Deputy Director

Summary The position is located in the Office of Railroad, Pipeline, and Hazardous Materials Investigations. This Office is responsible for investigating, analyzing, developing, and preparing detailed reports and proposed probable cause determinations of US railroad, pipeline and hazardous materials accidents, and making related safety recommendations. The incumbent serves as the Deputy Director. Learn more about this agency Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service Resume and supporting documents (see "How to Apply" section) Suitability for Federal Employment Financial Interest in transportation enterprises will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Bargaining Unit Position: NO Direct Deposit is required Newly appointed SES members must serve a 1-year probationary period. Selectee will be required to complete and submit an Executive Personnel Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-278, prior to entering the position and annually thereafter. Security and Background Requirements Veterans preference is not applicable to the Senior Executive Service This is a Career reserved position in the Senior Executive Service (SES) All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. The critical nature of the work of this position requires the incumbent to be available 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Qualifications You must upload your responses to the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible executive leadership and supervisory experience that is indicative of senior executive level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent in the private sector. As such, your resume should demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully fulfill responsibilities inherent in most SES positions such as: - Directing the work of an organizational unit; - Ensuring the success of one or more specific major programs or projects; - Monitoring progress toward strategic organizational goals, evaluating organizational performance and taking action to improve performance; and - Supervising the work of employees; and exercising important policymaking, policy determining, or other executive functions. Failure to meet the basic qualification requirement and address all Mandatory Technical and Executive Core Qualification factors will result in your application being disqualified. EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs): The ECQs were designed to assess executive experience and potential not technical expertise. They measure whether an individual has the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions. All applicants must submit a written narrative to address the ECQs. Your narrative must address each of the 5 ECQ's separately and should contain at least two examples per ECQ describing your experiences and accomplishments/results within the last ten (10) years. The narrative should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments, policy initiatives undertaken and the results of your actions. Applicants should not enter "Refer to Resume" to explain your answer. The ECQ narrative must not exceed 10 pages overall. Please Note: Current career SES Members, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and SES candidate Development Program graduates who have been certified by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) DO NOT need to address the ECQs. ECQ 1 - Leading Change: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. (Competencies: creativity and innovation, external awareness, flexibility, resilience, strategic thinking, vision) ECQ 2 - Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organizations vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. (Competencies: conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others, team building) ECQ 3 - Results Driven: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. (Competencies: accountability, customer service, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem solving, technical credibility) ECQ 4 - Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. (Competencies: financial management, human capital management, technology management) ECQ 5 - Building Coalitions: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. (Competencies: partnering, political savvy, influencing/negotiating) Fundamental Competencies: These competencies are the foundation for success in each of the Executive Core Qualifications: Interpersonal Skills, Oral Communication, Continual Learning, Written Communication, Integrity/Honesty, Public Service Motivation. The Fundamental Competencies are crosscutting; and should be addressed over the course of each ECQ narratives. It is not necessary for you to address the Fundamental Competencies directly as long as the narrative, in its totality, shows mastery of these competencies on the whole. Applicants must utilize the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) Model when writing Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ). Use two examples of relevant experience within the past 10 years for each ECQ being sure your experience matches the ECQ criteria. Challenge - Describe a specific problem or goal. Context - Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale). Action - Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge. Result - Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills. Please refer to OPM's Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications to assist you in writing an effective SES application. In particular, please note to use the Challenge-Context-Action-Result Model when drafting ECQ narrative responses. The Guide is available on OPM's Website at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf. MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (MTQs): All applicants must submit written narrative response to the following MTQs. You must address each MTQ separately. Each MTQ narrative must not exceed two (2) pages. Please give examples and explain the complexity of the knowledge possessed and the sensitivity of the issue you handled. if you fail to do so, you will be rated as ineligible. MTQ 1- Demonstrated leadership within an organization that directs safety operations, support, and innovation and/or policy or program development related to transportation safety concerning railroads, pipelines, or the transportation of hazardous materials. MTQ 2- : Demonstrated experience and knowledge of principles, practices and technologies used in the transportation industry (e.g., engineering, operations, technologies and regulations related to railroad, pipeline, or other modes of transportation, including the transportation of hazardous materials) sufficient to provide oversight of safety investigations. Education There are no educational requirements for this position. Additional information NOTE: for Current and/or Former Political Appointees: Effective January 1, 2010, OPM must authorize any employment offers we make to current or former (within the last 5 years) political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES (political) employees in the executive branch. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you must disclose that to the Human Resources Office. Salary: NTSB structures its SES positions into tiers/categories to determine the minimum pay for each position. This is a Tier/Category 2 position. The minimum pay for this position is $147,649 pa and the maximum is $216,240 pa. SES employees are also eligible to receive performance-based bonus and pay increases. Visit http://www.opm.gov/ses/ for additional information and benefits for SES employees. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. A variety of work life amenities are offered such as alternate work schedules, telework, flextime, fitness benefits and transit benefits. Moving expenses associated with permanent change of station (PCS) are not authorized for this position. If you left Federal Employment and received a buy out and you are selected for this position, you may be required to repay the full amount of the payment. The National Transportation Safety Board provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the National Transportation Safety Board directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Read more 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 window Learn more about federal 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.