Duties

Registration as a professional engineer/architect is preferred, but not required.

The selectee assists in balancing the needs of a wide range of stakeholders, both internal and external, such as AOC Jurisdiction leadership, Congressional leadership, oversight and appropriation committees, individual Members of Congress, congressional staff and congressional constituents.

Major Duties:

Supervisory Responsibilities

Performs administrative and technical supervisory functions for subordinates. Assigns duties and evaluates performance. Manages the organizational unit's budget and workload. Develops performance requirements for subordinates and ensures a mutual understanding of the performance standards. Timely addresses and resolves complaints and grievances.

Provides leadership to ensure support for equal employment opportunity (EEO) goals and requirements. Practices non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory employment actions and prevents unlawful discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, age or disability.

Manages a variety of technical staff in various stages of professional development, that are permanent, temporary and contractors. Develops coalitions internally and externally with other organizations and stakeholders to achieve common goals.

Provides expertise in capital program budget development, quality control, technical support and resource management.

Project Management

Establishes the Division's strategic objectives, requirements and initiatives for projects ranging from small to large size, budget and difficulty. Plans for accomplishment include a continuing review of status and progress, providing management guidance and direction, advice and decisions on program status with recommended solutions.

Assures the establishment of AOC goals and ensures projects are delivered safely, on schedule, within budget and scope, with high quality and minimal unplanned mission impacts to clients as shown in Project Management Plans (PMP) in conjunction with technical and professional staff,

Monitors design, construction and fiscal progress of assigned program. Analyzes deviations, problems and develops solutions to assure commitments are met.

Directs the preparation, compilation, review, analysis and submission of all program data required for budget and oversight congressional committees.

Provides management oversight and direction on the development of Statements of Work (SOW). Resolves design and construction concerns to assure optimum schedule, cost, scope, acquisition plan, budget, safety and quality.

Oversees and coordinates the management of project lifecycles, including planning, design, construction, commissioning and close-out to ensure integration and coordination within established time frames.

Conducts periodic program review and analysis briefings to compare progress with objectives and established milestones. Identifies areas where slippage is occurring and determines causes and required corrective action to realign with established schedules.

Provides guidance for functional managers to facilitate the effective resolution of technical problems, conflicts and controversial issues.

Oversees the review of plans and specifications for consistencies and ensures they are adaptable to site and other conditions.

Collaborates with AOC leadership to resolve major construction problems (e.g., unanticipated site conditions) and final engineering determinations on construction methods and the materials employed.

Responsible for the implementation and enforcement of all safety rules, regulations and directives applicable to those supervised.

Leads the preparation and delivery of communications and briefings of leadership within and outside of AOC. Interfaces with customers and represents the Director at meetings, briefings, conferences, hearings, etc. with leadership, stakeholders, contractors, congressional representatives and/or their staff, etc.

Makes commitments and speaks with the authority for the Division in providing responses, solutions and commitments for AOC execution. Serves as the responsible spokesperson between the stakeholders, project sponsors and customers.

Contractor Oversight

Monitors contract administration activities. Provides for technical and/or administrative support as necessary.

Collaborates with functional staff (i.e., engineering, construction, contracting, resource management, etc.) to ensure the accurate and efficient administration and close-out of contracts.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be able to pass a drug test.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• You must meet the educational requirements for Engineers or Architects.

To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below:

• A citizen of the United States;
• A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B);
• A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible;
• A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or
• A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States.

Registration as a professional engineer/architect is preferred, but not required.

