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Office Director, Office of Polar Programs

National Science Foundation
Directorate for Geosciences
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is for the Office Director for the Office of Polar Programs in the Directorate for Geosciences.

For more information about the Directorate for Geosciences, please visit: Our Directorates and Offices - About NSF | NSF - National Science Foundation

For more information about the Office of Polar Programs, please visit: Office of Polar Programs (OPP) | NSF - National Science Foundation

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/27/2023 to 10/25/2023
Salary
$185,335 to - $206,950 per year
Pay scale & grade
ES 00
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Alexandria, VA
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
Yes—Relocation expenses may be paid contingent upon availability of funds.
Appointment type
Multiple - SES Career, SES Limited Term
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Senior Executive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
GEO-EXEC-2023-0002
Control number
751494000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open with the following options: Career SES and Limited Term SES. U.S. Citizenship is required. All new SES members serve a one-year probationary period.

Duties

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The Office of Polar Programs (OPP) in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) initiates and manages funding for basic research and operational support for activities in the Arctic and the Antarctic. OPP supports individual investigators or research teams and U.S. participation in multinational projects. Projects can involve investigators from many disciplines and institutions. OPP fulfils NSF's role as national lead for coordinating federal investments in Arctic research and serving as the designated lead agency for managing and operating the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) on behalf of the Nation. To achieve this role, OPP interacts with other U.S federal agencies that have research interests in the polar regions and with international polar research programs for support of internationally collaborative research and research operations.

The OPP Director provides executive leadership on the strategic planning and management of polar research and operations and serves as the principal advisor to agency leadership on issues related to the USAP and activities in the Arctic. The Director is expected to build and maintain relationships across NSF and with other federal agencies conducting research in Antarctic to ensure USAP-wide priorities are developed collaboratively and to work closely with the research community and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to evaluate government-wide priorities for Polar research. The OPP Director will manage the Office in a manner that supports investments in high priority research, promotes efficiency and effectiveness in polar operations, and encourages the professional development OPP staff. The Director will also ensure that OPP internal controls are aligned with NSF policy to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.

The successful candidate will possess an established record of significant achievement in large facilities management, research administration, as well as leadership responsibility in academe, industry, military or government service. In addition to having a strong record of professional accomplishments, the successful candidate must be experienced and competent in technical, financial, and administrative management. The successful candidate must work well with people, be an effective communicator, and act as a mentor to continuously develop the diversity of talent and skills of colleagues at all levels.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  1. One year probationary period required for all new Career SES appointments
  2. Requires an Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure OGE-278
  3. U.S. Citizenship is required
  4. Qualification for this position requires successfully passing a physical examination for U.S. Antarctic Program medical screening for travel to Antarctica

Qualifications

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs): Unless you are currently under a career SES appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program approved by OPM, you must submit written statements (narrative format) describing accomplishments that would satisfy the ECQs. If you fail to do so, you will be rated as "ineligible."

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 in this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

2. Leading People. This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent in 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.

3. Results-Driven Leadership. This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent in this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

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

5. Building Coalitions. This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, non-profit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (MTQs): All applicants must submit written statements (narrative format) of accomplishments that would satisfy the MTQs for this vacancy. You must address each MTQ qualification separately.

1. Demonstrated ability to successfully lead a geographically diverse and complex organization with wide-ranging interests and objectives including research and logistical support at a national and international level.

2. Skills in the high-level development and balancing of complex and diverse resource demands (both human and financial) in response to scientific advances, changing needs for science and engineering research infrastructure, remote operational requirements, and facilities management.

3. Demonstrated ability to build and sustain multi-sector partnerships essential to meet agency mission requirements both scientifically and operationally.

4. Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively across a wide range of subjects with high-level officials of the U.S. federal government, members of Congress, high-ranking military personnel, scientific/engineering academic communities, and international counterparts.

5. Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with the development and implementation of Federal interagency policy and the role of agencies, the White House, and Congress.

When responding to the MTQ and ECQ qualifications, you must clearly show that you possess the experience, knowledge, skills and ability to perform the duties of this position by submitting narrative responses in which you detail your experience in each of the ECQs and MTQs.

Your examples should be clear and emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope, and complexity of the programs managed and program accomplishments with results of your actions, policy initiatives and level of contacts.

Applicants who do not provide narrative statements addressing both the ECQ and MTQ qualifications will be rated as ineligible.

Applicants currently serving under a career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, eligible for reinstatement into SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) approved by OPM are not required to address the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ); but a narrative statement for each of the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQ) is required.

To view additional information on the proper preparation of Executive Core Qualification (ECQs) statements, applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Office of Personnel Management's Guide to Executive Qualifications.
http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/executive-core-qualifications

Education

Please refer to the Qualifications section.

Additional information

The Senior Executive Service (SES) covers managerial positions above GS-15 in the Federal Service. Persons appointed to the SES are eligible for health benefits, life insurance, social security, Federal retirement and thrift savings plan coverage, and participate in the Federal leave system. Competitive status is not required, veteran's preference does not apply and there are no grade restrictions.

Relocation expenses may be paid contingent upon the availability of funds.

It is NSF policy that NSF personnel employed at or IPAs detailed to NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign government talent recruitment programs. Failure to comply with this NSF policy could result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from Federal Service or termination of an IPA assignment and referral to the Office of Inspector General. Foreign Talent Definitions

Only applications submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants will be screened for basic eligibility according to the qualification requirements. Eligible applicants will be reviewed by an Evaluation Panel according to the criteria based on the qualification requirements. The best qualified candidates will be referred to the appropriate official who will recommend selection. All applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, physical disability, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit reason.

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