Summary
You will work in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Office of Railroad Safety, Office of Railroad Systems and Technology, Signal, Train Control and Crossings (STCC) Division. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)Office of Railroad Safety promotes and regulates safety throughout the Nation's railroad industry.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen.
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.
This is not a Bargaining unit position.
Duties
As a Railroad Safety Specialist, you will:
- Plan, develop, and carry out vital administrative process involved with monitoring railroad compliance with Federal Certification of Signal, Train Control and Crossings employees as described in Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 246 and produce recommendations for program correction as necessary.
- Notify the Signal, Train Control and Crossings (STCC) Deputy Staff Director (DSD) of significant issues or activities related to railroads or railroad employees that concern Part 246 Program; prescribing minimum Federal safety standards for the eligibility, training, testing, certification and monitoring of all signal employees to whom it applies.
- Serve as a sitting member of the Certification Review Board to provide summary reports and recommendations that detail the major differences between the railroad’s reason(s) for decertifying a signal employee and the signal employee’s reasons for why they should not be decertified.
- Evaluate and analyze each railroad's Part 246 Program as it is submitted and ensure that the Program is in compliance with the regulation.
- Provide guidance and expertise to Signal, Train Control and Crossings Field Operations on Part 246 compliance for assistance in maintaining compliance.
The ideal candidate for this position is a mission-focused senior-level professional with excellent communication skills that has experience providing guidance, interpretation, and enforcement of Federal Railroad Administration regulations and procedures concerning railroads located within their program area. Professional experience should also include serving as a technical expert in the areas of safety regulation development, waiver investigations, violation analysis, safety data analysis, technical training, and in the preparation of reports for public issuance.
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.
Qualifications
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.
To qualify for the Grade 14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include:
- Experience in regulatory policy and compliance programs for railroad safety to independently develop, plan and evaluate rail management.
- Experience leading and/or conducting analyses of Railroad safety statistical data and performing analytical investigations or special studies to make policy/program recommendations.
- Experience leading or advising the work of other employees.
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:
- Compliance - Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance.
- Accident Investigation- Knowledge of guidelines, regulations, and procedures associated with an Accident investigation including preservation of accident scene, root cause analysis, and evidence detection and handling.
- Organizational Performance Analysis - Knowledge of the methods, techniques, and tools used to analyze program, organizational, and mission performance; includes methods that deliver key performance information (for example, comparative, trend, diagnostic, root cause, predictive) used to inform decisions, actions, communications, and accountability systems.
- Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
- Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
- Self-Management - Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior.
For all types of consideration, 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/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4
All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
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.
For this announcement, all applicants will 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 will be referred to the selecting official.
Applicants will not be rated or ranked. Veteran’s Preference does NOT apply.
DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated by a resume. If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.
Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and was created within USA Jobs Resume Builder and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy. Formatted resumes can be uploaded when you arrive at the DOT application system. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/documents/resume/build/
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 85) 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://my.usajobs.gov.
If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: Transjobs@dot.gov
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 will evaluate your application. 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.
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