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Executive Director, Flight Operations

Department of Homeland Security
Transportation Security Administration
Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, we serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, we secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and public transit systems, thus protecting our transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/08/2024 to 01/22/2024
Salary
$141,022 to - $203,539 per year
Pay scale & grade
SW 2
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Herndon, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent - This is not a permanent assignment; The length of a duty assignment is generally up to 5 years with a possible extension. The initial tour is normally 36 months, and with agency approval a second tour of duty up to 24 months.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Announcement number
HQ-LE/FAMS-24-392869-ERD
Control number
769413200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current/Former Federal employees, SES reinstatement eligibles or OPM Approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) Graduates. This is not a permanent assignment; The length of a duty assignment is generally up to 5 years with a possible extension. The initial tour is normally 36 months, and with agency approval a second tour of duty up to 24 months. Any subsequent tour of duty extension beyond the second tour will be based on the Agency's needs and the projected contribution of the employee.

Duties

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As the Executive Director, Flight Operations, you will report directly to the Assistant Administrator for the Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service Flight Operations Division and serve as the primary advisor and authoritative consultant to the Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service Executive Assistant Administrator, Deputy Executive Assistant Administrator, and Executive Staff on aviation domain awareness, incident readiness and management, and situational awareness across the transportation infrastructure. You will ensure the effective scheduling and deployment of Federal Air Marshals on both international and domestic high-risk flights.

High-level duties include:

  • Overseeing the overall planning, direction and coordination of operations and functional programs areas of the Transportation Security Operations Center (TSOC), Systems Operation Control Section (SOCS), Law Enforcement Information Coordination Section (LE-ICS), Interagency Airspace Security Authorization Section and Operations Support Group. These include the TSA Incident Management Process, Command Duty Officer Program, National Capital Regional Coordinating Center (NCRCC), and coordination directly with Interagency Partners.
  • Maintaining watch over the national transportation infrastructure through management of a round-the-clock, fully operational security operations center, and maintaining operational awareness of the nation's critical infrastructures and key resources.
  • Directing programs and processes to maximize law enforcement resources that are responsive to a dynamic, risk-based management strategy, and deploying appropriate assets in accordance with the Concept of Operations.
  • Providing leadership, guidance and direction throughout TSA to ensure the agency's ability to protect against, respond to, and recover from a variety of multi-modal transportation incidents.
  • Providing effective tactical operations, domain and situational awareness, immediate notification and initial response actions for threats and incidents involving the security of the transportation sector.
  • Leading efforts to provide ongoing intelligence gathering support to counterterrorism and investigative operations impacting the transportation domain. Coordinating efforts with law enforcement and intelligence agencies and international counterparts and participating in multilateral law enforcement and counterterrorism efforts.
Representing Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service in matters involving Congress, DHS, TSA, other government agencies, and the private sector. Creating a robust information sharing environment and conducting high-level briefings to DHS and TSA officials.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  1. You must possess U.S. Citizenship.
  2. You must complete a favorable Tier 5 Background Investigation (T5).
  3. You must pass Drug Screening, subject to random drug tests.
  4. This position requires a TS/SCI (Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information) clearance that must be completed prior to appointment. You will be subject to a 5-year periodic investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance.
  5. This is an Emergency Essential position.
  6. You must sign a mobility agreement upon selection.
  7. Disclosure of your financial information is required.
  8. See Qualifications and Additional Information sections for conditions of employment.
  9. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in the wake of 9/11 to strengthen the security of the nation's transportation systems while ensuring the freedom of movement for people and commerce. TSA employs a risk-based strategy to secure U.S. transportation systems, with nearly 50,000 Transportation Security Officers, each day at more than 450 airports nationwide. The agency continuously sets the standard for excellence in transportation security through its people, processes, technologies and use of intelligence to drive operations. As a member of the TSES, you may be subject to frequent changes in posts of duty and positions. Mobility is a condition of employment. Applicants and current TSA employees who are selected for a Senior Leadership position must sign and submit a mobility agreement upon acceptance of a job offer. Executing this agreement is required as a condition of employment for an individual selected for a vacant mobility position.
If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment.

