Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Public Utilities Specialist (Recent Grad)

Department of Energy
Bonneville Power Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in any of the Power Student Development (PD) organization four divisions within Power Services (P), Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).

The purpose of this position is to serve as a developmental public utilities specialist.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/19/2022 to 01/04/2023
Salary
$50,094 to - $79,655 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Portland, OR
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Recent graduates - 1-Year, Excepted Appointment may be converted to Term or Permanent.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
23-BPA-32856-11768694-RG
Control number
694927000

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

- Recent Graduates - All U.S. Citizens, Nationals, and Foreign Nationals who meet both Immigration Laws and Annual Appropriations Laws.

Duties

Help

As a Public Utilities Specialist (Recent Graduate), you will:

  • Receive intensive formal and on-the-job instruction and training.
  • Perform a variety of tasks designed to provide familiarity with the organization's programs, projects, and functions.
  • Assist higher-level specialists, or work as a team member and participate in various types of work.
  • Communicate with internal and external stakeholders to complete work assignments.
  • Use established analytical techniques or precedents to gather narrative or statistical information.
  • Prepare reports, presentations, spreadsheets, memoranda, and correspondence.
  • Track critical information as required by the assignments.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • Males must abide by Selective Service registration requirements.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
  • Selectee may be subject to a 1 year probationary period.
  • Relocation (PCS) is not authorized for this vacancy; however, relocation/recruitment incentive may be paid in accordance with federal regulations and in consideration of budget availability for a highly qualified candidate; determined upon selection.
  • This position does not support remote work. You will be required to report physically to the official reporting worksite as specified by the supervisor, but no less than 2 days per pay period.
To be eligible for the Recent Graduate program you must be a:
  • Recent graduate who has completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution.
-OR-
  • Student who within nine months of the closing date of this announcement will meet the education requirements and will graduate with a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. A student may not be appointed to a position until they have graduated.
-OR-
  • Preference eligible veteran who was precluded from applying due to their military service obligation begin their two-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty. Eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed six years after degree or certificate completion.
CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS:BPA has the option to convert a Recent Graduate position to a permanent or term position upon successful completion of program requirements. This is not automatic, nor guaranteed. Conversion is at the discretion of the hiring manager and employing office.

To be eligible to be converted to permanent or term position you must:
  • Be a US Citizen
  • Be recommended for conversion by your manager
  • Complete all training and development requirements within the 1-year appointment period.
  • Successful completion of 1 year of continuous service.
  • Have demonstrated successful job performance.
  • Met OPM qualification standard for the position to which you will be converted.
  • A Recent Graduate may be converted to the highest General Schedule (GS) grade level qualified for at time of conversion.

Qualifications

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

GS-07: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-05).

Specialized Experience for the GS-07 grade level is defined as: Experience applying analytical methods to business practices, product markets, evaluation and market research in the electric utility or closely related industry.

You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:

One year of graduate-level education, or superior academic achievement (S.A.A.) gained in a bachelor degree curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled (based on class standing, grade-point average, or honor society membership). See the following link for more information: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=app

-OR-

Combination of education and experience as described above. Less than one year of specialized experience may be combined with completed graduate education. "Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

GS-09: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-07).

Specialized Experience for the GS-09 grade level is defined as: Experience applying business or industry knowledge to the identification, consideration, and resolution of issues or problems of a procedural or factual nature to support planning, evaluation, or research functions.

You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:

Master's or equivalent graduate degree; or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or a LL.B. or J.D. if related; your education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

-OR-

Combination of education and experience as described above. Less than one year of specialized experience may be combined with graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level (i.e., credit hours beyond the first year of full-time study may be credited). One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours the graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. If the graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study is not available, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) is used. When crediting education that requires specific course work the number of hours of related courses required, as a proportion of the total education, is prorated.

You must meet ALL qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (01/04/2023) of this announcement.

Education

You must submit transcripts with your application for proof of education with degree conferred date.

If substituting education for specialized experience you must submit proof of your qualifying education.

Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

DO NOT email or mail in any of your application documents. Documents will not be accepted outside of the online application system.

Failure to provide college transcripts may result in a rating of 'Ineligible'.

Additional information

EEO Policy: http://www.usajobs.gov/eeo
Reasonable Accommodation Policy: http://www.usajobs.gov/raps
Veterans Information: http://www.usajobs.govvi
Telework: www.telework.gov
Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/

BPA strives to ensure a safe, positive, inclusive work environment, supported by Leadership Behaviors. For more information on Leadership Behaviors visit: www.bpa.gov/goto/LeadershipBehaviors.

We also understand the importance of work/life balance and offer a variety of programs and policies designed to create more flexible, responsive work environments supportive of commitments to community, home and family members. BPA also supports employees' overall wellness through its Be Well program, which helps employees adopt healthier lifestyles and feel better about their work/life balance. The program supports five key areas of life: career, community, financial, physical and social.

How you will be evaluated

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

The Department of Energy uses an application tracking system to evaluate the responses you provide in the applicant assessment questionnaire to place you into an initial quality category via OPM's Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified. Then, the HR Office and/or Subject Matter Expert (SME) will conduct a quality review of your application and supporting documentation to ensure you have been placed into the appropriate quality category.

Your application is rated based on the extent and quality of your experience, education (when applicable), and training as described in your resume and applicant assessment. Your credentials are measured against the established duties of the position at the grade level(s) being advertised.

If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly.

Once the application process is complete, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the self-assessment questions (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) will be evaluated and you will be placed into one of three pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Electric Utility Fundamentals
  • Learning
  • Oral Communication
  • Organizational Performance Analysis
  • Reasoning
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Teamwork
  • Written Communication


Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as scoring 85.0 or higher.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11768694

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.