Duties

Summary

FERC is seeking a highly motivated and qualified candidate for an exciting position within the Office of Energy Projects, Division of Hydropower Licensing. This position is located in the Washington, DC office.

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Responsibilities

The mission of the Office of Energy Projects is to facilitate potential benefits to the nation through the review of natural gas and hydropower infrastructure proposals and minimize risks to the public associated with FERC jurisdictional energy infrastructure. OEP has the engineering and environmental expertise to certificate new gas pipeline projects and to authorize and monitor hydroelectric projects. It focuses on: project siting and development; balancing environmental and other concerns; ensuring compliance; and safeguarding the public.

The incumbent will serve as a Wildlife Biologist and will work to ensure consistency in how the Division, in accordance with applicable regulations and law, reviews, analyzes, and resolves exceptionally difficult and complex issues on wildlife, vegetation, wetlands, endangered species and related terrestrial resource matters as they relate to the construction, modification, operation, and maintenance of hydropower projects located throughout the United States.

Major duties of the Wildlife Biologist include:

• Serves as a senior technical expert and Commission contact and liaison on highly complex, controversial, and diverse issues dealing with wildlife, vegetation, wetlands, endangered species and related terrestrial resource matters.
• Organizes, plans, and provides the direction and initiative required to ensure coverage of significant environmental impacts and the timely completion of NEPA documents.
• Prepares testimony and exhibits on exceptionally difficult and highly complex wildlife, vegetation, wetlands, endangered species and related terrestrial resource matters for use in hearings and in technical or public meetings.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Some travel may be required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must meet specialized experience
• Must provide most recent SF-50 containing grade/step information
• Successfully complete a background investigation.

Your resume must clearly document how you meet the specialized experience in order to meet the minimum qualification requirements for this vacancy. You must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. All required documents must be received by the closing of this announcement. For this vacancy you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 showing your current grade level. If you do not submit a required document, (e.g. most recent SF-50, transcripts, etc) your application will be considered incomplete and you will not receive further consideration. FERC employees must submit all the required documentation to include the SF-50 and transcripts (if appropriate).

Qualifications

Candidates must have one full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-13 level. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience conducting complex environmental analyses related to hydropower license applications and serving as a Project coordinator.

Education

OPM Education requirement: Wildlife Biology

TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION. FAILURE TO SUBMIT TRANSCRIPTS AT TIME OF APPLICATION WILL RESULT IN YOUR APPLICATION BEING INCOMPLETE AND YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE FURTHER CONSIDERATION.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/workrecog.doc . You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

Additional information

This position is INCLUDED in the bargaining unit.
More than one selection may be made from this announcement, and the office for that selection may vary.
Please note - only your resume and cover letter will be forwarded to the selecting official.

You must submit all required information by the closing date. If materials are not received, your resume will be evaluated solely on the information available and you may not receive full consideration or may not be considered eligible. The materials you send with your resume will not be returned. If you are selected at a grade lower than the highest shown in this listing, you will be placed under a career development plan and can be non-competitively promoted when you successfully complete the requirements for the higher grade. Relocation expenses will not be paid.

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine the person's qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination. Please use the following link for additional information: Ctrl+Click or tap to follow the link" href="https://hru.gov/Studio_Recruitment/tools/Mythbuster_on_Federal_Hiring_Policies.pdf">Mythbusters of Federal Hiring Policies .

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 to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your resume must address the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed in the Qualifications Section. Your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies. The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies:

• Technical Experience
• Leadership
• Written and Oral Communication

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process
Credentialing , Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you will not be considered for this position (or will not receive the special consideration, e.g. Vet's Preference, for which you may be eligible).

CURRENT FERC EMPLOYEES -- Documentation Relating to Your Federal Employment Submit an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which shows your current (or most recent) grade and competitive service status. (The "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2".)

If you are currently on a Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA), submit an SF-50 showing that. Indicate on your application the highest permanent grade you have held; if this grade is different from your current grade, you must submit an additional SF-50 showing this grade in order to receive credit. (FERC EMPLOYEES ARE ALSO REQUIRED to submit any SF-50 which documents the experience with another organization other than FERC). CTAP/ICTAP: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee eligible for consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP), you must submit proof of eligibility. For a detailed list of documents, click here. SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITIES DOCUMENTATION If you are applying under a special hiring authority, submit a copy of proof of your eligibility. VETERANS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ACT (VEOA) DOCUMENTATION If you are applying under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA), you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, SF-15, along with required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. An SF-15 may be found at http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf.

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.