Summary
College Graduate appointments are permanent competitive service appointments.
This position is located with the Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Enforcement Safety Division located in Arlington, VA.
The incumbent applies engineering principles to design, develop, implement, and monitor highly technical programs in the mining industry that impact and interface with other safety and health programs.
This position is inside the bargaining unit.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
Open to individuals who have completed a bachelor's or graduate degree within the previous two years or Veterans who have completed a bachelor's or graduate degree and have an intervening period of obligated service of at least four years in the uniformed services. The two-year eligibility period begins on the date of discharge or release from the uniformed service. (See the Qualifications section for further details.)
Duties
Major duties for this position include but are not limited to:
- Develops and holds seminars in assigned program area to promote applicable new technology to assist in developing new programs for improving techniques aimed toward eliminating accidents. Manages the development and implementation of training classes or seminars for field personnel and others.
- Approves, implements and monitors field evaluations of mining or safety systems at complex mining operations. Analyzes data and monitors state-of-the art mine technology which has significant implications on national safety programs.
- Recommends approval or disapproval of petitions for modification of standards filed under 101 (c) of the Act. Analyzes and disseminates complex technical, regulatory or safety related information.
- Promotes, plans, manages and evaluates one or more of the following programs: Roof Control, Ventilation, Electrical, Mine Emergencies, Impoundments and other miscellaneous safety areas in underground and surface mines. Including developing and conducting training or seminars keeping abreast of safety aspects appropriate to MSHA.
- Plans and carries out special studies and field audits through mine site inspections, review of inspection reports, mine records, and other source material.
- Coordinates studies and audits with MSHA's Enforcement Safety Division, mine inspectors, and others as necessary.
- Review reports of fatal accidents and other investigative reports, MSHA Escalation Report (MERs), and Hazardous Complaints, and other pertinent matters for Safety related matters, concerns, deficiencies and report deviations in enforcement activities or applications.
- Access MSHA folders/files in MSHA network drives. Acquire and manage pertinent information.
- Consults with and advises top-level officials of MSHA, Department of Labor, Federal, State, and local governments, labor unions, mining industry, academia, and the public on a wide variety of Mine Safety matters.
- Serves as technical expert regarding all aspects (e.g. standards case law, enforcement, control technology, safety effects, investigations in safety matters, program lead, interpretation) of safety in mining.
- Develops, analyzes, recommends, implements, interprets and coordinates safety standards, policies, procedures, guidelines, reports, litigation, research, and special studies to enhance, improve and carry out MSHA's Safety program.
- Serves as expert witness in civil and criminal litigation involving projects within assigned program areas.
- Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and theories of engineering and their practical applications.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. Citizen.
- Must be at least 16 years old.
- Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
- Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
- Requires a valid driver's license.
- Subject to drug testing.
Qualifications
To be eligible for appointment under the College Graduate authority, applicants must meet requirement A or B.
A. Applicants who have completed a bachelor's or graduate degree from a qualifying educational institution within the previous two years or within 30 days of the vacancy closing date (07/01/2024).
OR
B. Veterans who have completed a bachelor's or graduate degree from a qualifying educational institution and have an intervening period of obligated service of at least four years in the uniformed services. The two-year eligibility period begins on the date of discharge or release from the uniformed service.
In addition to meeting the eligibility listed above, you must also meet the education and/or experience requirements described below.
Basic Requirement:
A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.
Minimum Qualifications:
Specialized Experience: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-07 in the Federal Service.
Specialized experience must include one (1) of the following:
- Conducted studies to identify, evaluate safety problems and administrative issues;
- Implemented and evaluated a safety program;
- Created written reports and detailed basic findings for use in final reports;
- Experience with drafting publications, journal articles, books, and all forms of manuscripts; or,
- Experience with reviewing inspection reports, mine records, and other source material;
OR
Education in lieu of specialized experience: Possess a master's or equivalent graduate degree that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position; OR, Possess two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position;
OR
Combination of education and experience: Possess a combination of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in or related to the work of this position and graduate level education that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.
Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled.
Education
Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.
If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
This College Graduate announcement is open to applicants who received a bachelors or advanced degree within the previous two years (or within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement).
Applicants meeting the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements will be referred to the selecting official. Rating/ranking and veterans' preference does not apply to this position.
You may preview questions for this vacancy here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12445411
The information you provide may be verified by a review of your paid, unpaid, volunteer, and other lived experience, as it demonstrates the competencies or skills required for the position to be filled. Your evaluation may include an interview, reference checks, or other assessment conducted by HR specialists, subject matter experts, or panel members and may include other assessment tools (ex. interview, structured interview, written test, work sample, etc.).
The examining Office of Human Resources (OHR) makes the final determination concerning applicant ratings. Your resume MUST provide sufficient information to substantiate your vacancy question responses. If not, the OHR may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the level of competency indicated by the content of your resume.
