Supervisory Power System Dispatcher

Clarification from the agency

This position is only open to current Western Area Power Administration employees on a career or career-conditional competitive service appointment.

As a Supervisory Power System Dispatcher, you will:

• Assure the effective and efficient control and operation of the system for the generation and delivery of capacity and energy to customers in coordination with interconnected utilities.
• Maintain strict compliance with FERC standards of conduct, NERC Standards, Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) Standards and Operating Reliability Criteria.
• Monitor and execute real-time power system studies utilizing state estimation and advanced application tools to ensure system reliability is in a secure state.
• Ensure dispatchers have the knowledge and ability to accurately post available transfer capability on the applicable OASIS. Ensure appropriate business practices are equitably applied.
• Represent WAPA at policy and decisional meetings with Bulk Electric System utilities, industry oversight agencies such as WECC, Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO), NERC, and FERC, etc., generator operators, load serving entities, customers, etc.
• Collaborate with Managers, Transmission Business Unit staff, Operations Engineering, and Planning units, to ensure dispatchers accurately post available transfer capability on the applicable OASIS.
• Plan work to be accomplished by subordinates, set, and adjust short-term priorities, prepare schedules for completion of work, and assign work based on priorities, consideration of difficulty and requirements of assignments and the capabilities of the employee.
• Provide advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters.

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.
• Must possess and maintain a North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) certification of at least a "Balancing, Interchange and Transmission Operator" at the time of application.
• The incumbent must become qualified to work a desk in the operations control room within eleven (11) months of appointment to this position, exceptions to this must be approved by the Operations Manager.
• This position requires the ability to operate a government vehicle. The incumbent must be at least 18 years of age, able to obtain and maintain Defensive Drivers certification and have a valid state driver's license. Defensive Driver's Training will be completed upon employment.
• Testing Designated Position (TDP): The incumbent is subject to the random drug and alcohol testing program established by the Department of Energy. A negative test result will be required before an offer of employment becomes final, and the applicant selected will be subject to future random testing.
• The position requires a pre-appointment and annual physical exam at Federal expense.
• Security clearance and associated requirements- high risk/tier 4.

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-04/GS-12] in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as:

1. Providing technical expert advice and guidance on bulk electrical systems, power system dispatch principles and practices and, demonstrating power system dispatch compliance required by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) standards; AND
2. Monitoring generation and tie line data and, when necessary, adjusting generation levels or takes and/or directs appropriate action to meet interchange, load, and reserve requirements.

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.

Once the application process is complete, the first two pages of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications.

• Structured Resume Review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required competencies. SMEs will review ONLY the first two (2) pages of your resume. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Only applicants meeting or exceeding the minimum required level of proficiency will move on to the Structured Interview.

• Structured Interview Review: To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires a subject matter expert (SME) structured interview. A structured interview is an assessment method designed to measure job-related competencies of candidates by systematically inquiring about their behavior in past experiences and/or their proposed behavior in hypothetical situations. If applicable, you may be contacted to schedule an interview with the SMEs. Only applicants meeting or exceeding the minimum required level of proficiency will move forward.

The Department of Energy uses an application tracking system to evaluate the scores provided from the SME resume review and SME Structured Interview to place you into an initial quality category via OPM's rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified."

If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

• Administration and Management
• Performance Management
• Technical Credibility

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 (07/27/2026) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13006759.

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).
• North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) certification of at least a "Balancing, Interchange and Transmission Operator."
• 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.

If applicable:

• 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.
• 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