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Physical Scientist (Environmental)/Environmental Engineer

Environmental Protection Agency
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in Region 5, Superfund & Emergency Management Division, Operations Management Branch, Contract Management Section in Chicago, IL. For more information on this office, visit their website:  Region 5 Webpage.

Except in special circumstances, those new to the federal government will be hired at the starting salary (step 1) of the applicable grade range listed above.


If selected, you must work at the location stated in this announcement.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
03/06/2019 to 03/12/2019
Salary
$55,905 to - $72,677 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 09
Location
Chicago, IL
2 vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be required to travel 1 - 5 days per month.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
CI-R5-DE-2019-0015
Control number
526386200

Duties

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At the entry level of this position, you will:

- Serve as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) under the guidance and direction of one or more senior CORs for ordering and managing work for one or more Superfund contacts and/or interagency agreements.

- Provide professional knowledge of engineering and technical practice under the guidance and direction of one or more senior CORs for the solution of common problems encountered during hazardous site assessment and remediation.

- Assist in the monitoring of cost, management and overall technical performance of the contract, task order or interagency agreement.

You will spend more than 50% of your work time on contracts, grants/cooperative agreements, and/or interagency agreements.

When entering a Federal job at a grade level lower than the highest promotion potential level, you may be promoted to more complex duties and work more independently, as your career progresses.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
  • You must submit a resume and required documents (see How to Apply section).
  • You must be a U.S. citizen.
  • Position has educational/degree requirements (see Qualifications section).
  • EPA and non-EPA applicants must submit transcripts/course listings.

If you are selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure form within 30 days of your first day of employment and annually thereafter.

If you are selected, you must complete a one year probationary period.

This position is designated as Moderate Risk and requires a background investigation.  Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation.

Qualifications

You need a degree or combination of education and experience as described below to qualify for this position.

In addition to the educational requirements, we are looking for at least one year of specialized experience related to this position as described below:

To qualify for the GS-09 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-07 level defined as assisting in the review and evaluation of contractor prepared programmatic documents such as program plans, budget submittals, work schedules, operating procedures and records, cost estimates and funding requests OR master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in the academic discipline as described below.

Your answers to the online assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas: 

1. Knowledge of procurement and contract management policies and procedures.

2. Knowledge of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

3. Knowledge of common concepts, principles and practices of environmental engineering/physical sciences.

4. Skill in effectively communicating with technical and non-technical personnel.

5. Ability to negotiate and develop positions, both in-house and with contractors.

6. Ability to manage and complete multiple tasks under tight timeframes.

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.

Education

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in:

0800 - Engineering Series:

A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor’s degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. -OR-

B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

  1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
  2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
  3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
  4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor’s degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

1301 - General Physical Science Series:

A. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. -OR-

B. Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

As part of the application process, you are required to submit college transcripts or a list of courses as described in the Required Documents section of this announcement.  However, if you are selected, you must provide official educational transcripts before you start work with EPA.  More information on verification of education can be found here:  EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

Additional information

This position is in the bargaining unit.

If you have part-time work experience, read this:  EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.  

Position has portable work and selectee may be authorized to telework after meeting eligibility requirements if approved by the supervisor/manager.

Are you a Displaced Federal Employee?  If so, please read the Required Documents section and visit the EPA website for additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA.  Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.

EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information:  EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

One or more positions may be filled.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements.  Your resume must address the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed in the Qualifications section.  If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be further evaluated based on your answers to the online assessment.  Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for the position.  You are being evaluated under the category rating method which means, if you are determined to be qualified, you will be placed into the ‘Best Qualified’, ‘Well Qualified’, or ‘Qualified’ category.

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire.  If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.  We will evaluate your qualifications and eligibility and notify you if you meet minimum qualification requirements.  If you are referred for consideration, you may be subject to additional assessments.

NOTE:  We do not require a separate statement responding to the competencies, also referred to as Knowledges, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).  However, your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies.


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