Chief Aircraft Operations Division Job in Houston, TX

Vacancy No. JSC-25-ES-12592166 Department Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Salary $191,901.00 to $205,235.00 Grade 00 to 00
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 10/25/2024 Close Date 11/8/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Houston, TX


Summary

Serves as Chief, Aircraft Operations Division (AOD) in the Flight Operations Directorate (FOD) and provides leadership and direction to AOD which is responsible for management of all Johnson Space Center (JSC) aircraft operations. The mission of AOD is critical to maintaining core Agency and NASA Center capabilities by safely operating and maintaining all aircraft assigned to JSC.

Duties

The Chief Aircraft Operations Division:

  • Is responsible for flight activities including astronaut flight readiness training, human spaceflight support, airborne science, and management of the aircraft maintenance and operations support contractor.
  • Serves as the primary liaison to the NASA/JSC Astronaut Office for establishing training requirements and operating practices and maintaining and providing aircraft and instructor pilots for astronaut flight readiness training.
  • Provides project management for all aircraft and develops the project support plans necessary to document all known requirements which include: flight personnel necessary to execute assigned aviation missions, support standard proficiency checks (initial, standardization, instrument) to maintain pilot proficiency in all assigned aircraft, support the test requirements of all JSC and other Governmental organizations where JSC aircraft are suitable and available for this use, and provide the flight characteristic inputs for all aircraft utilized by JSC in test programs.
  • Determines and allocates resource needs (financial, workforce, equipment, facilities, contract management, etc.), and maintains rigorous resource accounting in close coordination with FOD leadership and the FOD business office.
  • Serves as the official responsible for coordinating with Ellington Joint Reserve Base, Houston Airport Authority, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Agency Aviation community, internal and external stakeholders.
  • Participates in the selection and acceptance of aircraft to support National, Agency, and Center programs that are compliant with applicable NASA, FAA, and military regulations and directives.
  • Provides basic engineering support for JSC aircraft modification and development programs, aircraft maintenance (including maintenance test flights), configuration control and quality assurance coverage during inspection, maintenance and modification activities.
  • Flies as a crew-member or observer where practicable and as necessary, to observe performance of assigned flight crews.
  • Promotes aviation safety culture, ensuring a safe work environment and adequate training on safety issues for all employees.
  • Fosters and continually drives a culture of engagement, diversity, inclusiveness, excellence, and innovation within and outside of the organization and NASA. Champions the Agency's commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) and creates an environment and culture that promotes and enables the Agency's commitment to safety, inclusion, integrity, teamwork, and excellence.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • The individual selected will be required to file an 'Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report' (OGE-278) in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
  • Initial Senior Executive Service (SES) Career appointee is subject to a one-year probationary period.
  • Successful completion of a background investigation commensurate with the risk and sensitivity level of the position.
  • Successful completion of pre-employment and random drug testing may be required.
  • Must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
  • The position requires the incumbent to be able to successfully complete an FAA First-Class medical certificate, military pilot flight physical, or obtain a NASA flight medical certification.

Qualifications

This position requires the incumbent to have the following current license and/or certification and specified flight hours. Your resume MUST indicate that you meet the following requirements. You may be asked for further documentation to support your eligibility.

Current license and/or certification: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commercial pilot's license with an instrument rating or a pilot and instrument rating from the armed services, NASA Pilot-in-Command (PIC), a military rating as an Aircraft Commander, or an FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate.

Flight Hours: A minimum of the following flight time hours:
  • 1,500 hours of flight time as a pilot-in-command (or first pilot) that includes at least 500 hours in jet aircraft
  • 250 hours of pilot-in-command
  • 75 hours of night flying

You must also have the skill and ability to perform the duties described above as demonstrated by progressively responsible supervisory/leadership experience, normally obtained over several years by serving in positions at the GS-15 level or equivalent.

Your application package must be in your own words. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement, or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process.

