Duties

This position is not eligible for permanent remote telework.

Represents the Safety Services Division on Library working groups and is recognized as the fire protection and life safety technical authority for all matters relating to them. Acts as a consultant to Library management. Maintains liaison with local agency officials to ensure coordination of joint projects and activities. Also coordinates with local municipal or government fire departments to ensure response and coordinated emergency actions. Maintains contact with officials in federal and private industry, testing agencies and organizations that write and promulgate codes and standards. Participates in the development of scope of work for new construction and renovation projects in cooperation with Library staff and representatives from the office of the Architect of the Capitol. Develops innovative and economically satisfactory solutions to problems involving fire protection and life safety. Provides alternate approaches, through risk assessment, to achieve appropriate modifications to buildings which will accomplish an equivalent level of building safety at the reasonable, lowest cost. Prepares analyses for management describing the risks associated with possible alternative use of resources.

Approves designs, monitors construction and issues a certificate of occupancy for all projects in Library of Congress buildings.

Manages fire protection engineering portions of major new construction and/or renovation projects and incorporates fire protection design practices into all phases of design and construction. Resolves issues. Ensures that adequate fire protection requirements have been incorporated into all segments of the project. When deficiencies are notes, directs necessary changes and furnishes assistance as may be required.

Interprets guidelines, standards, policies, and engineering criteria as established by national organizations and the Library and provides evaluations of facilities, instructions and information to Library and AOC staff and contractors.

Analyzes on a continuing basis the fire protection requirements of Library facilities. Reviews drawings and specifications to ensure compliance with current codes and standards and Library criteria. Evaluates alternate construction design proposals ensuring a goal-oriented approach to building fire safety. Conducts fire protection and life safety surveys of Library facilities and property as well as pre-lease or pre-occupancy in facilities being proposed for use or occupancy by the Library.

Reviews for approval the fire protection features of plans, specifications and analyses of design as submitted by others including a wide variety of fire protection systems for fire detection, containment, extinguishment, smoke control and evacuation. The systems involve complicated integration of mechanical, electrical and architectural systems which must interface with Library equipment and operations. Participates in intermediate and final acceptance tests of fire protection systems and equipment in Library facilities and property.

Plans and conducts advanced work in areas where fire protection criteria is not established. Investigates new developments in fire protection systems and applies them to existing facilities and new projects. Utilizes the latest technological advances such as fire modeling to evaluate complex problems which are not addressed by existing policies or guidelines. Provides final decisions on technical issues that are not adequately addressed by criteria and cannot be resolved by others.

Develops, revises and maintains fire protection engineering guide specifications and design guides for use in the Library. Furnishes advice and interpretation with regards to use of specifications and design guides.

Administers fire protection engineering and related contracts for the Library. Functions as COR and provides planning, budgeting and oversight of all facets of the contracts. Maintains contact with manufactures and distributors of fire protection equipment.

Provides technical guidance and support to the Joint Advisory Labor- Management Health and Safety Committee established pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with labor organizations. Reviews hazards reported by the Joint Labor-Management Health and Safety Committee for proper risk classification.

Evaluates national and local fire prevention codes, standards, and building codes and recommends improvements and/or changes to current fire protection criteria and procedures in the Library.

Develops fire protection and life safety training programs for Library facilities and provides instructions for such programs.

Conducts field audits of proposed projects to determine directive and design requirements. Surveys such projects under construction to determine the adequacy of the design of fire protection features and to assure conformance to plans and specifications.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Conditions of Employment

Library employees must be fully vaccinated by Monday, January 3, 2022. New hires must be fully vaccinated by the date of their appointment.

Employees are considered fully vaccinated when it has been at least two weeks since they received the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna) or the single dose of a one-dose vaccine (e.g., Johnson & Johnson/Janssen). At this time, booster shots are not necessary to be considered fully vaccinated.

Upon request, employees must provide proof of vaccination to the Health Services Division.

Consistent with applicable law, the Library will consider individual exceptions to the vaccination requirement based on an employee's medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Employees with an approved exception will be subject to weekly testing and other COVID-19 safety protocols as directed, including, for example, wearing masks and social distancing.

The Supervisor leads his/her staff toward meeting the Library's vision, mission, and goals by acting decisively, leveraging diversity and inclusiveness, demonstrating flexibility and resilience, fostering continuous improvement and innovation, and fostering integrity and honesty. To view the Library's Supervisory Core Competencies click the following link: http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/uploads/loc_supervisor_core_competencies.pdf .

Qualifications

Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.

Knowledge of fire protection engineering, building codes and NFPA standards.**

Ability to perform fire protection design reviews based on federal safety laws/regulations, applicable building codes and NFPA standards.**

Ability to communicate in writing in performing professional engineering work.

Ability to plan, conduct, and evaluate professional engineering and architectural studies.

Ability to interact collaboratively with others exercising judgment and discretion in order to provide consultation and liaison services.

Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.

Education

Basic Requirements:

Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.

Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.

Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

Additional information

Although it is the Library's policy to afford the maximum pay benefit to employees when setting rates of pay, a new appointee who has had no previous Federal service will generally be paid the minimum step of the grade.

The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. All who meet the eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply.

Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please email ADA@loc.gov. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant's college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. Certification from health care providers are not accepted. For more information contact the Library's Office of EEO/Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service.

Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation.

The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.

Initial appointments, permanent or indefinite, to the Library of Congress require completion of a one-year probationary period. In addition, per Library of Congress Regulation 2010-12, an appointee or internal selectee is subject to a one-year supervisory probationary period, if this is his/her first supervisory/managerial position at the Library.

The Library of Congress may offer repayment for all or part of federally insured student loans. However, not all service units within the Library of Congress participates in the repayment of federally insured student loans. Therefore, determination to repay a federally insured student loan is subject to approval by the appropriate service unit.

The selected applicant may be required to file a financial disclosure statement with the House of Representatives, U.S. Congress, in accordance with the provisions of Public Law 95-521, Ethics in Government Act of 1978.