Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

The Air and Radiation Division is responsible for implementing the Clean Air Act (CAA). The division also serves as the delegated authority for carrying out Administrator actions on State Implementation Plans (SIPs) and designations, including evaluation of SIPs, associated regulations, and oversight of permits. The division is charged with conducting all air program activities except enforcement activities, which are cooperatively managed between the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division and the Office of Regional Counsel.

Specific duties of the Director of ARD include:

• Acting as the Regional Administrator's principal advisor on the CAA.
• Planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and coordinating the regional Air and Radiation Division program.
• Supervising a large multidisciplinary group of EPA employees organized into branches and offices/sections headed by subordinate supervisors.
• Providing leadership to the division in strengthening core programs (i.e., planning, permits, rulemaking, radiation, monitoring and modeling support, and grants) that are grounded in the regulatory authority of the CAA.
• Building and supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace comprised of people from a variety of backgrounds. 
• Accomplishing or directing the actions involved in determining the effect of proposed or enacted federal or state legislation, new or proposed program requirements, new or improved technology, emergency situations, court decisions, etc.
• Ensuring that extramural resources, both procurement (contracts) and assistance (grants, cooperative agreements, and interagency agreements), are efficiently and appropriately managed to maximize use of the Agency's resources.
• Accomplishing or directing the actions involved in coordinating the program with internal and external organizations, determining or recommending the compromises to be made, and maintaining effective relations with interested groups. Internal and external organizations include key officials of EPA; other federal agencies, state, local and tribal governments; private industry, environmental organizations, and the public.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• You must submit resume and required documents (see How to Apply section).
• If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
• You may be required to travel 1 to 5 days per month.

If you are selected, you must complete a 1-year SES probationary period, if not previously completed.

The Ethics in Government Act, P.L. 95-521, requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a financial disclosure statement, OGE-278, prior to assuming the SES position, annually, and upon termination of employment.

This position is designated as High 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

The work of this position is classified in the Program Management, 0340 series where the qualifications include both general management skills and characteristics that are applicable to all SES positions and technical or program responsibilities specific to this position. Applicants must have substantive general experience which provides a good basic or general knowledge of the principles of organization, management and administration; and substantive specialized (operating administrative or managerial) experience in a type of work or a combination of functions directly related to this position.

All applicants must have one year of specialized experience at a level close to the work of this job that demonstrates the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform in this role. Typically this experience can be found in work within this field or a field that is closely related. 

As a basic requirement for entry into the Senior Executive Service, applicants must also provide evidence of progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications listed below. 

A. Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Mandatory for competitive applicants - Failure to address these factors will result in your application being disqualified, unless you are a noncompetitive eligible applicant. 

ECQ 1 - LEADING CHANGE. 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. 
ECQ 2 - LEADING PEOPLE. Involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's 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. 
ECQ 3 - RESULTS DRIVEN. 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. 
ECQ 4 - BUSINESS ACUMEN. Involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
ECQ 5 - BUILDING COALITIONS. 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.

Your responses should be clear and concise and show a level of accomplishment and a degree of responsibility. Leadership competencies for each ECQ can be found at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf 

B. Technical Qualifications (TQs) - Mandatory for all applicants - Failure to address these factors will result in your application being disqualified.

TQ 1 - Demonstrated experience administering and/or working with programs authorized under the Clean Air Act, including the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.  

TQ 2 - Demonstrated experience forging relationships and interactions with local, state, and federal agencies, environmental and citizens groups, and regulated entities in implementing regulatory and/or voluntary activities to improve air quality.

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. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be evaluated based on your narrative statements addressing the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Technical Qualifications (TQs). It will then be forwarded to a three member Rating Panel consisting of SES members for further review. The Rating Panel will decide which Best Qualified applicants will be issued to the Selecting Official by the Human Resources Office.