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Program Analyst ZA-0343-3 (DE/CR)

Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) with one vacancy in Silver Spring, MD.

This position is also announced under vacancy number NOS-ONMS-2021-0018, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
08/05/2021 to 08/18/2021
Salary
$72,750 to - $113,362 per year
Pay scale & grade
ZA 3
Location
Silver Spring, MD
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Up to 10% of domestic travel may be required for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
3
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
NOS-ONMS-2021-0019
Control number
609765200

Duties

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As a Program Analyst, you will perform the following duties:

  • Develop management strategies, policies, and partnerships that promote the conservation, restoration, and compatible uses of national marine sanctuaries and other Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Focus on managing human activities within and affecting MPAs.
  • Support domestic and international capacity building through information sharing, tool development and training and coordinate activities with internal and external partners, in order to enhance and address management of federal, state, and tribal MPA programs (including the National Marine Sanctuary System).
  • Analyze legislation, regulations, and executive orders to determine impact on national marine sanctuaries program operations and management pursuant to the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and other related environmental regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act. Identify and define major issues and prepare agency policy documents, including drafting regulations, management plans and environmental compliance documents (e.g. Environmental Assessments, Categorical Exclusions). Provide recommendations on policies, legislation, or executive actions, or in response to these actions.
  • Assess actions requiring Office of National Marine Sanctuaries permits or interagency consultations. Provide analytical support for the development and coordination of activities and documentation associated with permitting and interagency consultation pursuant to the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and provide analysis for policy decisions regarding permit issuance, permit terms and conditions, consultation requirements, environmental compliance, administrative records, and record tracking and reporting.
  • Serve as a project manager to support the development of timelines with major milestones, assist in developing agendas and recording action items during team meetings, ensure team members are aware of assignments and deadlines, and help to efficiently communicate essential information to all team members in a timely manner.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National to apply.
  • Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
  • Must be suitable for Federal employment.
  • Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
  • Qualifications requirements must be met by closing date of announcement.

This position requires a Low Risk Security Clearance.

This position will be filled under the DOC Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). This system replaced the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band.

The ZA-3 is equivalent to the GS-11/12.  

* A one year probationary period may be required.

* Payment of relocation expenses is not authorized.

* This position is not in the bargaining unit.

NOTES:
This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other (title, series, grade) positions throughout NOAA. The position must be alike (e.g.: within the same geographic locations, same grade/band and requires the same qualifications and specialized experience as indicated in this vacancy announcement).

College Transcript:  If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned.  You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume.  You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process.  If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Note:  Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work.  An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Applicants must meet ALL application requirements, to include a complete online resume, by 11:59 p.m. EASTERN TIME (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards.  This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy

EDUCATION:   There is no positive education requirement for this position.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service.  Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.  This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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.

To qualify at the ZA-3 or GS-11 level:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

  • Assisting with the interpretation and/or application and implementation of coastal policies or strategies for protecting marine resources;
  • Performing qualitative or quantitative analysis of programs and policies; and
  • Developing reports, briefings and/or presentations for a variety of audiences.

-OR-

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related.

-OR-

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience as described above. NOTE: Only education in excess of two full years is qualifying for a combination of education and experience.

Additional information

CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100.  Information about ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management’s Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Guide to Career Transition

CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

  1. A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice).
  2. A copy of your SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action”, noting current position, grade level, and duty location;
  3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

  1. A copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; notice of disability annuity termination; certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement;
  2. A copy of your SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action” documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc;
  3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

NOAA 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.

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, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position.  If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions) and place you in one of the three pre-defined categories.  The categories are “gold”, “silver” and “bronze”.  However, your resume or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered.  Candidates placed in the “gold” category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility:  Within each category, those entitled to veterans’ preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed.  Preference eligible with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category (gold) depending on the position and grade level of the job. For more information on Category Rating, please go to Category Rating.

The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

  • Knowledge of coastal and marine ecosystems, stressors and management tools in order to recommend and develop management strategies, policies, and partnerships that promote the conservation, restoration, and compatible uses of national marine sanctuaries and other MPAs.
  • Ability to orally communicate management strategies and policies with internal and external partners to support inter-agency communication and MPA outreach activities.
  • Ability to develop and deliver written reports and training materials on MPA programs to scientific, governmental, the general public and other stakeholder audiences.
  • Ability to perform detailed analysis and research to measure effectiveness of management measures for national marine sanctuary and other MPA management.
  • Ability to analyze and provide recommendations on technical procedures, legislation, regulations and policies used to determine impact on national marine sanctuaries program operations and management pursuant to the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and other related environmental regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act.
  • Ability to provide analysis for policy decisions regarding permit issuance, permit terms and conditions, consultation requirements, environmental compliance, administrative records, and record tracking and reporting.
  • Ability to serve as a project manager to support the development and tracking of timelines with major milestones.

To preview questions please click here.

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