Duties
The responsibilities of the NSF program director are constantly evolving. The program director is guided by the goals of NSF's Strategic Plan: (1) enable the United States to uphold a position of world leadership in all aspects of science, mathematics, and engineering, (2) promote the discovery, integration, dissemination, and employment of new knowledge in service to society, and (3) achieve excellence in U.S. science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education at all levels. The core strategies NSF staff employ include developing intellectual capital, strengthening the physical infrastructure, integrating research and education, and promoting partnerships.
Responsibilities of the program director include, for example, long-range planning and budget development for the areas of science represented by the program or program cluster, the administration of the merit review process and proposal recommendations, the preparation of press releases, feature articles and material describing advances in the research supported, and
coordination and liaison with other programs in NSF, other Federal agencies and organizations.
The primary duties of the IC Program Officer are programmatic management, planning, and oversight of facilities.
The incumbent will:
- Participates in all aspects of oversight of facilities in the Infrastructure Cluster, including NCAR and geospace facilities. Monitors the performance of the managing organization as required by a cooperative agreement, if applicable.
- Establishes divisional practices and processes for facilities oversight. Establishes standard procedures for tracking programmatic and financial information in coordination with program facilities managers and division managers.
- Assists with environmental compliance processes associated with facilities.
- Participates in the review of program plans for facilities and large projects and provides support on project management and financial aspects of program oversight, i.e., environmental reviews, audits, etc.
- Prepares funding actions for the facilities in consultation with the facilities program manager and maintain schedules for funds distribution to the facilities' managing organizations.
- Documents and tracks the implementation of decisions and action items resulting from meetings of various oversight, advisory, and review committees, keeping project partners and committee members informed as appropriate and expediting matters requiring urgent action.
- Organizes the appropriate advisory apparatus for reviews, evaluations, and findings as needed for project initiation, project performance, and the competition or renewal of the cooperative agreement (in collaboration with the facilities program managers). Prepares documentation for cooperative agreement amendments and renewal activities.
- Schedules, tracks, and prepares Directors Review Board (DRB) and NSB documents for the facilities and large projects. Evaluates the non-scientific and non-programmatic aspects of the program- and long-range plans for the facilities.
- Evaluates program budgets considering past, present, and future years' experiences, and projections, allocations and resource distributions within that budget, and post-award evaluation.
- Prepares financial and other programmatic information for inclusion in budget requests in support of Division management and facilities program managers. Maintains tracking schedule for budget submissions.
- Maintains permanent records on cloud and shared network drives, ensuring all required documentation is received, reviewed, and properly recorded. Develop and maintain new policies, and procedures as necessary to ensure compliance and completeness.
- Assists AGS management and facilities POs in preparing presentations and updates to advisory committees, NSF management, the National Science Board (NSB), and the scientific community.
- Conducts analyses concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of substantive facility program operations- gathers, analyzes, and presents data for further analysis utilizing research trends and results tracking to inform policy related to scientific content.
- Assists POs, and GEO and AGS leadership in all technical aspects of preparing for facility site visits, interfaces with other Divisions/Directorates/NSF Office of the Director (OD) and external partners to plan and coordinate outreach/site visit activities.
- Assists AGS management and facilities POs in preparing presentations and updates to advisory committees, NSF management, the National Science Board (NSB), and the scientific community.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
This position is outside the competitive civil service.
You must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
All online applicants must provide a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full/blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
This position is in the bargaining unit represented by AFGE Local 3403.
The Selected Candidate(s) may be subject to a background investigation.
Qualifications
Candidates must have a Ph.D. in an appropriate field plus after award of the Ph.D., six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position; OR a Master's degree in an appropriate field plus after award of the degree, eight or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position.
Appropriate fields include atmospheric sciences, geospace sciences, earth system sciences, environmental sciences, facilities operations or a closely related field.
A commitment to high scientific standards, considerable breadth of scientific interest and receptivity to new ideas. Also necessary are a strong sense of fairness, good judgment, and a high degree of personal integrity and ethics, decisiveness, and an ability to effectively lead individuals and teams across a variety of institutional cultures within Federal and state government agencies, legislative bodies, and private sector organizations.
Education
Please refer to the Qualifications section.
If your degree was obtained from a foreign institution, please also submit the certification from the Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals, or certification equivalency.
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.
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.
You will be evaluated on the extent and quality of your experience, expertise, education, and research activities relevant to the duties of the position. In some cases, additional assessment processes may also be used. We strongly encourage you to specifically address the Quality Ranking Factors below. This will ensure that you receive full consideration in the evaluation process.
Quality Ranking Factors
- Demonstrated understanding of the mission and goals of NSF, how NSF interacts with the scientific community, and the role of AGS facilities in supporting research and education in atmospheric and related sciences.
- Proven expertise in managing large research-related projects and/or programs, including strategic planning, development of budgets and schedules, resource management, identification and mitigation of risk, and program evaluation.
- Proven expertise in financial management and oversight associated with contracts and/or cooperative agreements.
- Demonstrated ability to cooperate and work effectively across organizational and disciplinary boundaries.
- Demonstrated research, analytical, and technical writing skills that evidence the ability to perform extensive inquiry into a wide range of significant issues related to research programs and scientific centers and facilities and make recommendations based on findings.
How to Apply
Applicants must complete and submit an application online at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) USAJOBS website at https://www.USAJOBS.gov. An account must be established at the OPM website following the instructions provided in order to apply for the position. Once you have completed the USAJOBS process, you will be re-directed to the USA Staffing system to complete your application process, answer the online questions, and submit all required documents. Applications submitted other than the USAJOBS online application WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED under this announcement.
- Your application and all supporting documents must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. Applicants applying online for this position will be able to apply until 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. Please allow adequate time to complete your application.
-If you encounter technical difficulties during the process, please submit a USA Staffing Help Ticket for assistance. If you have technical difficulties applying to the vacancy on the USAJOBS website, click on Contact USAJOBS. It is suggested that you do not wait until the last day to apply for a vacancy announcement. We will not accept applications other than those submitted through USAJOBS.
- As the applicant, it is your responsibility to verify that information entered, uploaded, and submitted is received and is accurate. Ensure that your application includes the required documents listed under "Required Documents" and that they are uploaded in the appropriate fields.
- If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of this application and hiring process, please notify the point of contact on this job opportunity announcement.
IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OR DATE OF BIRTH ON YOUR APPLICATION DOCUMENTS.
WARNING! Applications submitted online must have a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full or blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
Next steps
You may check the status of your application at any time on the USAJOBS website
Applicants should click 'Track this Application' in the Applicant Dashboard to receive application updates.