Supervisory Transportation Specialist - DIRECT HIRE Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. FTA.TSO-2025-0011 Department Federal Transit Administration
Salary $167,603.00 to $195,200.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 7/31/2025 Close Date 8/14/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

Positions are located in the Office of Transit Safety & Oversight, the Office of Safety Oversight and Compliance.  The incumbent will serve as the Chief of the Safety Enforcement D&A Compliance Division, or Chief of The Safety Oversight Division.

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

The Safety Enforcement D&A Compliance supervisor:

  • Provide strategic direction in reviewing, overseeing, and maintaining transit safety policy compliance
  • Will oversee and provide direction on critical safety matters and oversight activities of State Safety Oversight (SSO) Programs and Rail Transit Agencies (RTAs).
  • Provides management and direction for safety oversight activities to include the development of regulatory documents to implement immediate safety actions, inspections, investigations, and corrective action plans

The Safety Oversight supervisor:

  • Oversee management and program support work, such as planning, budgeting, research, analysis, monitoring and tracking, correspondence control, communication, and coordination to support safety requirements. Assign work and provide leadership in program and project management, analysis, communication, decision-making, and time-management.
  • Manage safety technical assistance, including guidance and compliance monitoring activities for state safety oversight program.
  • Represents FTA through external stakeholder coordination and information sharing and oversees the preparation and delivery of safety program information through presentations to FTA executive leadership and external audiences.

The ideal candidate is self-motivated, has demonstrated knowledge and expertise involving transit or transportation safety, technical standards, possesses sound, safety experience, or regulatory work experience that includes researching, analyzing, compiling data or regulatory information, documenting findings of field inspection compliance procedures and specifications. The ideal candidate has strong analytical and communication skills. The ideal candidate can manage projects and work cooperatively with stakeholders and direct reports to improve safety.

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.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • 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).

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience qualifications.

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 managing, planning, scheduling, and executing major projects concerned with the development and implementation of rail safety compliance and enforcement activities.
  • Experience implementing safety program criteria for safety oversight reviews based on federal regulations.
  • Experience coordinating and integrating important and complex program segments that have substantial effect on safety and compliance programs.
  • Experience planning and assigning work to be accomplished by subordinates, setting and adjusting short-term priorities, prepares schedules for completion of work, develops performance standards and evaluates work performance of subordinate employees.

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:

  1. Strategic Thinking - Formulates effective strategies consistent with the business and competitive strategy of the organization in a global economy. Examines policy issues and strategic planning with a long-term perspective. Determines objectives and sets priorities; anticipates potential threats or opportunities.
  2. Leadership - Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations.
  3. Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including costs and limits.

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.

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.

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.

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: 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. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit:  https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to

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

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

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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