Duties
The Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) serves as the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) designated operational coordination authority and recognized expert during significant events affecting the National Airspace System (NAS), independently assessing operational impacts, determining escalation requirements, directing enterprise-wide coordination activities, and providing authoritative operational guidance to FAA leadership.
Applies experience and expert technical knowledge of air traffic control procedures and operations as well as expert technical knowledge of the NAS Operational Coordination and Incident Management. Identifies, evaluates, and resolves highly complex operational issues affecting FAA facilities, personnel, equipment, and NAS performance that cross organizational boundaries and require coordination among multiple FAA organizations, federal agencies, industry stakeholders, and external partners.
Provides executive-level operational briefings, recommendations, and decision support to the Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, and other senior FAA leadership officials regarding accidents, incidents, system outages, national security events, natural disasters, and other events affecting FAA operations and NAS performance.
Performs complex specialized air traffic control assignments. Activates, directs, and coordinates national operational response activities during significant events, integrating multiple FAA organizations and external stakeholders to ensure a unified operational response, continuity of operations, and restoration of normal NAS services.
Contacts are internal and external. Represents the FAA in national-level operational coordination activities involving federal agencies, aviation industry stakeholders, and external organizations on matters affecting operational readiness, emergency response, and continuity of National Airspace System operations; and for events involving significant public, congressional, Department of Transportation, White House, Secretary-level, or other high-profile interest. Ensures coordinated organizational responses and providing authoritative operational assessments to executive leadership.
Broad policies and objectives provide general guidance for addressing issues but almost always require the development of new and innovative approaches. Often recommends new policies. Develops, evaluates, and recommends improvements to national operational response procedures, coordination protocols, escalation processes, and operational readiness frameworks to enhance the FAA's ability to respond to significant events affecting the NAS. Recommends organizational positions, strategic response actions, and policy changes to senior FAA leadership regarding operational coordination, emergency response, continuity of operations, and issues affecting national airspace system performance.
Leads enterprise-wide operational assessments and after-action reviews involving major accidents, incidents, security events, system outages, and other significant disruptions to identify systemic issues, evaluate organizational effectiveness, and recommend corrective actions and procedural improvements.
Resolves unprecedented operational issues where existing policies, procedures, or guidance are incomplete, conflicting, or insufficient, developing innovative approaches to address emerging threats, risks, and vulnerabilities affecting FAA operations. Conceives, plans, and directs studies involving complex operational issues, emerging risks, and national response capabilities, utilizing findings to improve FAA operational effectiveness, readiness, and strategic decision-making.
Monitors nationwide operational events with multi-facility and enterprise-wide impacts, independently determining when events require executive notification, elevated coordination, activation of national response procedures, or implementation of strategic operational actions.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- US Citizenship is required.
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
- Must submit an SF50 (See Required Documents).
- Designated or Random Drug Testing required.
- In accordance with HRPM EMP 1.29/1.29a, this position MAY be a Career Enhancement Program/Career Progression assignment.
- The selectee(s) may be eligible for pay retention. Career Diversity is not enhanced when an employee is assigned to a staff or supervisory position in which they previously held on a permanent basis.
- CEP/CP selectees will be required to certify eligibility. Pay retention is not guaranteed.
- Position is ineligible for true time and one half
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the FV-J FG/GS-14 level. This experience is typically related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been at least equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.
Specialized experience is defined as:
- Experience monitoring operational activities or incidents, determining when events require higher-level notification, elevated coordination, activation of national response procedures, or implementation of strategic operational actions.- Experience assessing operational impacts and recommending response actions to support organizational response efforts during events.
Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and/or selective placement factor(s) (SPF) may be further evaluated on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) and/or Quality Ranking Factor (QRF) listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: (1) score order; (2) category grouping; (3) alphabetical; or (4) priority grouping and referred to the selecting official for selection consideration.
Experience in a military or civilian air traffic facility that demonstrates possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the level of work of the specialization for which application is made. This experience must have provided a comprehensive knowledge of appropriate air traffic control laws, rules, and regulations.
You should include relevant examples of the specialized experience in your work history. Errors or omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered.
Answer all questions to the best of your ability.
DO NOT ASSUME THAT BECAUSE YOU HOLD, OR HAVE HELD THISPOSITION, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE FOUND ELIGIBLE.
You may be asked to provide evidence or documentation that you have this type of experience later in the selection process. Your responses are subject to verification through job interview or any other information obtained during the application process. Any exaggeration of your experience or any attempt to conceal information can result in disqualification.
Applicants who fail to demonstrate possession of any of the above criteria AND who do not provide the required documentation will receive no further consideration for this position.
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement.
Education
Education cannot be substituted for experience.
Make sure your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications and answers to the job questionnaire.
Additional information
We may use this vacancy to fill other similar vacant positions.
Position may be subject to a background investigation.
A one-year probationary period may be required.
The person selected for this position may be required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of entry on duty. FAA policy limits certain outside employment and financial investments in aviation-related companies. www.faa.gov/jobs/workinghere/financial-disclosure-requirements
This position is covered by the Department of Transportation's Drug and Alcohol Testing Program. Any applicant tentatively selected for this position will be subject to pre-employment or pre-appointment drug screening. Persons occupying a "testing designated position (TDP)" will be subject to random drug and/or alcohol testing.
As a part of the Federal-Wide Hiring Reform Initiative (streamlining the hiring process), the FAA is committed to eliminating the use of Knowledge, Skills and Ability (KSA) narratives from the initial application in the hiring process for all announcements. Therefore, as an applicant, you are NOT required to provide a narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA.
In lieu of providing a KSA narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA section, in your work history, please include information that provides specific examples of how you meet the response level or answer you chose for each KSA. Your work history examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your KSA answers will be evaluated further to validate whether the level that you selected is appropriate based on the work history and experience you provided. Your answers may be adjusted by a human resource specialist as appropriate.
This Level 2 (Non-Critical Sensitive; Secret) position requires favorable adjudication of an Access National Agency Check and Inquiries (ANACI) background investigation prior to appointment unless a waiver is obtained.
This position is covered by the FAA Core Compensation Plan. Additional information about core compensation is available on the website: https://www.faa.gov/jobs/working_here/benefits.
Some, all, or none of the applicants may be interviewed.
This is not a bargaining unit position.
Links to Important Information: Locality Pay, COLA
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Required Documents
ALL applicants MUST submit the following:
(1) resume with complete work history; and
(2) a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action).
For guidance on how to create a Federal resume, visit http://www.archives.gov/careers/jobs/forms/resume-guide.pdf.
Failure to submit all required documents by the closing date will result in a finding of ineligible. We are not responsible for incomplete, illegible, or missing documents.
Please DO NOT email your application documents. We cannot accept documents received via the email system.
Documents sent via email will NOT receive consideration.
If you are an FAA employee, you
MUST provide a copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) containing information in Blocks 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, and 24 so it can be used to verify your position title, series, grade, tenure, and organization of record by the closing date of the announcement. You may fax your SF-50 or upload it into the on-line application. If faxing the SF-50, please ensure you include the vacancy announcement number on the faxed copy.
If you are an FAA employee, you can access and print your SF-50 from the eOPF system
https://eopf.opm.gov/dot/.
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.