Summary

The of this position serves as the Deputy Staff Director for the Office of Railroad Safety (RRS) Hazardous Materials (HIM) Division. The Office of Safety promotes and regulates safety throughout the Nation's railroad industry.

Duties

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As a Supervisory Railroad Safety Specialist (Hazardous Materials) you will:

• Serve as the Deputy Staff Director overseeing field operations for the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Hazardous Materials (HM) Division.
• Plan, develop, coordinate, and direct programs for HM field employees in support of FRA objectives, policies, and missions.
• Provide managerial direction and technical guidance over subordinate field elements and employees.
• Serve as an advisor to the HM Staff Director on field level issues pertaining to safety related or administrative programs.

An ideal candidate for the position has strong leadership skills, sound analytical skills, and proficiency with identifying trends that can improve the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail. The candidate would have experience in leading programs involving the transportation of hazardous materials by rail, and compliance with Department of Transportation and international dangerous goods regulations. Excellent written and oral communication skills are imperative. The ability to develop and present compelling technical presentations is required.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
• You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• SUPERVISORY PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year supervisory probationary period (unless already completed).
• TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
• DRIVERS LICENSE: A state issued drivers license is required for this position.

Qualifications

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

To be qualified for a Railroad Safety Inspector, the Qualifications Standards states you MUST have demonstrated knowledge in the following areas:

• Railroad industry, including economic and operating considerations and equipment.
• General safety and health principles and practices applicabe to the railroad industry.
• Railroad accident investigation tehcniques.
• Skill in written and oral communication.
• Practical knowledge of the typical reactions of different hazardous commodities to various environmental conditions and of safe procedures for containing or controlling fires, leaks, or explosions of these materials.
• Knowledge of the construction, testing, and retesting of containers used to ship hazardous materials by rail; AND
• Knowledge of Federal regulations and standards governing the shipment of hazardous materials by rail, including containerization, loading, handling, documentation, and placarding.

To qualify for the Grade 14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include:

• Experience applying principles, procedures, regulations/policies to manage a program related to the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail.
• Experience persuading others, building consensus, and gaining cooperation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals to improve the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail.
• Experience leading, motivating, supervising and/or managing a workforce to promote a uniform understanding and accomplish organizational goals.

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. Hazardous Materials- Knowledge of hazardous materials and waste and their uses, interactions, dangers, production, handling, storge, and disposal.
2. Leadership- Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadershp styles to a variety of situations.
3. Planning and Evaluating- Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitor progress and evaluates outcomes.
4. Oral Communication- Expresses information (for example, ideas, or facts) to individuals or groups efffectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive).

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

Additional information

NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.

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.

RAILROAD STOCK: Pursuant to 5 C.F.R. Parts 2635.403 and 6001.104, all FRA employees (or spouses or minor children of FRA employees) are specifically prohibited from holding railroad stock (including shares of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. which owns 100% of BNSF), whether held outright, in an IRA, or in a 401(k) or other plan. (Employees may hold a mutual fund which invests in railroad stocks, so long as the mutual fund does not invest more than 30% of its assets in such prohibited investments.) Employees having a prohibited financial interest must divest themselves of railroad stock within 90 days after their appointment to their positions. Neither the rule against holding railroad stock, nor the divestiture period, is in any way affected by the existence of re-employment rights which employees might have with railroad companies. Nor is there any monetary threshold for applicability of the rule against ownership of railroad stock; all dollar amounts are prohibited.

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, [redacted]. 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.

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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

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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.

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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.