You must meet the qualification requirements of this position no later than the closing date of the job opportunity announcement.

Qualifications


As a basic requirement, applicants must demonstrate progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level managerial capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Professional/Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the equivalent of the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent with state and local government, the private sector, or non-governmental organizations.

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show in your resume that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and the Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs) listed below. We recommend that your resume emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of programs managed, and your program accomplishments, including results of your actions. Please refer to the Office of Personnel Management's website, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf for additional information about ECQs.

The application process used to recruit for this position is RESUME-ONLY. Therefore, evidence of each ECQ and PTQ must be CLEARLY REFLECTED in your resume.

If you are a current or reinstatement eligible Career SES/TSES member or a graduate of an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) and your ECQs have been previously certified by OPM's Qualifications Review Board, you are not required to address the ECQs. However, you MUST address all PTQs in your resume.

Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs):
1. Demonstrated experience leading, developing, implementing, and administering comprehensive law enforcement and security management programs in a large geographically dispersed organization.
2. Demonstrated experience collaboratively working across organizational lines in implementing law enforcement and security management programs.
3. Demonstrated experience directing or managing international security or related programs and systems that impact multiple organizations, components, or agencies.
4. Demonstrated experience in aviation domain law enforcement issues and operations.

Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs):

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

ECQ 2 - LEADING PEOPLE. This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to 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.

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

ECQ 4 - BUSINESS ACUMEN. This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

ECQ 5 - BUILDING COALITIONS. This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

FAILURE TO MEET OR FULLY ADDRESS EACH EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATION AND PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS IN THE RESUME WILL ELIMINATE A CANDIDATE FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION.

CURRENT OR FORMER POLITICAL APPOINTEES: 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.

This position is part of TSA's Leadership Succession Planning and Development Program.

The Supervisory Federal Air Marshal (Executive Director, Flight Operations) position is not a permanent assignment. The length of a duty assignment is generally up to 5 years with a possible extension. The initial tour is normally 36 months, and with agency approval a second tour of duty up to 24 months. Any subsequent tour of duty extension beyond the second tour will be based on the Agency's needs and the projected contribution of the employee.

During your assignment, an employee from Human Capital will work with you to complete a career assessment and to identify future position interests. Using this information, and in consideration with future leadership vacancies, you will be transitioned into another role based on your skills and the agency leadership needs at the termination of your initial assignment.

Certificates will be issued on an as needed basis, as vacancies occur.

The applicant pool will be honored for a period of 4 months.

If you applied to previous Supervisory Federal Air Marshal (Executive Director, Flight Operations) vacancies, you must reapply.

Additional information

  • The TSA, an excepted service agency, was established by Public Law 107-71, ATSA, on November 19, 2001. ATSA provides TSA with the authority to modify and develop its own human capital program, provided such modifications are consistent with 49 USC 40122.
  • This is an excepted service position. However, there is an interchange agreement with the OPM and TSA that enables Career TSES members who have been approved by the Qualifications Review Board at OPM to qualify for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions without additional competition.
  • You will be required to serve a probationary period of one year unless you previously completed the probationary period in a SES/TSES position.
  • When you enter on duty, you will be required to complete a Public Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 278. You will need to provide this information annually.
  • Veteran's Preference does NOT apply to SES/TSES positions.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated on the quality and extent to which your resume shows that you possess the Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs) and Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) outlined in the "Qualifications" section of the Job Opportunity Announcement. Your resume may be evaluated by an SES/TSES rating and ranking panel, and afterwards, best qualified candidates may undergo an interview and a reference check. The TSA Executive Resources Council (ERC) will review results and make recommendations on final selections to the appointing authority. Only the selectee will be required to write Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) narratives.

Unless you have already been certified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Review Board (QRB) in the past, your ECQs must be certified by the QRB before appointment can occur.

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