The position is within the National Centers for Environmental Predication (NCEP), National Weather Service (NWS). It is a Senior Executive Service (SES) position and serves as the Director of the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The National Hurricane Center's mission is to save lives, mitigate property loss, and improve economic efficiency by issuing the best watches, warnings, forecasts and analyses of hazardous tropical weather, and by increasing the understanding of these hazards.

NCEP is a recognized global leader providing a seamless suite of operational environmental analysis, diagnostics and forecasts for a domain that ranges from the sun to the sea, including weather, ocean, climate, water and space weather prediction services. NCEP’s success depends on addressing user needs and the requirements of our world-class employees to enable NCEP to best meet the evolving Weather Ready Nation (WRN) initiative. Furthermore, NCEP is at the forefront to capitalize and implement emerging scientific and technological advances. In that regard, NCEP must serve as a catalyst to coordinate, cooperate and collaborate through applied research, training, technology transfer and implementation of a common modeling infrastructure for global to regional applications. Partnerships with the entire community, and related operational and developmental test beds, will build off collaborations with the NWS, NOAA, other federal agencies, academia and the public sector to accelerate improvements in all NCEP products and services.

Specifically, the NHC Director has full responsibility for the discharge of the following essential functions:

• Provides warnings for the public and concerned special interests, including National, State and local emergency management communities, DoD, DHS and other entities of threatening hurricanes and tropical storms. In this capacity, the incumbent is directly concerned with the identification, tracking, and prediction of all Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Eastern North Pacific tropical disturbances and hurricanes as well as the authoritative warnings to the public.

• Provides year round ocean and marine forecast services for assigned tropical regions in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean domains.

• Is responsible for identifying and assesses the impact on short and long-term service problems of the deficiencies in the hurricane warning service area, and for consulting with other agencies and representatives from other countries concerned with disaster planning, emergency management, prevention, and mitigation of damage, and relief efforts.

• Makes recommendations to the NCEP Director, concerning the initiation, curtailing, or changing programs or parts of programs associated with the U.S. hurricane warning services.

• Oversees the functioning as a laboratory investigating new and appropriate ways of gathering, analyzing and presenting data for the tropical latitudes to exploit new observations such as those from satellites, aircraft, buoys, etc., and to develop efficient man/computer interactive programs to take advantage of evolving electronic data processing technology.

• Represents the NWS and the NHC on many technical and planning Committees and serves broadly as a consultant and expert on tropical meteorology and hurricanes.

• Interacts directly with international and other federal, state, county, local governmental agencies, organizations and with individuals in the private sector on matters of mutual concern and the NHC Director responsible for establishing working relationships with these entities, organizations, agencies and individuals.

The NHC Director is expected to field technical questions on every subject related to hurricanes--ranging from observation requirements to forecasting rationale to mitigating strategies, to the status and requirements for research. The Director sets NHC program policy within the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Weather Service (NWS) Strategic Plans. NHC short and long range forecast objectives are among the more successful efforts within the NWS and Commerce Department, being directly responsible for saving thousands of lives per year during active land falling hurricanes and indirectly offering opportunities for enormous savings in hurricane-caused property damage.

Conditions of employment

• Incumbent may be subject to geographic mobility.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
• Newly appointed SES members must serve a 1 year probationary period.
• Position is subject to pre-employment background investigation.
• Public Financial Disclosure (OGE-278 filing within 30 days is required).
• Position is subject to random drug testing.

As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, you must provide evidence of progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level management capability; and that is directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and the Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs) listed under "How You Will Be Evaluated." Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-14/15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent with state or local government, the private sector, or non-governmental organizations.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must possess all of the mandatory Executive Core Qualifications and Professional/Technical Qualifications listed below and the educational requirement. These qualifications would typically be acquired through education, experience, and training which reflect progressive development and achievement in managing a comprehensive business program in a complex organization. An individual's total experience and education must demonstrate the ability to perform the duties of the position. Applicants must meet all of the qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

SES Executive Core Qualifications (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.

ECQ 2 - Leading People: This core qualification 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: 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.

ECQ 4 - Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

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.

NOTE: Responses to ECQs must not exceed 10 pages typed in 12-point font.

Professional/Technical Core Qualifications (PTQs):

PTQ 1 - Experience in overseeing large scale operational prediction programs/projects, with an emphasis on tropical meteorology processes and problems associated with hurricane and tropical storm forecasting.

PTQ 2 - Knowledge of the services needed by users of weather service products, and ability to work and interact with local, state, Federal agencies and the international community.

PTQ 3 - Knowledge of effective communication and public speaking including current electronic and news print media techniques and demonstrated ability to deliver the proper response to a variety of audiences in life threatening situations.

Note: Responses to PTQs must not exceed 2 pages per PTQ, for a total of 6 pages.

For detailed guidance on ECQs, applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Office of Personnel Management's Guide to Executive Qualifications at http://www.opm.gov/ses/recruitment/ecq.asp

Example of ECQ statements are available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants are required to submit a narrative statement for each Professional/Technical Qualification (PTQ) and each Executive Core Qualification (ECQ) listed. If you are currently serving under a career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) approved by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and had your ECQs certified by OPM, then you only need to address each PTQ, and you do not need to submit an ECQ narrative.

All other applicants are required to respond to all ECQs and PTQs, addressing each ECQ and PTQ separately. Please give a complete and detailed answer for each qualification. Please keep in mind each ECQ and PTQ are unique qualifications. Therefore, duplicate responses are not sufficient in determining if you meet that specific qualification.

Do not enter "Refer to Resume" to explain your answer. Applications directing the reader to search within the application or to "See Resume" are considered incomplete and WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Failure to submit a narrative statement or address any of the ECQs and/or PTQs is also considered incomplete and WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. As a result, you will be rated as "INCOMPLETE".

The servicing Human Resources Specialist will forward all minimally qualified applicants to be evaluated by an Executive Resources Board (ERB) rating panel of senior managers to determine the degree to which they possess the executive core and professional/technical qualifications, and best qualified candidates may undergo an interview and a reference check. The ERB rating panel will make recommendations on best qualified candidates to the appointing authority. Applicants will be evaluated on the quality and extent of their total accomplishments, experience, the ECQs, and the PTQs.
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