displaced Federal employees under CTAP: copy of your most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and your most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, tenure, and duty station.

    -- Notification(s) of Personnel Action (SF-50) - You are required to submit SF-50(s) that includes Position Title, Grade or Level, and Duty Station. The SF-50(s) must prove you are eligible to apply for the position and have met time-in grade:
    • ELIGIBILITY - You must provide SF-50(s) demonstrating that you meet the criteria in the Clarification from the Agency section at the top right of this announcement. (The most common eligibility requirements are Permanent employees [Block 24/Tenure on SF-50], Competitive Status [Block 24/Tenure and Block 34/Position Occupied on SF-50], In the Office of [Block 22/Name and Location of Position's Organization on the SF-50] and In the Commuting Area [Block 39/Duty Station on the SF-50].)
    • TIME-IN-GRADE - If you are applying for a higher grade, you must provide SF-50(s) demonstrating you have completed a minimum of 52 weeks in a position at the next lower grade. The next lower grade is identified in the Qualifications section of this announcement. (Some examples of SF-50s that can prove you've met time-in-grade include promotions, within-grade increases, and SF-50s dated a year apart within the same grade/job.)

    -- Performance appraisal - You are required to submit your most recent completed annual performance appraisal, dated within the last 18 months (if it is not dated within the last 18 months, or you have not received a performance appraisal, you must upload a signed/dated explanation why). NOTE: You only need to upload the page that shows the overall rating and manager/supervisor's signature, not the entire document. NOTE DURING COVID-19 WORK FLEXIBILITIES: If your hard copy performance appraisal is not available due to current telework requirements/recommendations, you must check your eOPF. If you are unable to access your eOPF, contact the HR Specialist listed in this announcement for assistance before the announcement closes. If your performance appraisal document is not in your eOPF, you must upload a signed/dated explanation clarifying why the documentation is not available due to telework.

    To learn more about submitting documentation, visit Uploading Documents to USAJOBS .

    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.

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