Duties

Summary

If you are ready to begin your new career or are looking for a place to make an impact, what better place than a top ranked agency in the federal government? We are looking for the best and brightest to join our team of dedicated professionals here at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where we are ranked number one among mid-size agencies in the Best Places to Work in the federal government rankings!

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of natural gas, oil, and electricity. FERC also regulates natural gas and hydropower projects. As part of our goal, we are seeking highly skilled individuals to assist in carrying out the mission of this agency. Join the team and help solve the challenges of managing today's energy markets and set policy direction for the energy industry at large.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is looking for an experienced senior level executive to provide leadership as the Director for the Division of Policy Development within the Office of Energy Policy and Innovation (OEPI). In this role, you will oversee the development and implementation of energy policy affecting the wholesale and interstate energy markets under the Commission's jurisdiction. As Director, you will be responsible for fulfilling the goals of the Commission's strategic plan by identifying and building consensus on issues affecting the functioning of the FERC-jurisdictional markets. You will work to ensure non-discriminatory access in FERC-jurisdictional markets for new technologies and just and reasonable rates for customers. You will work directly with the energy industry, state regulators, and other market participants to: ensure the Commission's policies results in the development of needed transmission infrastructure; remove barriers that inhibit participation of all technologies in FERC-jurisdictional markets; and ensure the Commission fulfills its statutory requirements. You will create a work environment conducive to managing a diverse, highly skilled, professional staff in the development of innovative policy recommendations for Commission consideration. You will be responsible for developing the content of policy papers, rulemakings, empirical analyses, and other Commission documents. You will provide the overall leadership for projects emanating from your Division and ensure cross-office collaboration and communication. You will strive to build consensus with internal and external constituents and advise OEPI senior management, the Chairman and the Commissioners, and their advisors on matters relating to emerging energy issues. The Director also advises the Commission on the efficacy of its current regulatory policies in light of evolving technological changes, environmental policies, and consumer preferences and makes certain the Commission has the information it needs to develop effective energy policy. The Director must also be an accomplished public speaker and be able to effectively represent the Commission at public seminars and industry events.

Major Duties:

-- Initiate and lead the evaluation and analysis of existing energy policies and regulations and develop new policies and regulations to address current and emerging energy issues. Efforts result in recommendations to the Commission which may lead to development of policy statements, rulemakings, or other orders. Scope of jurisdictional matters include those arising under Part II of the Federal Power Act, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, the Public Utility Holding Company Act, the Pacific Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act, the Natural Gas Act, the Natural Gas Policy Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
-- Evaluate regional transmission processes to ascertain the success of the processes in developing necessary infrastructure; identify potential barriers to new technologies seeking access to the wholesale market and grid; and propose reforms as appropriate.
-- Provide qualitative and quantitative analysis to formulate issue statements, develop analyses, and make findings and recommendations to the Commission,
-- Coordinate with states and other agencies in support of the Commission's state-federal collaborative efforts.
-- Conduct formal and informal outreach and communication with stakeholders, including governmental entities and RTO/ISOs, to assess industry trends and innovation in the electric and natural gas markets.
-- Serve as a spokesperson on matters of importance to the Commission.
-- Mentor office staff by: providing regularly scheduled Division-wide meetings to discuss emerging issues; identifying and arranging for basic engineering, ratemaking, written and oral communication, and economic training; and meeting one-on-one with staff as needed.
-- Ensure the timely completion of all administrative and business requirements such as the business plan, strategic plan, contract requirements, computer and information technology needs.

FERC has a certified SES Performance Appraisal System. The salary range for each SES position is determined by the level of responsibility and duties of the incumbent.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Some travel required.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
ES

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must meet specialized experience.
• One year probationary period may be required.
• A background investigation is required.
• Must meet mandatory technical and executive core qualifications.

Your resume must clearly document how you meet the specialized experience in order to meet the minimum qualification requirements for this vacancy. All required documents must be received by the closing date of this announcement. If you do not submit a required document your application will be considered incomplete and you will not receive further consideration.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: If selected for this position, you will be required to: - Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment. - Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Fund Transfer. - Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program ( E-Verify ). E-Verify helps employers determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify .

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must address the following Mandatory Technical Qualifications questions.