Required Documents
The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date.
The following documents are required from ALL applicants (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY):
- Resumes: Required and applicants must provide one either in USAJOBS or upload one from their computer and USAJOBS profile. To receive full consideration for relevant and specialized experience, please list the month, year, and number of work hours worked for the experience listed on your resume. We also suggest that you preview the vacancy questions, and confirm that your resume supports your question responses.
- Proof of Eligibility: Academic transcript or other official documentation from the qualifying educational institution showing that you meet the eligibility requirements for a Recent Graduate appointment, as described in the Qualifications and Evaluations section of this announcement. If you are claiming extended eligibility due to military service performed during the two-year period following graduation, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing the dates of such service. (For active duty service members expecting to be honorably discharged or released within 120 days, click Active Duty)
- Proof of Qualifications: Academic transcripts are sufficient to demonstrate that you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, as described in this announcement, where you are seeking to qualify, at least in part, on the basis of your education. See Qualifications and Evaluations.
- Unofficial Transcript(s) (in English): If you are using education as a basis for qualifying for this position, you must submit all applicable academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the qualifying educational requirements (ex. BA/BS, MA, JD, Ph.D., etc.). If specific coursework is required to qualify, you must supply an unofficial transcript from each academic institution in which the required courses were taken in order to receive credit. You may upload your unofficial transcript(s) as one document with a maximum size limit of 5 MB.
NOTE: The OFFICIAL Transcript(s) MUST BE RECEIVED if you are selected, and prior to receiving the firm offer with a start date.
The following documents are required if applicable:
- Veterans Documents (if applicable): To be considered as a 5-point (TP) preference eligible, you must submit a copy of your DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Your DD 214 must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. To claim 10-point (CP/CPS,XP) preference, you must submit a copy of your DD214; an Application for 10-point Veteran's Preference, SF15; and the proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. (For active-duty service members expecting honorable or general discharge or release within 120 days, click Active Duty). Without this documentation, you will not receive the veteran's preference. For more information, go to Feds Hire Vets - Veterans Preference
Cover Letters are not mandatory and will not be used to verify experience but may be submitted.
Reference the Education Section for College Transcript and Evaluation of Foreign Education.
Do not upload password-protected documents.
Applicants selected for employment who are not current DOL employees will be required to provide proof of citizenship, and the E-Verify system will be used to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires.
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
Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services.
To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, including submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section.
Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the vacancy closing date to receive consideration.
Paper applications and supplemental documents submitted in any other manner without prior approval from the vacancy contact will not be considered. Click here for information on Reasonable Accommodations.
Important - Save your information before the 30 minute system timeout! For help, go to USAJOBS Help Center.
STEP 1 - Create USAJOBS Account on www.usajobs.gov, including Resume and Saved Documents. Your resume must provide sufficient information to substantiate your responses to the self-assessment vacancy questions. If not, HR may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the competency indicated by resume content. For each employment period, include start/end month & year and note full-time or part-time (if part-time, include # of hours worked per week) otherwise, your application may be considered incomplete.
STEP 2 - Complete the 1st part of the application process (USAJOBS) Once you have identified a job on USAJOBS that you wish to apply for, click on the job title and then click the Apply button. For questions about the vacancy, contact the Agency Contact at the bottom of the announcement. Proceed through the steps noted at the top of the USAJOBS page. You will be able to select a resume and documents from your USAJOBS Account that you can submit as a package as part of your DOL application. In the final step, once you have certified your application, click the Continue to agency site button.
STEP 3 - Complete the 2nd part of the application process (DOL). On the Department of Labor (DOL) page, create a DOL Account if you have not already and click Apply to this vacancy. Continue through the progress steps at the top of the DOL page. The 2nd progress step is where you answer the vacancy-specific questions. The 3rd progress step Documents is where you submit the required documents (only if applicable to you) specified in the Required Documents section of this vacancy.
STEP 4 - On the Review and Submit step, verify each section of your application is complete and correct. In order to submit your application, you must have a check mark next to each section listed. If there is an X, return to the appropriate section and follow the prompts. When it is ready for submission, certify your application and click the Submit Application button.
STEP 5 - Edit Application as needed by 11:59 pm Eastern Time of Closing Date by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy, thenUpdate Application.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
For more detailed information on applying for positions with DOL click here to view the U.S. Department of Labor How to Apply website.
Next steps
Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and refer candidates for selection consideration. Candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interviews. You will be notified of the outcome. A selection is expected to be made within 30 calendar days of the issuance date of the certificate.
For instructions on how to check the status of your application, go to USAJOBS Help Guide.
USAJOBS will no longer send status alert email notifications. You can check your application status in the TAS by logging into USAJOBS and in the Applicant Dashboard, click the hiring agency Talent Acquisition System (TAS). If the TAS does not provide application tracking information, contact the agency's point of contact on the job announcement.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link, and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
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