Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current Southeastern Power Administration employees on a career or career-conditional competitive service appointment. DOE employees retiring from either the OPM or DOE Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) are not eligible to apply for this announcement. DRP retirement participants are not considered active DOE employees because they have agreed to separate from the agency.

As a Senior Power System Dispatcher, you will:

• Ensure the coordination of deployment of Balancing Area resources and that the dispatch and delivery of capacity and energy from the projects is coordinated with interconnected utilities, scheduling entities, customers, Corps of Engineers (COE) projects, Districts, and Division personnel over a wide range of system operations and all other varied operating parameters.
• Develop operating criteria, guidelines, and operating procedures for the daily activities of power project operations and coordinate with the accounting and billing functions assigned to project operations, which entail recording, classifying, and reporting all power deliveries of the Southeastern Power Administration.
• Develop solutions and make recommendations to the Assistant Administrator for problems and procedures that arise in connection with the operation of the projects and affected river basins.
• Be responsible for the overall direction of assigned projects and real-time shift operations by planning and organizing work within the four power marketing systems of SEPA which covers an 11-state area.
• Develop and coordinate the training plans and work schedules for the power system dispatchers that staff a 24-hour/7 days per week, Power Operation Center at SEPA. Senior Dispatchers ensure adequate staffing is available to handle all system operating contingencies.
• Be responsible for ensuring that adequate transmission is available within the Eastern Interconnection to accomplish power delivery schedules, with transmission secured by purchase or by use of SEPA's contracted network transmission arrangements.
• Perform special assignments, tasks, and provide support to Power Resources Division as requested, to ensure the Southeastern successfully fulfills its power delivery obligations. Assist in the study and evaluation of proposed operation of power plants, and other studies and calculations related to safe, efficient and reliable operation of the power system.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period. Employees serving on a probationary or trial period may be terminated at any time during the probationary or trial period for performance, conduct, or business-related reasons in the interest of Federal service.
• Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications.
• In accordance with Executive Order 14170, applicants are encouraged to respond to the four short, free-response, essay questions in the questionnaire. Answers to these questions are not scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration.
• This position requires irregular work schedules and/or shift work. The incumbent may be required to work rotating shifts, nights, weekends, and/or holidays due to the full-time staffing (24/7) of the Operations Center. In order to meet the continuous staffing requirement, occasionally work schedule revisions on short notice are required.
• This position is subject to the random drug-testing program established by the Department of Energy.
• The incumbent must be at least 18 years of age and able to obtain and maintain Defensive Driver's certifications and have a valid state driver's license.
• The duties of this position may require the incumbent to be placed in a 24/7 on-call status during emergencies. The incumbent is required to reside within 1-hour response time of the assigned duty station.
• Overtime may be required on short notice to include nights, holidays and weekends in support of related mission requirements.
• This position is designated as Emergency Essential.
• Incumbent must be a NERC Certified Power System Operator at the Balancing, Interchange and Transmission System Operator level and maintaining current certification is a condition of continued employment.

Qualifications

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level [AD-03/GS-11] in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as experience in at least ONE of the following:

1. Power system operator experience, equivalent to the AD-3 level, with centralized SCADA/EMS control and decision-making responsibilities to maintain adherence to NERC reliability standards for power systems with 100 kV or higher voltage power generating and transmission systems interconnected to other utilities, or
2. Analyzing power generating and transmission data to develop real-time and next-day power operations plans, administering energy tag requests in accordance with applicable business practices, including those of entities for which tagging services are provided, or
3. Initiating actions to restore a 100 kV or higher voltage system to normal and evaluating transmission outages, either scheduled or forced, to determine their effect on scheduling and makes changes, delays, or cancellations as appropriate.

Time-in-Grade: Current career or career-conditional GS employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional GS employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to current career or career-conditional federal employees applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications.

How you will be evaluated

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

• Developing Others
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Technical Competence

All qualified Non-competitive applicants and the best qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified".

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (11/21/2025) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12829406.

To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes:

• Your two (2) page RESUMEshowing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of the each employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).
• Current Federal employees: Most recent non-award SF-50 (Standard Form 50 - Notice of Personnel Action). To properly verify status eligibility, your SF-50 must show the following. If you do not submit an appropriate SF-50, we cannot verify your status eligibility.
  • Full position title;
  • appointment type;
  • occupational series;
  • pay plan, grade, and step;
  • tenure code; and
  • service computation date (SCD).
  • If your current position SF50 does not indicate you have competitive service status or does not reflect the pay plan and grade of the highest position you have held in the competitive service, in addition to your current SF50, you must provide your previous SF-50s that provide the proof of competitive status and highest grade held on a permanent basis. . If you do not submit an appropriate SF-50, we cannot verify your status eligibility.

Submit one or more of the following to support your eligibility(s) to apply to this job announcement:

• Veterans: DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active duty members- certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCOC website for VOW information.
• Individuals with Disabilities: Schedule A letter from a physician, local, state or federal rehabilitation office citing your eligibility under 5 CFR 213.3102 (u). For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center.
• Certain Military Spouses: Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders authorizing you to accompany the Military member to the new duty permanent station; OR verification of the member's 100% disability (VA Letter); and/or verification of the member's death while on active duty (DD-1300 and Death Certificate) AND verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage). For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center.
• Other non-competitive or special appointing authorities: provide documentation which supports your eligibility.
• Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable(e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.) For more information see the OPM Guide to Career Transition.

Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Next steps