Duties

Summary

This Title 42 position is located in the Office of Research and Development (ORD), Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Health and Environmental Effects Assessment Division. The location will be determined after a selection has been made for the position; if selected, you must work at one of the locations stated in this announcement. About ORD: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-office-research-and-development-ord

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Responsibilities

The Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment's (CPHEA) Health and Environmental Effects Assessment Division (HEEAD) develops scientific assessments on human health or environmental risk of chemicals or stressors to inform EPA programs and regions, producing a portfolio of assessment products that serve different programmatic needs. This portfolio of assessment products will build upon and expand currently existing assessment programs that produce Integrated Risk Information System assessments, Integrated Science Assessments, and Provisionally Peer Reviewed Toxicity Values. HEEAD provides technical and scientific support to policy and decision makers. HEEAD conducts cutting-edge research to develop innovative risk assessment methods and tools that help extrapolate between experimental data and real-world scenarios, improve our understanding of uncertainties, and facilitate careful evaluation of scientific evidence. HEEAD produces scientific assessments that support EPA programs and regions, and the Division's branches work across the division to provide assessments or assessment products relative to branch focus with program management support from the Division. HEEAD interfaces with the Office of Research and Development (ORD) and other EPA offices and other Federal and nonfederal organizations relative to Division programs and services.

Major duties of the Director include:

• Providing professional, scientific, and technical leadership and direction in technology, scientific research, and strategic science directions within EPA, including developing scientific assessments on human health or environmental risk of chemicals or stressors to inform EPA programs and regions and producing a portfolio of assessment products that serve different programmatic needs.
• Developing, directing, and leading a highly technical and complex science research and development program that has nationwide impact.
• Assessing needs, defining goals, developing program plans, and establishing organizational structure of the Division.
• Coordinating Division activities with representatives of foreign, State and municipal governments and with other Federal agencies, industry, academia and private organizations sharing a mutual interest or responsibility within the program area assigned to the Division.
• Developing and maintaining close working relationships with universities, private research organizations and other governmental research laboratories throughout the Nation which are concerned with programs within the Division's assigned major program areas.
• Assuring the timely and effective dissemination of the Division's research findings to the appropriate user community and that the implications of such findings with regard to Agency policies, standards, regulations, etc., are communicated to appropriate Agency officials both within and outside of ORD.
• Demonstrating leadership and commitment to management integrity as a top priority to the organization consistent with the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act.
• Ensuring that extramural resources, both procurement (contracts) and assistance (grants, cooperative agreements and interagency agreements) are efficiently and appropriately managed to maximize use of the Agency's resources.
• Supervising a large staff of employees organized into units headed by subordinate managers and supervisors.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
00

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• You must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.
• You may be required to travel 1 to 5 days of each month.
• Position has education requirements--see Qualifications/Education section.
• If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.

The Ethics in Government Act, P.L. 95-521 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a financial disclosure statement, OGE-278, prior to assuming the Title 42 position, annually, and upon termination of employment.

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.

Qualifications

To meet the eligibility criteria, you must have a doctoral degree in a scientific discipline related to the ORD Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment's (CPHEA) mission and substantive specialized experience in a type of work or a combination of functions directly related to this position. You should be internationally recognized as an authority in areas related to biophysical ecology and chemical risk assessment. You should have demonstrated leadership in human health risk assessments. As evidence of your qualifications and scientific contributions, you may also have: 1) held elected positions in scientific societies; 2) served on journal editorial boards; received an extensive number of invitations to write and speak on issues in your field; 3) written numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed publications in high quality journals; 4) served in leadership roles on numerous task forces/committees; and 5) served as an advisor to national and international institutions/governments.

Education

You must have a doctoral degree in a scientific discipline related to CPHEA's mission to qualify for this position.

Your academic record must demonstrate a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in one of the following:

Biology: You must have a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in one of the following: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position; OR a combination of education and experience with courses equivalent to a major, as listed.

Health Science: You must have a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in the following: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences related to the work of this position.

Physical Science: You must have a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in one of the following: 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 a combination of education and experience with education equivalent to one of the majors listed 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

The selectee's academic credentials will be verified upon selection.

The salary may be up to $250,000 per year, however, this is dependent upon qualifications, experience and other factors (e.g. current salary and/or current market rates).

This position has portable work. If selected for this position, you may be authorized to telework after meeting eligibility requirements if approved by the supervisor/manager. Telework is available based on agency policy. NOTE: The agency is currently utilizing maximum telework flexibilities due to COVID. Once normal operations resume, you will be required to report to the location stated in this announcement.

EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures .

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at EPA. Our excellence can only be fully realized by staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in the Agency's workplace and mission. We encourage applications from candidates with a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance.​

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

This position is being filled through the Title 42 hiring authority. We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. You will be evaluated on the basis of meeting the qualifications stated previously. In determining the degree to which candidates possess the required or desired knowledge, skills, and abilities, an evaluation panel will consider related experience, education, training, awards, and professional references. The evaluation panel will rate you on the following criteria: 1) scientific expertise; 2) leadership and management; 3) communications; and 4) networking and collaboration.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

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.

The following documents are required; failure to provide this information will result in your application being ruled incomplete.

1) Resume/curriculum vitae clearly stating your education and 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. A resume is acceptable, but a curriculum vitae is preferred.

2) A statement of no more than four pages total that addresses the following criteria:

• Scientific expertise: describe your achievements in the area of research applicable to this position, including awards or other recognition and invitations to present or speak.
• Leadership and management: describe your experience leading and managing scientific research programs;
• Communications: describe your experience communicating scientific and technical information verbally and in writing to a variety of audiences; and
• Networking and collaboration: describe your experience building and maintaining relationships and collaborating with other scientists or organizations.

The following information is requested, but not required:

1) The names and contact information of three references.

2) Compensation requirements.

3) How you heard about this vacancy.

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.