Mandatory Technical Qualifications:

1.) Demonstrated expert understanding of enabling statutes associated with FERC-jurisdictional electric and natural gas markets (e.g., the Federal Power Act, the Natural Gas Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007), and your ability to apply this knowledge to matters that come before FERC.

2.) Demonstrated, through examples, experience using expert legal, economic, and technical knowledge of FERC-jurisdictional markets and FERC orders, rules, regulations, policies, precedents, and decisions (e.g., Order Nos. 1000, 745, 841, 2222, 845, 2003, 755, 809, 831, 436, and 636) to develop policy positions.

3.) Demonstrated expert knowledge of and experience with: policies and processes related to the development of transmission infrastructure, including interconnection; wholesale energy, capacity and ancillary services markets; issues involving coordination between wholesale and retail electric markets; and emerging technologies, such as distributed energy resources, electric storage and demand response. Also, demonstrated knowledge and experience regarding natural gas transportation and coordination between the electric and natural gas industries.

4.) Demonstrated ability to provide coherent and logical economic and technical advice both orally and in written form to high-level officials, and recommend changes in the subject areas noted above through memoranda, proposed orders, proposed rulemakings, papers or periodic reports to the Commission or the public.

5.) Demonstrated practical experience leading and managing multiple large, diverse teams charged with analyzing complex and evolving issues, including collaborating with multiple divisions or offices to develop regulatory strategies to advance policies in the subject areas identified above.

For this position, specialized experience is defined as: You must have specialized experience at a level close to the work of this job that has given you the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform. This level of experience must demonstrate progressively responsible experience in the leadership/executive and technical areas.

Applicants for an initial SES career appointment must also clearly demonstrate that they possess the broad executive core qualifications needed to succeed in the SES. A summary of the key characteristics for the Executive Core Qualifications can be found at this link: http://opm.gov/ses/recruitment/ecq.asp

Education

There is no education requirement for this position.

Additional information

FERC remains ranked #1 in Work/Life Balance, for the 7th year in a row, among the Best Places to Work through the Partnership for Public Service! As a leader in Work/Life Balance, we are proud to offer telework flexibilities in accordance with agency policy.

You must submit all required information by the closing date. The materials you send with your resume will not be returned. Before entering on duty, you may be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, SF-278. You will need to provide the information annually. 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: 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.

Applicants will be evaluated on their resume, Mandatory Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications to determine the best qualified candidates. Applicants are required to submit a narrative statement for each Mandatory Technical Qualification (MTQ) and each Executive Core Qualification (ECQ) listed. You will be evaluated on the ECQs in addition to the MTQs. When describing your technical qualifications, please give examples and explain how often you used your skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of people you interacted with, the sensitivity of the issues you handled, etc.

Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): In order to be considered for the position, applicants must submit a narrative statement separately addressing each of the five ECQs. Each statement should contain at least two examples describing experiences and accomplishments/results specific to that ECQ. As a guideline, 1-2 pages per ECQ is sufficient. Applicants for an initial SES career appointment must clearly demonstrate that they possess the broad executive core qualifications needed to succeed in the SES. A guide to assist with writing the ECQ narratives can be found at this link: http://opm.gov/ses/recruitment/ecq.asp

In order to properly review your qualifications, please ensure that your resume clearly indicates evidence that you qualify for the Senior Executive Service position and that you possess the Mandatory Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs). Please give a complete and detailed answer for each qualification. Please keep in mind each ECQ and MTQ are unique qualifications. Therefore, duplicate responses are not sufficient in determining if you meet that specific qualification. Do not enter "Refer to Resume" to explain your answer. Applications directing the reader to search within the application or to "See Resume" are considered incomplete and WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Failure to submit a narrative statement or address any of the ECQs and/or MTQs is also considered incomplete and WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. As a result, you will be rated as "INCOMPLETE".

If you are currently serving under a career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) approved by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and had your ECQs certified by OPM, then you only need to address each MTQ, and you do not need to submit an ECQ narrative. All other applicants are required to respond to all ECQs and MTQs, addressing each ECQ and MTQ separately.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

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

Trust determination process
Credentialing , Suitability/Fitness , National security

Required Documents

Please note that if you do not provide all required information by the closing date of the announcement, as specified in this announcement, you will not be considered for this position.

Current and former Federal employees must submit their most recent SF-50. At time of application, applicants must submit their resume, transcripts (if required), Mandatory Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications.

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.