Environmental Biologist Job

Vacancy No. OST.RVOLPE-2025-0006 Department Office of the Secretary of Transportation
Salary $143,736.00 to $191,900.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/4/2024 Close Date 12/13/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DCLocation Negotiable After SelectionCambridge, MA


Summary

The Volpe Center seeks an Environmental Biologist to serve as a Principal Technical Advisor (PTA) providing  expert analysis and project management approaches to facility resilience and sustainability operations by supporting cross-agency federal programs to advance our nation's security by improving the resilience of transportation facilities and decreasing the operating costs through reductions in use of scarce natural/biological resources, energy, and human resource turnover.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Due to the potential of a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

The Environmental Biologist:

  • Designs, analyzes input data, develops, implements, and evaluates plans, programs, guidance, tools, inventories, research studies, communications materials, and associated products that focus on facility resilience and sustainability operations and related institutional issues.
  • Applies advanced ecological, technology and institutional issue analysis techniques and principles to assignments that present a broad and largely unprecedented range of technical, financial, societal, and public policy elements.
  • Leads teams and is responsible for ensuring that work execution, budgets, and schedules meet the Volpe Center project management standards and demonstrates skills managing full lifecycle projects.
  • Demonstrates excellent customer-focused business development and relationship management skills that routinely result collectively in multiple-year, multi-million-dollar programs. Works with the management and other senior staff across the Volpe Center on the expansion of existing work areas as well as in the development of new business opportunities for the Volpe Center.
  • Participates in professional activities supported by sponsors, including invitations to present or participate in technical meetings, conferences and events and leads high-level meetings among industry, academic, and Federal, state, local government staff, and international counterparts in deliberations on sensitive transportation technology and institutional issues.

The Ideal Candidate will be a recognized national and international expert in facility resilience and sustainability operations, possessing deep knowledge in facility disruption risk management (such as knowledge required to earn the CC-P certification or some equivalent/related body of knowledge), will have extensive trusting relationships with executives and other subject matter experts throughout the industry and particularly within the Federal government, and will have experience leading a complex, multi-year, million plus dollar portfolio

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
  • Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
  • Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • REMOTE WORK: This position may be eligible for remote work, which does not require reporting to the agency worksite location on a regular basis. If selected for a remote work location, you will be required to sign a remote work agreement detailing agency remote work policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework.  The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for the GS-15, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-14, it must include:

  • Experience serving as a senior technical authority in the field of facility resilience and sustainability operations; and participation in numerous Federal programs that address innovative deployment techniques, guidance, best practices, and requirements in this field.
  • Experience designing, implementing, and leading large, innovative deployment projects with diverse stakeholders (including Federal, state, and local governments, industry leaders developing the technology, facility owners and operators, or others) that apply to facility resilience and sustainability operations.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

  1. Knowledge of applying the theories, principles, and concepts of the field sufficient to develop new theories, concepts, principles, standards, and methods; plan and execute long-range programs and projects of national significance; serve as a recognized expert and consultant in a broad range of subject-matter programs that impact several resources; and advance the state-of-the-art beyond current discipline parameters.
  2. Knowledge of a wide range of qualitative and quantitative analysis methods that is sufficient for the assessment and improvement of programs related to transportation facility resilience.
  3. Knowledge of sustainable operations for transportation facilities and organizations.
  4. Ability to generate and apply new hypotheses and concepts in planning, conducting, and evaluating long-range transportation technology research and development.
  5. Skill in recognition of professional expertise by principals in the Federal decision-making process such as high-ranking appointed officials in the executive and legislative branch, high ranking officials in State governments, public interest groups, the courts, and subject matter experts and policy / institutional issue analysts in the transportation facility resilience and sustainable operations field.

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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/frequently-asked-questions/employment-faq/federal-hiring/how-do-i-apply-for-federal-jobs/

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Basic Requirements

  1. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

    OR

  2. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Additional information

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation 

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.

DOT is committed to fostering an all-inclusive diverse workforce where employees feel valued for their unique backgrounds and qualities and have a sense of belonging and engagement in helping to advance transportation for the public good.

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.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

All applicants:  For this announcement, applicants may be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the educational requirements.  Applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications may be referred to the selecting official.

Applicants will not be rated or ranked.  Veteran’s Preference does NOT apply.

Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. 


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

RESUME: – Your resume MUST contain specific information used to make a qualification determination that includes employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time or average number of hours worked per week, and position titles.  If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level.  The resume should show relevant experience and education as well as support the required specialized experience. Formatted resumes may be uploaded later in the application process. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit:  https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to

TRANSCRIPTS are REQUIRED if there is a stated education requirement for the series OR if you are substituting education for experience.  The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. 

  • ENGINEERS: If you are applying to an engineering position and are qualifying based on possessing a current Professional Engineer (PE) license, or passing the Engineer in Training (EIT) exam, please provide a copy of PE license or written documented proof of passing the EIT.

DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 80) and provide all of the following documents:  

  • your most recent performance appraisal,
  • the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
  • your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.

Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration.  

For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USA Jobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.  You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

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.

How to Apply

You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.

  • To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
  • Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
  • You may review your saved application(s) at https://help.usajobs.gov/

If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at:  Transjobs@dot.gov

Agency contact information

Automated Staffing Office
Address
DOT, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE / HAHR-50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com (Select "My USAJobs" and click "Applications".  Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist may evaluate your application. If evaluated, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.  If you are selected for an interview, the hiring agency will contact you directly.  Once the position is filled, we will notify all applicants of their final status.


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


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