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Cost Estimator

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Interior Regions 8, 9, 10 & 12
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in Pacific West Regional Office, Interior Regions 8, 9, 10, and 12, in the Facility Management Division, Line Item Construction Branch.

This position may be filled in either Seattle or San Francisco. Relocation/recruitment incentive up to 25 percent is authorized for highly qualified applicants.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
07/23/2020 to 08/06/2020
Salary
$111,286 to - $144,676 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
San Francisco, CA
Seattle, WA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PW-1546-PWRO-20-10848553-DE
Control number
574361400

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Duties

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The purpose of this position is to provide technical and professional support in the area of cost
estimating to ensure realistic project development, formulation and successful execution. Projects
typically have high visibility, national significance, controversies, significant political interest and
oversight, and possible jurisdictional disputes. Projects range from simple to very complex, and are
located in a variety of climatic conditions, wide range of elevations and geographic regions.

The incumbent is responsible for the direct preparation of construction cost estimates, reviewing and
validate cost estimates prepared by others in the early project scoping phase to develop project
funding requests; reviewing and validating construction cost estimates prepared by others, such as
A/E consultants, architects and engineers in the regional FM Division and Parks at various stages of
project design and construction; reviewing contractors' cost offers/proposals for reasonableness and
realism, and preparing fully supported counter arguments and negotiation memos when necessary.

Close interactions with staff of various disciplines (for example: architects, engineers,
archeologists, historians, cultural anthropologists, museum curators, exhibit specialists,
National Environmental Planning Act (NEPA) compliance specialists, National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) compliance specialists, etc.) at the region, Denver Service
Center (DSC) and park is necessary to identify needs, technical issues, potential natural and
cultural resource impacts that have bearing on project implementation time and costs.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Position will be duty stationed in San Francisco or Seattle. Salary dependent on location.
  • San Francisco: $93,587 - $121,668
  • Seattle: $84,045 - $109,264
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • If you are a new employee in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
  • You will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 on an annual basis.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/06/2020-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level, you must meet the Basic Requirement for one of the following series, General Engineering, 0801; Landscape Architecture, 0807; Architect, 0808; or Civil Engineer, GS-0810. You must also meet the specialized experience requirement. You must provide a copy of transcripts demonstrating how you meet the Basic Requirement.

Basic Requirement for General Engineering, 0801:

A degree in professional 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 a 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.

Basic Requirement for Landscape Architecture, 0807: A bachelor or higher degree in landscape architecture or landscape design

OR

A combination of education and experience-for each year short of graduation, the applicant must have had one year of experience under professional leadership and guidance of such character and diversity as to be a satisfactory substitute for the required education. This experience must have included original landscape design.Non-degree applicants typically must have experience or study that includes site planning; layout of circulation patterns; grading and drainage plans; planting plans; collaboration with architects and/or engineers; and the supervision or review of landscape construction.

NOTE: The following kinds of experience are not acceptable as professional landscape architectural experience: routine drafting or developing of plans where original investigations or designs are not involved; laying out or executing illustrations in black and white or in color; nursery work involving the propagation of trees, shrubs, vines; experimental horticultural, or landscape, gardening; breeding, testing, propagation, culture, and production of plants, flowers, trees, or corps; forestry work involving the management of forest resources for the continuous production of timber, water, forage, and other forest values; architectural and engineering work limited to the design of structures; work in city and community planning that relates primarily to the broad social and economic growth of cities and communities and the organization of community services and facilities.

Basic Requirement for the Architect, GS-0808: A degree in architecture, or related field that included 60 semester hours of course work in architecture or related disciplines of which at least (1) 30 semester hours were in architectural design, and (2) 6 semester hours were in each of the following: structural technology, properties of materials and methods of construction, and environmental control systems.ORA combination of college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the arts and sciences underlying professional architecture, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the architectural principles, methods, and techniques and their applications to the design and construction or improvement of buildings.

Basic Requirement for the Civil Engineer, GS-0810: A degree in professional 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 Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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.ORA 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 professional 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.

Specialized experience: At least one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as:

1) prepare construction cost estimating using various methods, such as order of magnitude estimating, assembly unit pricing, material, labor and equipment costs, detailed quantity takeoff while considering government requirements such as general conditions, prevailing wage (Davis-Bacon), remote location logistics, historic factor, etc.

2) manage a wide variety of small through large construction projects from planning, design, cost estimating through construction phases in wide geographic and climatic conditions;

3) serve as Contracting Officers' Technical Representative (COR or similar) or advise Contracting Officer (CO) or COR on construction projects during bid evaluation and contract changes for cost proposal realism and reasonableness; prepare independent government estimates (IGE), conduct inspections of work performed and ensure projects meet contract requirements

Volunteer Experience: 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



There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement.

Additional information

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Physical Demands: Although the majority of the work is sedentary in nature, frequent field inspections, investigations, observations or studies may involve considerable walking, hiking, climbing, bending, working on ladders and scaffolding, etc. The work may require travel of up to five continuous working days and driving a motor vehicle long distances to reach remote parks.

Working Conditions: The work is usually performed in an office setting, with occasional field work involving risks of construction operations. Frequent travel to project sites, other offices, etc., is expected.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information.

How you will be evaluated

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

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Oral Communication
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Project Management
  • Technical Competence

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