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Environmental Engineer/Physical Scientist

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Headquarters, Division Aquatics, Air and Environmental Protection HQ232
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our most precious resource.

This position is located in Headquarters, Division of Aquatics, Air and Environmental Protection, HQ232, Washington, DC. Information about Washington, DC and the surrounding area can be found here.

We expect to fill one vacancy at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
07/03/2024 to 07/19/2024
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$153,354 to - $153,354 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Travel and relocation expenses will be paid consistent with the Federal Travel Regulation, Chapter 302, and Departmental policy. Selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. See "Other" section for additional information on 2017 Tax Cuts as related to PCS.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
HQDE-24-12464965-EG
Control number
798553600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens - No previous Federal Service is required. CTAP and ICTAP candidates in the local commuting area.

Duties

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  • The incumbent serves as a key policy specialist, reviewer and expert for the BLM Abandoned Mine Lands/Hazardous Materials Management (AML/HMM) Program and analyzes the effectiveness of previous policy choices.
  • Management including funding, risk management, hazardous materials treatment and remediation procedures, cleanup operations policies, abandoned mine physical safety closures, and intergovernmental fund leveraging through partnerships and agreements.
  • Provides guidance on technical issues including remediation of contaminated, polluted, physically dangerous, or unhealthy sites on the public lands administered by BLM.
  • As a member of the BLM’s AML/HMM program team, the incumbent has primary responsibility for assuring compliance with all applicable environmental laws, regulations and policies primarily for environmental compliance and contamination cleanup actions.
  • Involves others inside and outside the Bureau in the development of implementation strategies including program and legislative proposals to advance program objectives and goals.
  • Provides support to the Directorate, representing BLM policy to Executive and Congressional officials, leaders of other federal agencies, and state and local governments, and private interests concerned with BLM AML/HMM responsibilities.
  • Provides input and assistance to the AML/HMM team lead during the formulation and implementation of the Annual Work Plan. Assists with planning the allocation of current year funding and performance and/or adjustment.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • This position does not support remote work. You will be required to report physically to the official reporting worksite as specified by the supervisor.
  • U.S. Citizenship is required. Direct Deposit Required.
  • Be sure to read the "How to Apply" and "Required Documents" Sections.
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license; nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Land.
  • DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit: www.dhs.gov/e-verify
  • Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
  • An applicant appointed to this position must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license.
  • May require a one year probationary period.
  • THIS IS A DRUG TESTING DESIGNATED POSITION. This position is subject to both pre-employment and random drug testing as a condition of employment. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
  • Incumbent must meet ongoing specialized safety training requirements in order to meet field health and safety standards.
  • Position may require the incumbent to participate in an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Medical Monitoring Program.

Qualifications

In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the qualification requirements - please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

In addition to meeting the education requirement, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity. Specialized experience is further defined as: Experience in environmental engineering to identify and clean up contaminated sites. Experience in preparing proposal for contracting and cost estimating on remediation actions. Experience in tracking inventory of sites and case management, while working closely with managers and staff at the headquarters and local level off ices to carry out remediation and pollution prevention eff orts. Experience in developing and coordinating analyses and recommending program changes and innovations in remediation and cleanup and response policy.

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

Applicants must meet both eligibility and qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement which requires that you have a degree or a combination of education and experience.

Education 0819 series: Basic 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 1year 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.)

Education 1301 series: Basic Requirements:
1. 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

2. 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.

You must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. See Required Documents section for more information.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.

Tax Law Impact for PCS: Moving expenses reimbursement is a taxable benefit. However, the Federal Travel Regulation 18-05 issued by General Services Administration has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance and Relocation Income Tax Allowance to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individuals.

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

This is a bargaining unit position represented by the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 341.

This announcement is being advertised concurrently under number HQMP-24-12464964-EG, for status candidates and special hiring authority eligible. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.

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 questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. Qualified applicants will be placed in one of three predefined categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified and Qualified. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Candidates placed in the Best Qualified category will be identified for further consideration through an additional assessment required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (please ensure these are reflected in your resume for full consideration):

Environmental Engineering - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods to protect and improve the quality of the environment and its resources; and to monitor, control, abate, and prevent pollutants.
Hazardous Materials - Knowledge of hazardous materials and waste and their uses, interactions, dangers, production, handling, storage, and disposal.
Teamwork - Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.
Interpersonal Skills - Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the following additional assessment: Subject Matter Expert Resume Panel Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

Candidates placed in the Best Qualified category after the second assessment is completed will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be contacted for an interview.

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