Clarification from the agency

See Requirements section of this announcement for information on who may apply. Note: Please be advised that federal retired annuitant candidates may only be considered as a temporary employee if the role can be filled in that capacity.

Supervisory and Managerial Responsibilities

• Supervises the staff of the division through subordinate supervisors. Performs administrative and technical supervisory functions for subordinates. Assigns duties and evaluates performance. Manages the organizational unit’s budget and workload. Develops performance requirements for subordinates and ensures a mutual understanding of the performance standards.
• Develops work improvement plans for subordinates. Provides advice and counsel to subordinates on administrative and technical work matters. 

Garden and Grounds Leadership

• Provides professional leadership of subordinate supervisors and team leaders of Urban Forester, Plant Health Care Specialist, Turfgrass Management Specialists, Certified Arborists, Horticulturists, Gardeners, and other plant science specialists. Outlines overall responsibilities, makes assignments, sets priorities and provides professional, technical and administrative advice and assistance as required. Plans organizational structure and staffing needs, determines types of jobs required and assigns duties to key subordinate positions. 
• Directs the work of  the Plant Health Care Specialist to ensure optimum health of the living collection. Responsible to mitigate plant pests throughout our urban landscape and collaborates with federal agencies to monitor exotic and potentially devastating invasive species. 
• Oversees the development and execution of the CGA arboretum program including specimens of historical significance. Responsible for directing work of the Urban Forester and coordinating work prioritization and work execution of over 4,800 trees to maintain health and safety. 
• Directs the work of the Turfgrass Management Specialists and the turf team. Prioritizes work and plans budget and resource needs. Coordinates maintenance tasks between the Turfgrass Management Specialists and the Supervisory Horticulturist. 
• Analyzes long-range needs, unusual problems or unusual questions affecting the operations and maintenance of the Capitol gardens and grounds. 

Contract Administration

• Advises the Deputy Executive Director on the use of outside contractors when that is the most reasonable course of action to accomplish specific aspects of a job or an entire work project that cannot be performed by AOC staff.  
• Serves as a Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) for designated contracts. 
• Evaluates employee and contractor performance in meeting operational requirements, contract requirements and core processes. 
• Performs technical oversight and support to contract workers and others assigned to projects by ensuring that plans, blueprints, materials and other tools required are available and by obtaining needed information and decisions from the supervisory engineer, landscape architect or other technical staff. 

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Maintains a DC pesticide applicator license in categories III – A, B & C, (3A) exterior ornamental plants, (3B) interior plant-scapes and/or (3C) turf grass, dependent upon the pesticides used.

**This position is considered "essential". Reporting to work during emergencies and inclement weather situations is required.****

Conditions of employment

• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• You must meet education requirements at the time of application.
• Maintains a DC pesticide license in categories III – A, B & C.

To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below:

• A citizen of the United States;
• A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B);
• A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible;
• A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or
• A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States.

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, an applicant's one full year of specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

To qualify at the GS-14 level, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-13 level in the federal service. Examples of qualifying experience include the following types of tasks performed on a regular and recurring basis:

• Performing administrative and technical supervision of subordinate staff in the performance of gardening and grounds maintenance and repair work to include staffing levels, performance management, training and development and organization and position management;
• Providing guidance and managing maintenance programs for a public gardens that include seasonal horticultural displays and landscape preservations;
• Performing gardening work, including estimating material and labor costs for a variety of landscape projects, directing actual work operations and maintaining contact with the organization funding the project; and
• Serving as a Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) or equivalent.

How you will be evaluated

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

Review your resume and responses carefully. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions.  

Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for this position, possession of any specialized experience, and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement. 

The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies:

Horticultural Sciences - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and practices of plant collections, characteristics, and nomenclature.

Contracting Management - Knowledge of various types of contracts, techniques, or requirements for contract negotiation and administration.

Landscape Management - Knowledge of the concepts, theories, and practices used in the planning, designing, construction, and adaptation of outdoor features, recreation planning, requirements, aesthetic value, and compatibility with other plant developments and resources.

Ability to organize and direct horticultural projects, set priorities and deadlines to meet established goals and objectives.

Your responses to the self assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating.  You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions.  Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. 

Your resume must support your answers to the self assessment questions.  Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or disqualification for further consideration. 

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).

The Architect of the Capitol's job application process is designed to ensure that we only ask you for the information that is absolutely needed to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility for the position.

To apply for this position, you only need to submit online the following: a) your resume and 2) answer the online vacancy assessment questionnaire. The online questionnaire contains eligibility and screening questions and other relevant supplemental information. No additional documentation or attachment is required at the time of application. 

We ask that you prepare and submit a resume that best describes fully your background experience, skills, abilities, education, training and other relevant credentials. The resume should include dates of employment.

Nothing further is required until it is requested by the staff of the Human Capital Management Division. If additional documentation is required for a position, you will be asked to provide it during the selection process or upon selection. At that point, we may ask you to submit documentation to support statements made in your resume.

For example, we may ask you to provide documents such as college transcripts, copy of diploma or proof of Federal employment status. If the position requires a license or certification, we will ask candidate(s) to provide proof at the time of selection.

If you are claiming veterans' preference, we may ask you to submit proof of Veterans preference (DD-214, and, if claiming 10-point preference, the SF-15 plus proof required by that form).

If you fail to provide the required documents, we will withdraw a tentative job offer made and/or remove you from further consideration.

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