Lead Diving and Marine Safety Manager

Clarification from the agency

Current Smithsonian Institution Internal Employees/Agency Employees Only may apply including current Smithsonian Institution employees with Federal career/career-conditional status or eligibility. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

The Lead Diving and Marine Safety Manager leads research diving activities worldwide for the Smithsonian Institution, and advises leadership on pertinent issues involving scientific diving including training, safety, emergency response, standards and requirements, operations, and compliance.

In this position, you will:

• Manage SI’s scientific diving and marine safety programs with responsibility for oversight of all research diving and boating operations safety worldwide under the auspices of the Institution. 
• Represent the SDCB in congressional Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sessions and hearings pertaining to Smithsonian scientific diving operations.  
• Represent SI as an institutional member in American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) to assure consistency and reciprocity of standards and certifications with other major US scientific diving programs. 
• Evaluate, advise and inform SDCB, OSHEM and the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Research (OUSSR) regarding technical and procedural matters pertaining to scientific diving. 
• Be responsible for diver training and certification. 

Conditions of employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

Selectee(s) must be able to: 

• maintain Instructor Certification from an internationally recognized scuba certification agency. Applicants must attach a copy of current diving instructor certification credentials. Failure to attach diving instructor certification credentials will result in loss of consideration.
• maintain active scientific diver status, including meeting all diving/swimming, physical
  examination and training requirements.
• pass a pre-employment drug screening. 
• pass a dive physical exam.  
• operate small boats used in field operations.
• obtain and maintain a valid Passport.
• obtain and maintain a valid Driver’s License.
• be on call after hours for urgent or emergency situations.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or degree in other related fields that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours of study from among the following (or closely related) disciplines: safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, toxicology, public health, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological sciences, engineering, and industrial psychology.

OR

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience in or related to safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.

In addition to the basic qualification requirement above:

Experience:

GS-13: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as: 

1. managing a scientific diving program to include boating and marine operations;
2. instructing scientific divers in safe diving techniques;
3. developing and reviewing scientific dive plans; and
4. conducting underwater dives in support of science, to include operating boats in support of those operations. 

Applicants must attach a copy of current diving instructor certification credentials. Failure to attach diving instructor certification credentials will result in loss of consideration.

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series (0018) and who are in a (Federal competitive or excepted service appointment) as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package. However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

How you will be evaluated

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

The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

1. Skill in managing a complex scientific diving program and the ability to lead others in performing work related to scientific research diving and boating safety programs with a focus on the natural sciences. 
2. Skill in representing management at high level meetings and hearings based on expert knowledge of scientific research diving 
   focused on natural science. 
3. Ability to communicate complex technical diving concepts and data orally and in writing.
4. Expert knowledge of safe scientific diving techniques and skill in developing curricula for scientific research diver training programs focused on natural science in order to train scientific research divers. 

BASIS OF RATING:  Once the announcement closes, your application will be evaluated and rated by a Subject Matter Expert Review Panel. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Subject Matter Expert Review Panel reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA):  If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities:  The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

• Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments
• Hiring Authorities for Veterans
• People with Disabilities

Your application package should include the following documents:

• Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), and hours worked per week, for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position. Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.
• For assistance with creating a resume, please click USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?
  
• Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, “Notice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. SI Trust employees are ineligible for Merit Promotion consideration unless you submit a Standard Form (SF) - 50, "Notice of Personnel Action", that indicates proof you previously held a 'status' position and proof of time-in-grade. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level.  Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions.  NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50’s on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50. Failure to provide the appropriate SF-50(s) may prevent you from receiving consideration for this position.  
• Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
• Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
• Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA
• Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
• Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
• Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.
• Current diving instructor certification credentials. 

Next steps