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you MUST address each Executive Core Qualification (ECQ) and Mandatory Technical Qualification (MTQ) separately. If you fail to do so, your application will be rated ineligible. We recommend you provide two (2) examples of relevant experience for each ECQ. Responses to ALL ECQs must not exceed ten (10) pages; MTQ responses must not exceed one (1) page per MTQ. Please include your full name on all documents submitted.

If you are currently serving under a career SES appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES (this means you were previously employed as a Career SES employee and you successfully completed a one-year probationary period), or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program and been certified by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) you MUST submit a resume and in a separate document address the MTQs. Any ECQs submitted will not be considered. Your resume must clearly state that you are a current career SES, eligible for reinstatement, or SES CDP certified and year of certification.

When preparing your responses to the ECQs and MTQs, you are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action, and Result model outlined in the OPM's Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualification. For a sample template on how to format your ECQ narrative visit NASA's Executive Leadership Opportunities.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS:

ECQ 1 - Leading Change: The ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

ECQ 2 - Leading People: The ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

ECQ 3 - Results Driven: The ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

ECQ 4 - Business Acumen: The ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

ECQ 5 - Building Coalitions: The ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.


MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS:

MTQ 1- Demonstrated experience in aircraft operations similar to T-38, Gulfstream 5, or WB-57 and a high level of familiarity with aircraft operations. Ten years of relevant aviation-related experience (instructor and research pilot) is desired, three of which are in supervisory or managerial experience in aircraft operations.

MTQ 2- Demonstrated experience with safely directing the implementation and maintenance of a comprehensive flight program consisting of high performance and unique aircraft designed to prepare qualified flight crews for human space flight missions.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement. To be eligible, you must clearly state in your resume the following: degree, major and/or minor, and college/university.

A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major study in engineering, physical science, mathematics, life sciences, computer science, or other field of science.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a credential evaluation service that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. These education credentials must be deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, click here.

Additional information

Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance.

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.

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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

All qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet the basic qualification requirements, your application will be evaluated based on your narrative statements addressing the ECQs and MTQs. Your application may then be referred to and evaluated by an Executive Resources Panel (ERP) and will be placed in one of the following categories: Not Qualified, Qualified, or Highly-qualified. Candidates may receive an interview and/or be asked to provide a list of references. The ERP will make a recommendation to the appropriate approving authority.

Required Documents

You must provide a complete application package. If you do not provide all required information, you will not be considered for this position. Only provide the following:

1. Resume showing relevant work experience (start/end dates stated in month/year, description of duties), applicable education at a minimum, and your contact information. For current or previous Federal employees, it should also include the Pay Plan, Series and Grade for each work experience entry. Limit your resume to 10 pages. If more than 10 pages are submitted, only the first 10 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

2. Executive Core Qualifications narrative responses, if applicable. Limit your response to 10 pages. If more than 10 pages are submitted, only the first 10 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

3. Mandatory Technical Qualifications narrative responses. Limit your response to 1 page per MTQ. If more than 1 page per MTQ is submitted, only the first pages for each MTQ will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

You may be asked to provide additional documentation to support your eligibility and the information provided in your application package. For example, we may request transcripts, SF-50s, SES Candidate Development Program certificate, etc. Therefore, we encourage you to have these documents prepared and ready when requested by the agency. If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.

A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.

  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
  • Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

NASA's online application process provides step by step guidance to ensure you provide all needed information. If you are unable to apply online, please contact Agency-Executive-Staffing@mail.nasa.gov for assistance. Faxed, emailed, and/or mailed application materials will not be accepted for this announcement.

NASA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you are an applicant with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact center listed on the job vacancy announcement. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be on a case-by-case basis.

Agency contact information

NASA Executive Staffing
Address
Johnson Space Center
2101 NASA Parkway
Houston, TX 77058
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Although you may or may not be contacted during the selection process, we will always advise you about the outcome of the announcement. If you have questions, please feel free to contact NASA Executive Staffing at Agency-Executive-Staffing@mail.nasa.gov.


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


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