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at OPM qualification standards

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

Candidates for the GS-15 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position includes the following:

• Developing and implementing strategic plans for a multi-million dollar design and construction program, project requirements, overall program initiatives and policies to meet the operational objectives of the organization;
• Providing oversight of project lifecycles, including planning, design, construction, commissioning and close-out;
• Managing projects, budgets and resources, including monitoring design, construction and fiscal progress; assessing the financial condition of projects to ensure cost-effective support of programs and policies;
• Effectively communicating project status and technical engineering information to a wide range of stakeholders, such as Members of Congress or elected city officials;
• Providing administrative and technical leadership or supervision, serving as the leader, mentor and manager for a variety of staff, professional to technical;
• Enforcing all technical and administrative provisions involving multiple engineering disciplines related to the management of assigned construction and design contracts;
• Serving as mediator and arbitrator on difficult issues in order to field questions, de-conflict the issues, and defend policies on the spot;
• Ensuring projects are tracked (scope, schedule and budget) with the support of appropriate AOC software tools such as eBuilder; and
• Assigning work to subordinates based on priorities taking into consideration the difficulties and requirements of assignments, type of existing workload, and the capabilities of the employees.

Education

In addition to meeting the specialized experience requirements for this position, applicants must possess the following:

Education Required for Engineers

1. Bachelor's degree in professional engineering: To be creditable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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: -- statics, dynamics; -- strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); -- fluid mechanics, hydraulics; -- thermodynamics; -- electrical fields and circuits; -- nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and -- any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

--OR--

2. 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 professional 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: (a) current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico; (b) evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination or the written test required for professional registration; (c) successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences that are fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum; or (d) successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field.

For a detailed explanation of the related curri culum or experience , please visit the following website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/general-engineering-series-0801/

Education Required for Architects

1. Bachelor's Degree in architecture ; or related disciplines of which at least (1) 30 semester hours were in architectural design, and (2) 6 semester hours were in each of the following: structural technology, properties of materials and methods of construction, and environmental control systems

--OR--

2. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished: (1) a thorough knowledge of the arts and sciences underlying professional architecture, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the architectural principles, methods, and techniques and their applications to the design and construction or improvement of buildings. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by at least one of the following:

Related Curriculum: Degree in architectural engineering may be accepted.

Experience: An applicant lacking a degree in architecture must have had l year of experience in an architect's office or in architectural work for each year short of graduation from a program of study in architecture. In the absence of college courses, 5 years of such experience is required. This experience must have demonstrated that the applicant has acquired a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles and theories of professional architecture.

For a detailed explanation of the related curriculum or experience, please visit the following website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/architecture-series-0808/

Special Instructions for Foreign Education :

Education completed outside of the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment.

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 of foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree.

You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing if selected.

Additional information

Welcome Veterans. The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) gives veterans' preference rights in the legislative branch to certain veterans as applied by the Congressional Accountability Act. Veterans' preference is applied on this vacancy announcement. If you are a veteran and have been separated under honorable conditions, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility; SF-15, if applicable; and Department of Veterans Affairs documentation of disability, if applicable. For more information, please visit OPM vet guide

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

DRUG TESTING: The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is a Drug Free Workplace. As part of the AOC's suitability assessment, a candidate tentatively selected for a position who is not currently an AOC employee is required to submit to screening for illegal drug use. Satisfactory completion of a drug test is a condition of employment with the Agency. A candidate must test negative prior to being eligible for appointment into a position. We will schedule, provide, and cover the cost for the drug test.

The selectee(s) under the vacancy announcement for this position is subject to a criminal record check by the U.S. Capitol Police and satisfactory adjudication to be eligible for employment at the Architect of the Capitol.

The Architect of the Capitol is an E-VERIFY Participant. E-VERIFY is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment authorization in the United States. If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the DHS Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" electronic system. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm

The Architect of the Capitol is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, genetic information, sexual orientation and/or disability.

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 notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.

Moving expenses are not authorized.

Relocation expenses are not authorized.

Probationary Period - A newly appointed selectee is subject to the completion of a one-year trial/probationary period, regardless of whether or not a trial/probationary period has been completed previously with the Architect of the Capitol or another Federal agency.

This vacancy announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies in any of the jurisdictions of the Architect of the Capitol.

All application materials become the property of the Architect of the Capitol.