Transportation Specialist - Direct Hire Job

Vacancy No. FHWA.BIL-2024-0020 Department Federal Highway Administration
Salary $143,736.00 to $191,900.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 5/22/2024 Close Date 11/22/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Juneau, AKWasilla, AKMontgomery, ALLittle Rock, AR


Summary

This position is responsible for developing and implementing transportation policies and programs and providing technical guidance on regulations, policies, strategic planning and coordination of programs and affiliated initiatives and activities.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

This announcement serves as a Direct Hire Public Notice to gather resumes. Applications will be accepted from All U.S. Citizens under Direct Hire Authority. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy. This is not a Bargaining unit position.

Duties

As a Transportation Specialist, you will:

  • Provide advice on program and policy issues that involve all areas under the responsibility of program office. Advise senior management on actions which may be taken to improve internal and external program operations as indicated by changes in legislation, regulation, and policy.
  • Exercise significant responsibility over program activities to include performance planning, strategic planning and program planning and development. Ensures objectives are fulfilled and completed plans are consistent with the Agency’s mission, goals and objectives.
  • Analyze and provide expert advice to staff on existing and proposed transportation and related legislation and regulations that may the program office, including participation in work groups such as the policy review teams.
  • Lead and direct an organized and systematic approach for communicating business goals and objectives to all employees and for monitoring progress towards long and short-range goals and objectives.
  • Conduct analyses on legislative or management issues and provide recommendations to senior management on the most effective course of action.
  • Advise internal and external partners, as well as top leadership on issues of developing, communicating, and enhancing the program office. Conduct special project and initiatives to support the mission of the program office.

The ideal candidate is a mid to senior level professional who functions independently and demonstrates leadership in team environments and/or managing people. The ideal candidate also has strong analytical, strategic planning, and communication skills. Experience in analyzing and providing recommendations for improvement of transportation policy and an ability to meet organizational goals is desirable.

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.
  • POSITION SENSITIVITY AND RISK: Varies by position and will be based on the position to which appointed.
  • 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.
  • PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required. 
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: Varies by position. If applicable, the applicant selected is required to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: Travel will vary by position. If the position requires travel, a government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • TOUR RENEWAL/HOME LEAVE: Tour renewal and home leave may be offered based on location and position/selection and a service agreement may be required.
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY:  If approved for occasional telework, you will be required to report to the office on a regular basis. The number of telework days approved is determined by the agency policy, emergency situations, the approval of your immediate supervisor, and if applicable, approval of additional officials.
  • REMOTE WORK: This position may be eligible for remote work. If selected for a remote work position, you must have access to high speed internet and cell phone service meeting current agency standards from the approved work location within the Contiguous United State and sign a remote work agreement.

Qualifications

For the 2101 series, specialized experience that demonstrated a knowledge of the transportation function(s) of the position to be filled is required.

To determine if you may be eligible, review the following grade specific details.  You will be asked a few questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume or you may be deemed ineligible.  

For the GS-15:You qualify for this grade level if you have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-14 grade level, which included: 

  • Experience providing oversight or technical assistance to a multidisciplinary team or organizational offices; AND 
  • Experience developing multimodal transportation products and documents; AND
  • Experience coordinating with Federal, State, local or other professional transportation organizations.

You cannot qualify on education at grades GS-12 and above, you must meet the specialized experience for the grade, which is cited above.

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. Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including costs and limits.
  2. Leadership - Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations.
  3. Technical Credibility - Understands and appropriately applies principles, procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise.
  4. Compliance - Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance.
  5. 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 presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. 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

Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information

Telework availability will be based upon the mission requirements and supervisory determination.

Remote work is an arrangement in which an employee works at an alternative worksite (e.g., from home) and is not expected to report to the office to work. Remote work location will be determined upon/after selection and may affect locality pay. 

The difference in salary is determined by the locality pay in each location. Salaries for all areas are available on the OPM website at:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2023/general-schedule/

Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowances: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/nonforeign-areas/#url=COLA-Rates

If applicable, the agency has the option of extending a term appointment up to the 4-year limit.

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.

Given our continuing need for professionals in this field, we will routinely review applications and refer candidates for potential interviews multiple times during the open period of the announcement. 

When an applicant list is requested for specific location(s) and grade(s), all applications received by that request date for the requested location(s)/grade(s) will be reviewed to determine if the basic qualifications for this position, and grades applied to, are met.  Applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official(s) for further review and consideration. From that point on the selecting official determines all aspects of the hiring process. If they wish to contact you for an interview or for selection, they will do so directly. Equal consideration will be given to all applications received.

Note that applications received under a direct hire public notice may or may not result in a referral or selection. Also, management has the discretion to select at any grade level announced covered by public notice.

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC.  WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.  All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated by a resume.  Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support the noted grade specific specialized experience and your answers.  If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and was created within USA Jobs Resume Builder and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy. Formatted resumes can be uploaded when you arrive at the DOT application system. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit:  https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/documents/resume/build/
DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition. 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 85 or falling in the Gold Category)  and provide all of the following documents:  1) your most recent performance appraisal, 2) the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and 3) your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.

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://my.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 HIGHWAY 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

Your application status will be updated online when applicable and you will be notified by email.

A final status update will be made when the vacancy closes. Note that there is no guarantee that your application will be reviewed under this vacancy, it depends on when and how often the selecting official(s) request to use this public notice for specific location(s) and grade(s).

Additional Locations


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


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