Duties

Summary

The incumbent serves as an Environmental Protection Specialistfor the Associate Administrator for Planning And Environment, Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As an Environmental Protection Specialist, you will use your educational background and experience in environmental planning, transportation planning, urban planning, architecture, environmental law, or the physical or environmental sciences, to assist in: (1) guiding the environmental assessment of specific transit projects proposed for FTA financial assistance, such as the construction of transit facilities; (2) developing and implementing agency-wide policies and procedures related to the assessment and mitigation of the environmental or community impacts of transportation improvements; and (3) performing other duties of the office related to its environmental activities, such as developing environmental courses and website material, responding to correspondence regarding environmental issues, and tracking environmental actions.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen and meet specialized experience.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
• Provide ALL required documents by closing date (see How to Apply Tab)
• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for a GS-11, based on experience, you must have at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09, it must include:

• Experience with the federal review process as it relates to environmental impacts, protecting the environment, and preparing environmental documents.
• Experience with environmental and community impact assessment methods that occur with transportation projects

TO QUALIFY FOR THE GS-11 on Education, you must have:

• Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree
• 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree
• A LL.M., if related

You can also qualify based on a combination of specialized experience and graduate level education that will give you the equivalent level of knowledge and expertise. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

To qualify for a GS-12, based on experience, you must have at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11, it must include:

• Experience reviewing and analyzing assessment methods especially those related to the National Environmental Policy Act and Section 4(f) Requirements for the types of environmental and community impacts that occur with transportation projects, and experience in mitigating those impacts.
• Experience applying environmental statutes, rules, regulations, and guidelines related to analyzing environmental impacts, protecting the environment, and preparing environmental documents for Transportation or Transit projects.
• Experience conveying technical information to a variety of audiences in meetings, presentations or briefings.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

• Communication- Skill in coordinating and negotiating sensitive/complex environmental issues with internal and external organizations to develop an understanding of proposed projects and impacts, to provide technical assistance and procedural advice, to exchange information, to negotiate mitigation and comment responses, and to provide briefings on environmental issues.
• Environmental policy drafting and training development- Thorough knowledge of Federal statutes, rules, regulations, and guidelines relating to analyzing environmental impacts, protecting the environment, and preparing environmental documents.
• Environmental reviews, including impacts and mitigation- Working knowledge of assessment methods for the types of environmental and community impacts that occur with projects, and knowledge of means of mitigating those impacts.
• Knowledge of Federal Environmental policy and programs- Knowledge of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its implementing regulations, and guidelines issued by the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) and other environmental laws.
• Problem-Solving - Skill analyzing and problem-solving for environmental issues referred to the office due to complexity or controversy, and may include preparation of documents to support litigation, if necessary.

For all types of consideration, 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
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.

To compete with U.S. Citizens: 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.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

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. Please review each of the following sections to determine which, if any, additional documents you need to provide with your application.

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.

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.