Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

The Air and Radiation Division (ARD) is responsible for implementing the Clean Air Act (CAA). The division also serves as the delegated authority for carrying out Administrator actions on State Implementation Plans (SIPs) and designations, including evaluation of SIPs, associated regulations, and oversight of permits. The division is charged with conducting all air program activities except enforcement activities, which are cooperatively managed between the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division and the Office of Regional Counsel.

Specific duties of the Director of ARD include:

• Acting as the Regional Administrator's principal advisor on the CAA.
• Planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and coordinating the regional Air and Radiation Division program.
• Supervising a large multidisciplinary group of EPA employees organized into branches and offices/sections headed by subordinate supervisors.
• Providing leadership to the division in strengthening core programs (i.e., planning, permits, rulemaking, radiation, monitoring and modeling support, and grants) that are grounded in the regulatory authority of the CAA.
• Accomplishing or directing the actions involved in determining the effect of proposed or enacted federal or state legislation, new or proposed program requirements, new or improved technology, emergency situations, court decisions, etc.
• Ensuring that extramural resources, both procurement (contracts) and assistance (grants, cooperative agreements, and interagency agreements), are efficiently and appropriately managed to maximize use of the Agency's resources.
• Accomplishing or directing the actions involved in coordinating the program with internal and external organizations, determining or recommending the compromises to be made, and maintaining effective relations with interested groups. Internal and external organizations include key officials of EPA; other federal agencies, state, local and tribal governments; private industry, environmental organizations, and the public.

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Discover how you can apply your skills to make an impact. Explore careers and learn more about EPA at epa.gov/careers.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• You must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.

If you are selected, you must complete a 1-year SES probationary period, if not previously completed.

The Ethics in Government Act, P.L. 95-521, requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a financial disclosure statement, OGE-278, prior to assuming the SES position, annually, and upon termination of employment.

REAL ID requirements became effective on 05/07/25. If you are selected for this position and plan to use your driver’s license or identification card during the onboarding process (i.e., for employment eligibility verification or to obtain your EPA identification card), the document must be a REAL ID-compliant state-issued driver’s license or identification card that includes the REAL ID-compliant star marking, or must be an Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL). You will receive information about alternative acceptable documents (e.g., passport) prior to onboarding. For more information about REAL ID, see Dept. of Homeland Security and REAL ID FAQs.

This position is designated as High Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

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Qualifications

The work of this position is classified in the Program Management, 0340 series where the qualifications include both general management skills and characteristics that are applicable to all SES positions and technical or program responsibilities specific to this position. Applicants must have substantive general experience which provides a good basic or general knowledge of the principles of organization, management and administration; and substantive specialized (operating administrative or managerial) experience in a type of work or a combination of functions directly related to this position.

All applicants must have one year of specialized experience at a level close to the work of this job that demonstrates the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform in this role. Typically this experience can be found in work within this field or a field that is closely related.

As a basic requirement for entry into the Senior Executive Service, applicants must also provide evidence of progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications listed below.

A. Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Mandatory for competitive applicants - Failure to address these factors within the required 2-page resume will result in your application being disqualified, unless you are a noncompetitive eligible applicant. 

ECQ 1 - COMMITMENT TO THE RULE OF LAW AND THE PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDING. Involves demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people.
ECQ 2 - DRIVING EFFICIENCY. Involves demonstrated ability to strategically and efficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades.
ECQ 3 - MERIT AND COMPETENCE. Involves demonstrated knowledge, ability, and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality.
ECQ 4 - LEADING PEOPLE. Involves demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals, and to drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture. This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and hold individuals accountable.
ECQ 5 - ACHIEVING RESULTS. Involves demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to stated goals from superiors.

Your responses should be clear and concise and show a level of accomplishment and a degree of responsibility. 

B. Technical Qualification (TQ) - Mandatory for all applicants - Failure to address this factor within the required 2-page resume will result in your application being disqualified.

TQ 1 - Demonstrated experience administering and/or working with programs authorized under the Clean Air Act, including the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job 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 basic qualification requirements, your application will be evaluated based on the experience described in your resume with the required Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Technical Qualification (TQ). It will then be forwarded to a three-member Rating Panel consisting of SES members for further review. The Rating Panel will decide which Best Qualified applicants will be issued to the Selecting Official by the Human Resources Office.

Documents to be submitted online:

NOTE: You should ensure your social security number, date of birth, and any other personal information are redacted.

-- Resume - Required for all applicants - State your experience related to this position as described in the Duties section and Qualifications section. In describing your experience, be clear and specific. We may not make assumptions regarding your experience. NOTE: Your resume may not exceed 2 pages. If your resume exceeds 2 pages, your application will be disqualified.

-- Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Required for competitive applicants

• Address your experience with the ECQs described in the Qualifications section within the limits of your 2-page resume.
• For more information on ECQs, see OPM's Guide to SES Qualifications.

-- Technical Qualification (TQ) - Required for all applicants

• Address your experience with the TQ described in the Qualifications section within the limits of your 2-page resume.

-- Proof of SES noncompetitive eligibility - Required for noncompetitive applicants - If you are currently serving under a Career SES appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program approved by OPM, submit one of the following:

• Certificate of completion from an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP). This applies only if your ECQs have been approved by an OPM Qualifications Review Board through the SES CDP.
• SF-50 showing your status as a:
• current Career SES appointee,
• former Career SES appointee with career SES reinstatement eligibility, or
• current or reinstatement eligible Career SES-equivalent executive who is/was employed in a Federal government agency that has an interchange agreement with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) allowing for movement between the agency’s SES-equivalent personnel system and the SES.

To learn more about submitting documentation, visit Uploading Documents to USAJOBS.

Next steps