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Interdisciplinary - Environmental Scientist/Physical Scientist/Environmental Engineer

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
Gulf of Mexico OCS Region/Office of Environmental Compliance/Coordination and Review Unit
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) works to promote safety, protect the environment, and conserve resources offshore through vigorous regulatory oversight and enforcement. For information about our bureau go to: http://www.bsee.gov/

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/06/2023 to 09/25/2023
Salary
$82,830 to - $107,680 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Jefferson, LA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for offshore visits for investigations, public meetings, training, and conferences.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
BSEE-EENN-23-BO-199(MP
Control number
747612800

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Duties

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This position is located within the Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Gulf of Mexico Outer-Continental Shelf (OCS) Region (GOMR), Office of Environmental Compliance (OEC), Coordination and Review Unit in Jefferson, LA.

At the full performance level (GS-12) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Serves as an OEC National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Coordinator responsible for the coordination, documentation development, and tracking necessary to ensure BSEE's highly complex structure, well, and pipeline permitting programs for GOMR and Atlantic OCS activities are approved in full compliance with NEPA and Center for Environmental Quality (CEQ) guidance, the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA) regulations, and all other applicable laws.
2. Ensures proper project/permit tracking, Administrative Record (AR) oversight, and NEPA document management using OCS IT systems (i.e., Technical Information Management System (TIMS), eWell, National Consolidated Information System (NCIS), specialized MS-Access tools, etc.), Geographic Information System (GIS) programs (i.e., TIMS Base-Mapping, ArcMAP, etc.), and various Records Management System filing and off-the-shelf (COTS) applications.
3. Assists the senior/lead NEPA Coordinator on Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) programmatic Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) prepared for OCS program oversight, lease sales, promulgation of regulations, or other high-level/controversial operations; including assisting with scenario development, participation in scoping meetings, identification of program-specific IPFs, coordination with OEC scientists/engineers (during the review process), and participation in public hearings.
4. Participates in office compliance verification reviewing of operational reports and industry's Post Activity Submittals (PAS) as it relates to their field of expertise, which includes requisite documentation (i.e., videos, sonar data, survey reports, as-built/as-placed plats, etc.) submitted after OCS operations are complete (in part of in whole) to verify/record compliance with environmental standards and/or conditions of approval place on permits.
5. Develops compliance documents and reports associated with monitoring and verification oversight activities related to environmental mitigation and CoAs; including preparation of Incidents of Non-Compliance (INCs), as needed, and Civil Penalty Case development when impacts are discovered. Assists in the development, modification, and circulation of training for office and field compliance verification efforts associated with their field of expertise.

The BSEE has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

This position is included in a bargaining unit. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Local 3457, is the exclusive representative of all employees in this bargaining unit.

Work Environment:
Most work is performed in an office environment, with some travel by auto and/or airplane. On occasion, field work may involve travel by boat or helicopter and involve moderate risks or discomforts that require special safety precautions, e.g., inspections and monitoring on offshore platforms/rigs/vessels with moving parts, loud machinery, and small enclosures; all in a marine environment. The incumbent may be required to undergo specialized safety/equipment training and use protective clothing or gear, such as masks, steel-toe boots, goggles, gloves, or shields.

Occasionally, weekend work may be required if an offshore visit gets extended for safety or other reasons.


Salary Information
GS-12: $82,830-$107,680 per annum
First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the lower salary range of the grade level.

This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  1. You must be a U.S. Citizen.
  2. You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination.
  3. You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.
  4. You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire.
  5. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

To qualify for this position, you must meet the (1) Basic Educational Requirements AND (2) Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

(1) Basic Educational Requirements:

In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, applicants must meet the Education Requirements described below:

NOTE: This position requires specific educational coursework to qualify. You MUST provide transcripts (unofficial are acceptable) in order to verify that the educational requirements have been met. This information must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide this information may result in you receiving an "INELIGIBLE" rating.

