Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Mine Safety and Health Administration, (MSHA), Arlington, VA.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Incumbent exercises program responsibility for the planning, coordination and direction of technical support activities at the national and field levels. Through Headquarters supervisors and three supervisory echelons in the field, directs the activities of subordinate scientists and other professionals, technical and clerical support staff who:

-provide through the Approval and Certification Center scientific expertise in identifying hazards inherent in the design and use of mining equipment that is in compliance with promulgated equipment standards, and for advising mining equipment manufacturers of newly evolving mining technology developments and requirements;

-certify for compliance the promulgated standards of inspection, testing, and quality control of machinery, materials, instruments and review and approve quality control plans submitted by the manufacturer to insure quality and reliability of products;

-conduct statistical investigations and evaluations of fatality and injury data, analytical research surveys, research for use in program planning, policy formulation, program evaluation, and decision-making by MSHA management;

-identify technological problems requiring applied research for use in program investigations and studies;

-conduct special studies to determine cause and effect relationships in mines generally and types of mine specifically and their respective locations; tests of mining equipment and materials; engineering studies and surveys on critical problems in the mining industries; and special studies on mine safety and health developments in other nations, including the development and exchange of information with international organizations;

Participates with, and collaborates in the planning and coordination of long-range technical support programs with other key MSHA and DOL officials and other Federal and State entities relative to mine research.

Serves as MSHA's advisor to the Assistant/Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health and Associate Solicitor for Mine Safety and Health and other concerned officials in DOL to provide technical advice and guidance at Congressional hearings, litigations, and individual problem situations of a critical and highly sensitive nature.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Less than 25%.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
00

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment to this position may require a background investigation.
• Subject to financial disclosure requirements.
• Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
• Must meet Mandatory Technical and Executive Core Qualifications.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.

Candidates must possess technical and management experience and have developed the knowledge and skills required for effective performance of the specific duties of this position.

Qualifications

Candidates must possess technical and management experience and have developed the knowledge and skills required for effective performance of the specific duties of the position. Candidates must have had experience at a major management level (normally equivalent to the GS-15 level in the Federal service). All applications MUST separately address each of the Executive Core Qualifications and the Mandatory Technical Qualifications when applying on line. Responses to ECQs must not exceed 10 pages. For additional guidance, applicants may visit the Office Of Personnel Management's Guide to Senior Executive Qualifications located at: www.opm.gov/ses/references/GuidetoSESQuals_2010.pdf. Applicants are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action, and Result model outlined in the guide.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs):

1. Leading Change: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
2. Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.
3. Results Driven: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
4. Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
5. Building Coalitions: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. For additional guidance, applicants may visit the Office Of Personnel Management's Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications located at www.opm.gov/ses/references/GuidetoSESQuals_2010.pdf. Applicants are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action, and Result model outlined in the guide.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (MTQs): In writing your narrative responses to the MTQs, please give examples and explain how often you used your skills, the complexity of the knowledge possessed, the level of people you interacted with, the sensitivity of the issues you handled, etc. APPLICANTS SHOULD LIMIT THEIR RESPONSES TO ONE (1) SINGLE SPACED PAGE PER EACH MTQ WITH THE FONT SIZE NO SMALLER THAN POINT 12. It is recommended that applicants draft their MTQs in a Word document first, then cut and paste into the spaces provided following each MTQ to ensure length requirements.

1. Demonstrated knowledge of the principles, practices, and methods of management, program planning, development and administration.

2. A professional knowledge of the mining or occupational safety and health industry gained through extensive practical experience and/or education that will enable the incumbent to direct a comprehensive program of engineering research and testing in the mining or occupational safety and health field.

3. Background in research and testing related to mining, occupational safety and health, industrial hygiene, engineering, etc.

4. Background in developing and recommending safety and health criteria and standards, and procedures to be used in inspection and enforcement activities related to worker safety and health.

5. Demonstrated experience successfully managing and overseeing the operations of a large complex organization, including performance planning and evaluation, human resource policy, budget formulation, contracting and procurement.

Education

There is no educational requirement for this position.

Additional information

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on your experience and your responses to the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs). It is essential that your resume provide sufficient information to substantiate your responses in the self-assessment vacancy questions. If your responses are not adequately substantiated by your resume, your application will be rated ineligible.

Current/Former Career Senior Executive Service (SES) or SES Candidate Development graduates who have been certified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must provide a narrative response to address each of the MTQs, but need not address the ECQs. In order to successfully complete the online application process you must input the term, "noncompetitive eligible" in the text boxes for each of the ECQs. You must submit a Standard Form 50 that documents your SES Career appointment or a copy of your OPM approved SES Candidate Development Program certificate.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Confidential

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk

Trust determination process
Credentialing

Required Documents

1. SF-50 documentation of career SES appointment or other Federal appointment (if applicable). 2. Certificate of completion of OPM certified SES candidate program (if applicable) 3. Performance Appraisal (if applicable).

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.