Clarification from the agency

Open to current and former Federal employees with competitive status, VEOA Applicants.

The Senior Strategy and Governance Advisor serves as the primary executive liaison for the integration of high-assurance federal mandates within the Department’s digital landscape. The incumbent is responsible for aligning IT decision-making structures with agency priorities, federal security standards, and mission-critical needs and ensuring that DOT strategic plans are synchronized with interagency threat assessments to safeguard the resilience and continuity of national transportation infrastructure. In addition, the incumbent provides authoritative expertise in planning, establishing, and enhancing IT governance models and strategic frameworks that drive modernization, investment accountability, and the protection of digital assets vital to the U.S. economy and national safety.

Primary responsibilities also include:

• Strategic Planning and Enterprise Alignment: Operationalizes and leads the implementation and refinement of the Department’s IT strategic plans, ensuring alignment with Department mission goals, enterprise risk posture, and federal IT mandates;
• IT Governance Design and Execution: Supports, evaluates, and improves governance structures and processes that guide IT capital planning, digital service delivery, and the resilience of Departmental High-Assurance Systems;
• Stakeholder Engagement and Executive Communication: Serves as senior liaison to internal and external stakeholders, including mission executives, the CFO, CAO, OMB, and Congressional staff. Prepares strategic briefings, decision memos, and reports on behalf of the CDIO to support high-level governance and oversight; and
• IT Investment and Portfolio Advisory: Advises on enterprise-level IT capital planning and investment control (CPIC) processes, evaluating the risk profiles of investments vital to the safety of national transit networks.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
• You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• DRUG TESTING: Tentatively selected candidates are required to undergo urinalysis in accordance with DOT 3910.1D entitled "Drug and Alcohol-Free Departmental Workplace", which includes testing for marijuana. Marijuana is legal in some states, however it’s still illegal at the federal level. Therefore, if selected for the position you will be required to submit to a pre-employment/pre-appointment drug test, you will also be subject to Random Drug Testing.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

Qualifications

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the Technical Qualifications (MTQs) related to this position within your resume - NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES. Resumes over the 2-page limit, will not be reviewed beyond page 2 or may be disqualified. Your resume should include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualification(s). If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position.

To be considered for this Senior Leader position, you must have at least one year of equal or equivalent experience to the GS15, which includes:

• MTQ 1: Demonstrated ability to effectively lead IT strategy formulation and implementation that aligns with mission needs, enhances performance, and anticipates future trends.
• MTQ 2: Demonstrated effectiveness in advising C-suite leaders on “sensitive” and “classified” strategic initiatives, engaging with OMB and Congress oversight entities, and producing high-impact communications that shape decision-making.

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

Your application will be reviewed in two phases determine how you move forward in the hiring process.  Phase I: Your resume will be reviewed to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. ONLY two (2) pages of your resume will be reviewed. Additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume) will not be reviewed.  Applicants passing “Phase I” will move on to the “Phase II” of the assessment process where your application will be reviewed and rated based on the KSAs/Competencies listed in the vacancy announcement by a Subject Matter Expert (SME).

RESUME: In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application.  These should be legible and in a readable font size. A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages. 

Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time, or average number of hours worked per week,  and position titles.  If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level.  The resume should show relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience.

A complete application includes items described below. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

Please carefully review the following list to determine what documentation you need to submit. Some documents may not apply to all applicants.

• RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume limited to two (2) pages (i.e., 1 page that is double-sided or 2 pages that are one-sided each) showing all relevant experience. Applicants seeking initial career appointment to the Senior Level (SL) must include evidence of the MTQs. PLEASE DO NOT USE USAJOBS RESUME BUILDER.
• FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit SF-50(s) that verify your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant.  DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50.  Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks’ time-in-grade requirements. https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/service/sf-50
• NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.
• 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 80) 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

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Most recent performance evaluation.

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.

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