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Hydrologist

Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The ideal candidate will have the ability to translate hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to designing and implementing effective landscape scale green and gray infrastructure flood mitigation projects. The salary range above reflects the employee's base salary. Locality pay will be added based on the employee's duty location. Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Resilience team within FEMA.

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement. 
 

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
12/14/2022 to 12/27/2022
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$94,373 to - $122,683 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)
1 vacancy
Remote job
Yes - This position is eligible for remote work arrangements consistent with applicable FEMA policy. For this position, remote work arrangements may be approved at the time of selection and the duty location will be determined based on the location of the selectee's residence. If the selectee is within the commuting area of FEMA HQ in Washington DC, remote work will not be available.
Telework eligible
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional non-emergency travel may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FEMA-23-CTG-575472-MP
Control number
694673300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Individuals who do not meet the requirements shown below may apply under [FEMA-23-CTG-575472-DE], which is open to the public. This job is open to: Status Candidates; DRRA Eligibles; Former Overseas Employees; CTAP; ICTAP; VEOA; 30% or More Disabled veterans; Schedule A; Military Spouses; Peace Corps; Americorps; Vista; Land/Base Management; Boren Awardees; and, Interchange Agreement Eligibles.

Duties

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS Components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a diverse workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join DHS.

When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit www.fema.gov for additional information.

EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

In this position, you will serve as a subject matter expert on hydrologic and hydraulic modeling for hazard mitigation. You will analyze and market effective flood mitigation projects for community scale resiliency and provide technical assistance (BCA and Technical Feasibility) to help communities develop successful grant applications. Typical assignments include: 

  • Providing hydrological expertise on a range of studies and analysis including flood mapping studies, flood risk assessments, losses avoided studies (LAS), water cycle strategies.
  • Developing and improving community level and landscape scale flood resiliency.
  • Establishing and maintaining good working relationships with stakeholders with decision-making authority.
  • Working co-operatively across functions and business units to share information and ideas.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  • You must successfully pass a background investigation.
  • Selective Service registration required.
  • Current federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements.
  • You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
  • Please review "Other Information" section for additional key requirements.

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Moderate Risk as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.

Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below.

Qualifications

Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service. The time-in-grade and qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

You qualify for this position at the GS-13 level (starting salary $94,373) if you possess the following: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-12) in the Federal Service. This experience may have been gained in the federal government, a state or local government, a non-profit organization, the private sector, or as a volunteer; however, your resume must clearly describe at least one year of specialized experience.  Specialized experience for this position includes: 

  • Analyzing or translating hydrological information to partners; and
  • Utilizing GIS, and other data and modeling software to support decision making for hydrological projects; and
  • Reviewing plans, policies, or procedures for implementation within emergency management programs.

In addition to the minimum qualifications described above, you must meet the following requirement(s) to be considered qualified for the position (Submission of transcript is required):

Individual Occupational Requirements:

The individual occupational requirement for the Civil Engineering series can be found Hydrology Series 1315 (opm.gov).

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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide federal grade levels to positions listed in Federal Government; the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information will result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here.

Current or former FEMA Reservists/DAE employees: To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/YY to MM/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.  Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees.  If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. 

Education

If you are qualifying based on education submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) from an accredited institution. Once selected and prior to appointment, applicants must provide an official college transcript. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. For example, specific courses accepted for college-level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university, or foreign education evaluated by an organization recognized for accreditation by the Department of Education as education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. college or university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information.  

Additional information

  • If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
  • DHS uses E-verify, an internet based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
  • The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.
  • This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.
  • All candidates must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.
  • A one year probationary period is required for new Federal competitive service employees and new supervisors and managers. 
  • If selected for this position, and you have not previously completed these requirements, you are subject to (1) completion of a 2 day onboarding program at your primary duty location; and, (2) completion of a subsequent, multiple day orientation program within 90-120 days of hire, at a location to be determined.  Travel associated with the orientation portion of this requirement may be at FEMA’s expense.
  • This is a Bargaining Unit position.
  • Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3).
  • Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
  • In addition to the salary listed in this vacancy announcement, the duty location of this position is considered a non-foreign location. If you are selected for this position, you may be eligible for an additional non-foreign area cost of living adjustment (COLA), in accordance with Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations (subject to change without notice). For additional information please visit: OPM Non-Foreign Area COLA rates. Nonforeign Areas (opm.gov).

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 supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements.  If you meet the minimum qualifications, your experience, education and training will be rated using a job questionnaire that is based on the following competencies needed to perform this job:

  • Technical Proficiency
  • Communication
  • Customer Service
  • Representing the Agency
  • Teamwork and Cooperation

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. 

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, the veteran must 1) be a preference eligible; or 2) be a veteran separated after 3 or more years of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. (Note: Veteran’s preference does not apply under Merit Promotion procedures. View VEOA information on Feds Hire Vets.)

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP/CTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP/CTAP eligibility on OPM’s Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under ICTAP/CTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85.00 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. 

Interview Requirement:  Interviews may be required for this position.  Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration. 


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

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