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Transportation Planner

Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The employee will serve as a Community Planner (Transportation) responsible for overseeing and administering Federal-aid transportation planning programs and activities for the development of transportation plans and work products that lead to implementable transportation projects or programs. Provides guidance to State Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organization(s) (MPO), and local government officials regarding assigned areas of the Transportation Planning program.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
06/10/2022 to 06/27/2022
Salary
$66,214 to - $103,176 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Madison, WI
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - There is occasional overnight travel required to perform program and/or site reviews and to attend meetings and conferences.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation expenses are authorized for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FHWA.FO-2022-0167
Control number
659353700

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Duties

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As a Community Planner (Transportation), you will:

  • Provide guidance and technical assistance to Division staff and state Department of Transportation and MPO staffs on current Federal planning requirements, policies, procedures, and guidance.
  • Oversee the development of transportation planning processes, programs and products and assess the adequacy of State and/or Metropolitan Planning processes to meet Federal transportation planning requirements.
  • Explain requirements, negotiate working agreements, exchange and review information; and resolve problems with state Department of Transportation and/or MPO officials and other interested parties.
  • Promote developing and applying strategic and effective transportation planning management systems and lead in the implementation of new transportation planning program requirements and best practices.
  • Serve as a point of contact for the functional areas of Environment.

The ideal candidate for this position is an experienced mid-career transportation planning professional who has the skills and abilities to effectively represent the agency to Federal, state and local officials and the general public. This candidate is someone with good communication, negotiation and partnering skills who desires to work in a challenging, complex, innovative environment.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
  • You must verify that you meet the grade specific qualifications.
  • Applicable documents are required for the Mandatory Education requirements
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
  • PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection.
  • TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Current Federal employees and non-competitive selectees may need to complete a probationary period (unless already completed).
  • DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Mandatory Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of your transcript(s) for verification, AND (3) meet the grade specific qualifications for each grade you are applying to. Please review the following information before proceeding with the application process: 

(1) All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to a Community Planning position:

A. Degree: community planning; or related field such as urban affairs, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, sociology, geography, economics, political science, or public administration that included at least 12 semester hours in the planning process, socioeconomic and physical elements of planning, urban and regional economic analysis, and development finance.

Note: Applicants with degrees in related fields, such as those listed above, who do not have the 12 semester hours of specified course work must have had at least 1 year of work experience in community planning acquired under the supervision and guidance of a community planner.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in one of the above disciplines, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the above disciplines of which at least 12 semester hours were in the planning process, and socioeconomic and physical elements of planning, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

For additional information, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for Community Planning Series, GS-0020: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0000/community-planning-series-0020/

(2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes. (Refer to 'Required Documents' section for additional guidance.)

Note: Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of the closing date of this announcement. If selected, the final transcript must be received before your start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

(3) Qualifications: To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet either the specialized experience or education requirements for the grade at which you are requesting consideration. You will be asked related questions as part of your application, but you need to verify how you meet the specialized experience or education in your resume and applicable documentation or you may be deemed ineligible.  

For the GS-11:

On Experience, you must have at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-09 grade levelwhich included:

  • Experience in transportation planning that entailed consideration of the interplay of various modes of transportation. 

       This experience may have included performing work, such as or related to the following:

  • Reviewing transportation products/documents and preparing comments and recommendations;
  • Providing advice and guidance on transportation planning at a local, regional, state, or national level;
  • Researching information and developing presentations on a variety of transportation planning topics;
  • Reviewing transportation programs and making recommendations for improvement; or
  • Coordinating with other technical specialists on transportation planning products.

Or on Education, you must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

You can also have a combination of graduate education and experience.  This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

For the GS-12:

On Experience, you must have at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-11 grade levelwhich included:

  • Experience in transportation planning that entailed consideration of the interplay of various modes of transportation (as described above under the GS-11 section); AND
  • Experience developing and/or evaluating transportation planning and program development processes at a local, regional, state, or national level; AND
  • Experience in representing the organization at public meetings and conferences.

You cannot qualify based on education at this grade level; you must have experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will also be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

  1. Transportation Planning Legislation, Regulations and Guidance.
  2. Transportation Planning Practices and Analysis.
  3. Transportation Planning Administration and Funding.
  4. Communication - includes written and oral communication; partnering/negotiating; interpersonal skills; and teamwork.

For all types of consideration, 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

See the Qualifications section for Mandatory Education Requirements.

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE: This is nota Bargaining unit position.

COVID VACCINATION:  If selected, you will be required to provide information regarding your COVID-19 vaccination status for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

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

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

To compete with U.S. Citizens:  If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of two categories: Qualified and Well Qualified which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.

To compete with other competitive status government employees: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position, must indicate interest in the assessment. In eligibility question 14: select Yes/Other/Former Incumbency of a Position brought into the Competitive Service. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.

All applicants:  Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package.  If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.


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