Aviation Safety Inspector (Airworthiness) Job in Location Negotiable After Selection

Vacancy No. 24-R3SV-12455013G-JY Department Forest Service
Salary $103,409.00 to $134,435.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 7/2/2024 Close Date 7/15/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Location Negotiable After Selection


Job Description (Please follow all instructions carefully)

Summary

This position is located in the Southwestern Region, Region 3 at an approved Forest Service office in the region; see Additional Information.

The incumbent serves as Regional Aviation Safety Inspector responsible for Regional Aviation Maintenance Program management and works as a team member for projects of the National Airworthiness program.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Ronald Estes at 520-507-3350 or ronald.estes@usda.gov.

Duties

  • Inspect aircraft which have undergone major overhaul, alterations, or repairs, ensuring compliance with Federal aviation regulations and airworthiness directives.
  • Inspect aviation operations for compliance with organizational policy, regulatory requirements, limitations, and agency standards.
  • Inspect aircraft maintenance to ensure it is in compliance per policy, contract, or agreement.
  • Perform inspections for contract or Cooperator standards compliance and surveillance associated with agency-owned, contracted and cooperator aircraft.
  • Participate in the approval inspection and surveillance of complex operations within the coverage of approved specifications and policy manuals.
  • Provide oversight for one or more contract operators in a fleet of aircraft powered by turbine or piston engines conducting operations in support of an aviation program.
  • Schedule and participate in “carding” inspections on single and multi-engine aircraft under contract.
  • Monitor organization activities to determine whether they are following organizational policy, contractual requirements, Federal regulations, and good safety practices.
  • Provide technical and administrative supervision to subordinate employees.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license.
  • Must hold a current and valid Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airframe and Power plant (A and P) Certificate. A copy of the certificate is required.
  • Must hold a current and valid Federal Aviation Administration Inspection Authorization (IA). A copy of the certificate is required.
  • This is a drug testing designated position. You will be subject to pre-employment and random drug testing. Appointment is based on a negative result. This announcement constitutes 30 days advance notice.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

GS-1825:

General Requirements:

1. Not more than two separate incidents involving Federal aviation regulations violations in the last 5 years;
2. Valid State driver's license;
3. Fluency in the English language;
4. No chemical dependencies or drug abuse that could interfere with job performance; and
5. High school diploma or equivalent.

Medical Requirements:
1. Have good distant vision in each eye and be able to read printed materials the size of typewritten characters (glasses and contact lenses permitted) without strain;
2. Have the ability to hear the conversational voice (hearing aid permitted);
3. Not have any physical condition that would cause them to be a hazard to themselves or others or that would interfere with their ability to fly as passengers in a variety of aircraft.

Specialized Experience, Training, and Certification Requirements:
1. Experience involving the maintenance and repair of airframes, power plants, and aircraft systems with responsibility for certifying airworthiness.
2. Experience involving the maintenance and repair of FAA civil certificated airframes, power plants, and systems of multi-engine aircraft of 12,500 pounds or less maximum certificated takeoff weight OR more than 12,500 pounds maximum certificated takeoff weight maintained under an airworthiness maintenance and inspection program.
3. Aircraft maintenance experience in a repair station; air carrier or airline repair facility; military repair facility; or local, state or Federal governmental agency.
4. Aircraft maintenance work experience within the last 3 years.
5. FAA Mechanic Certificate with airframe and power plant ratings.

In addition to meeting the requirements listed above, you must also possess experience in the amounts listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

For the GS-13: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as two or more of the following: Scheduling and approving all inspections and maintenance actions of assigned aircraft; and/or Inspecting and providing surveillance and oversight of aircraft, which have undergone major overhaul, alterations, or repairs; and/or Determining appropriate maintenance activity level for complex and critical maintenance issues.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

LOCATION NEGOTIABLE AFTER SELECTION: This position will be located at a Forest Service office within Region 3 (New Mexico/Arizona). Final determination of the duty station will be made by the selecting official at the time of the job offer. This position is NOT Remote. To see where these Forest Service Offices are located select link, https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r3/about-region/offices

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status such as leave without pay is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.


This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government Housing is not available.

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

Benefits

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.

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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the competencies listed below:

  • Aircraft Maintenance
  • Contracting/Procurement
  • Project Management
  • Supervision
  • Workforce Environment


Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.

If you meet the qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified, you will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities must meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12455013

Required Documents

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
  • Resume that includes: 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications.
  • If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit: a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
In addition to the above, you must submit the documents below if you claim the following:
  • Current Federal employees: 1) Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing that you are/were in the competitive service, highest grade (or promotion potential) held on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND 2) Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. Do not submit a performance plan.
  • Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
  • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act Eligible Applicants: please review the required documents for this hiring authority on the Forest Service website.
  • Current permanent FSA County employees: most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action, (SF-50 or equivalent) showing your highest grade (or promotion potential) held on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) per above.
  • Veteran Hiring Authorities: VEOA: DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, that shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active-duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veteran's preference must be verified prior to appointment.
  • If claiming 10-point veteran's preference you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), plus the proof of entitlement of this preference as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but is not required. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference.

How to Apply

Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process.

Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.

To begin, in USAJOBS click "Apply" and follow the instructions to attach your resume and required documents, complete the assessment questionnaire, and submit your application.

NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.

Agency contact information

HRM Contact Center
Address
USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center
DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
Albuquerque, NM 87109
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status.

You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.

Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer. An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance. To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to sm.fs.hrm_elr@usda.gov, subject line: Fair Chance Act.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.