Supervisory Community Planner - DIRECT HIRE Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. FTA.TPE-2025-0004 Department Federal Transit Administration
Salary $163,964.00 to $191,900.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/13/2024 Close Date 12/19/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

This position is in FTA’s Office of Capital Project Development and serves as the CIG Program Development Division Chief, and oversees development of policy guidance, annual report on funding recommendations and future funding projections, land use and economic development analysis, project and program technical assistance and training, program data analysis and tracking, financial analysis and reviews, and tool development to assist in obtaining reliable information for decision-making.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Due to the potential of a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration. 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.

Duties

As a Supervisory Community Planner, you will:

  • Supervise and direct a professional interdisciplinary staff in the management, monitoring, analyses, and evaluations of FTA’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) and Expedited Project Development (EPD) Pilot Program projects, including the facilitation of technical assistance and information exchange among FTA Regional and Headquarters offices and project sponsors.
  • Supervise and direct a professional interdisciplinary staff in CIG and EPD Pilot Program project and policy development, and procedural guidance. Policy development may take the form of CIG Policy Guidance, as required by law, reporting instructions or informal guidance and best practices to the FTA Regional Offices or project sponsors, new or revised Federal regulations, or legislative or budget proposals.
  • Ensure, within budget and staffing limitations, the effective development and soundness of FTA’s CIG and EPD Pilot Program and advise FTA leadership regarding program needs. Identify opportunities for process improvements, including tool development.

The specific duties of the position that will be filled through this announcement:

  • The incumbent oversees the development of regulations, policy guidance, reporting instructions, training programs; review of financial, land use and economic development analyses; and development of other materials to ensure compliance with FTA CIG program requirements and good planning and project development practices. This includes preparation of an annual report to Congress on the CIG discretionary program and the recommended allocation of Section 5309 funds.
  • The incumbent oversees the response to requests for information on the CIG program from FTA decision-makers, the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Management and Budget, Congress, GAO, OIG, and the media. Conducts and prepares executive level briefings to Departmental (OST) Officials, Congressional Staff and Congressional Members on the overall program on a routine basis.
  • In coordination with other supervisory in the Office of Capital Project Development, the incumbent ensures corporate consistency in administering the CIG program, and provides assistance to transit agencies, state DOTs, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and other FTA offices as needed. This assistance includes explaining CIG program requirements related to the development and analysis of transportation alternatives; planning and environmental linkages; travel demand forecasting; estimation of operating costs; land use and site planning; financial analysis; and FTA project evaluation.

The ideal candidate for this position is a senior-level professional who has technical experience in FTA’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program related laws, regulations, CIG Policy Guidance, all project evaluation criteria, but specifically land use, economic development, and finance, and has experience managing a team of professional interdisciplinary staff. 

Candidates must have the skill and experience working collaboratively and productively with individuals of diverse backgrounds and experiences; organizational and management skills; and the ability to handle multiple, competing priorities, issues, and projects simultaneously. Candidates must also be skilled and confident in effectively discussing complex and sensitive materials and topics to an array of audiences, such as executive leaders, members of Congress, project sponsors and industry organizations.

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.
  • BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • SECURITY CLEARANCE: Varies by position.  If applicable, you must be able to obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance of the position to which appointed.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • SUPERVISORY PROBATIONARY PERIOD: New supervisors must complete a 1-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY:  This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework.  The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework 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 15, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-14, it must include:

  • Experience with Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program and/or Expedited Project Development (EPD) Pilot Program, and related Federal laws, regulations, CIG Policy Guidance and evaluation and rating procedures. 
  • Experience managing systems and processes for control of fiscal (including project costs), human and technological resources to assure accomplishment of capital projects and assigned tasks. 
  • Experience in leading and managing a multidisciplinary team in developing, implementing, and administering capital projects, including legislation development, rulemakings, policy-makings, and guidance documents.

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:

  • Leadership - Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations. 
  • Technical Credibility - Understands and appropriately applies principles, procedures, requirements, Federal laws, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise.
  • Compliance - Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance.
  • 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.
  • Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. 


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.

Education

Degree:  In community planning; or related field such as urban affairs, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, sociology, geography, economics, political science, or public administration that included at least 12 semester hours in the planning process, socioeconomic and physical elements of planning, urban and regional economic analysis, and development finance.

Note: Applicants with degrees in related fields, such as those listed above, who do not have the 12 semester hours of specified course work must have had at least 1 year of work experience in community planning acquired under the supervision and guidance of a community planner.

OR

Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in one of the above disciplines, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the above disciplines of which at least 12 semester hours were in the planning process, and socioeconomic and physical elements of planning, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Additional information

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation 

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.

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.

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. 

All applicants:  For this announcement, applicants may 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 may be referred to the selecting official.

Applicants will not be rated or ranked.  Veteran’s Preference does NOT apply.

Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. 


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

RESUME:  Your resume MUST contain specific information used to make a qualification determination that includes 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. Formatted resumes may be uploaded later in the application process. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit:  https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to

TRANSCRIPTS are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. 

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.

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://help.usajobs.gov/

If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at:  Transjobs@dot.gov

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. If you require an accommodation or other assistance to apply online, please notify the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: Transjobs@dot.gov. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the interview process, please notify the Office of Human Resources, Staffing and Classification Division, via email at FTAStaffing@dot.gov.

Agency contact information

Automated Staffing Office
Address
DOT, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States
Learn more about this agency

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 may evaluate your application. If evaluated, 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.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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