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0401 - Biological Sciences Series (Environmental Scientist)
Individual Occupational Requirements

A. Degree:biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

0819 - Environmental Engineer
Individual Occupational Requirements

A. Degree:Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics:
  • (a) statics, dynamics;
  • (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships);
  • (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics;
  • (d) thermodynamics;
  • (e) electrical fields and circuits;
  • (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and
  • (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience: College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
  1. Professional registration or licensure - Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
  2. Written Test - Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
  3. Specified academic courses - Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
  4. Related curriculum - Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily, there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.

1For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: https://www.nspe.org.
2The FE examination is not administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/HowtoGetLicensed/index.html.

1301 - Physical Science Series (Physical Scientist)
Individual Occupational Requirements

A. Degree:physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience: Education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

--AND--

(2) Specialized Experience

In addition to the Basic Education Requirements above, applicants must also meet the specialized experience described below for the grade(s) to which you are applying.


To qualify for the GS-12, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:
  1. Writing scientifically defensible analyses for NEPA documents;
  2. Identifying, interpreting, and analyzing biological data and/or ecological processes that are affected by OCS exploration and development activities;
  3. Applying environmental laws and/or regulations (e.g., NEPA, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MFCMA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), or others to analyze potential impacts to natural and cultural resources from development activities;
  4. Participating in the environmental consultation process (i.e., writing biological assessments, biological evaluations, biological opinions and/or essential fish habitat assessments); AND
  5. Representing an organization at public meetings, hearings, and/or scientific conferences in order to provide technical and scientific support/input.
MUST MEET ALL.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Merit Promotion candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

Education: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Additional information

Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties.

The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.

Important Note: All Department of the Interior (DOI) employees are subject to the conflict of interest restrictions imposed upon all employees of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and may be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report. In addition, DOI employees, GS-15 and above, who work in the Office of the Secretary; along with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) employees (at ALL grade levels), are further restricted concerning their interests in Federal lands and resources administered or controlled by the Department of the Interior. This includes holding stock in energy corporations which lease Federal lands (e.g.: oil, gas, coal, alternative energy resources, etc.). If you have any such investments you should contact the DOI, BOEM or BSEE Ethics Office before accepting employment. DOI employees are held to the highest level of integrity. Employees must be objective and impartial in the performance of their work. All potential issues (e.g.: work-related interactions with friends, family members, or previous employers) must be disclosed at the time of application or during the interview process.

NOTICE: This employer participates in E-Verify and will utilize your Form I-9 information to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.
A preliminary background check must be completed before a new employee can begin work with the U.S. Department of the Interior. The preliminary background check consists of a search of Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense background investigation files and an FBI National Criminal History Fingerprint Check; it may take up to 3 weeks to complete. If selected for this position, you will be extended a tentative offer of employment pending a satisfactory background check. Current Federal employees or individuals with an existing completed background investigation may not be required to undergo another background check; these will be handled on a case-by-case basis in coordination with the Bureau security office.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

Your answers to the on-line assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

  1. Biology: Knowledge of the environment, plant and animal living tissue, cells, organisms, and entities, including their functions, interdependencies and interactions with each other and the environment.
  2. Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on the job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.
  3. Compliance: Comprehensive knowledge and skill to initiate creative, new, and untested concepts and methodologies for addressing existing or unprecedented environmental issues of concern within the scope of NEPA and Environmental Compliance Verification; and the judgment to evaluate and incorporate and latest developments in analytical techniques into definitive guidelines used for the purpose of preparing NEPA compliance documents and associated mitigation/compliance-verification methods and procedures.
  4. Oral Communication: Has a comprehensive knowledge of the major issues, goals and objectives, work processes, and administrative operations of the Department, Bureau, and GOMR; including excellent interpersonal and communication skills needed to recommend and negotiate solutions, ensure the accuracy of impact assessments/compliance documents, and represent the Department/Bureau with proper disclosure of NEPA policy and factual information in public forums, workshops, meetings, conferences, etc.
  5. Written Communication: Expresses facts and ideas in writing in a succinct and organized manner.
DUE WEIGHT
Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

To preview the assessment questionnaire click: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12116328

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