Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

This position is located in the immediate office of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). The OPPT is responsible for implementation of those activities of the Agency as mandated by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA): implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the Pollution Prevention Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and other statutes. OPPT provides leadership on a wide variety of national industrial chemical and pollution prevention-related policy, communications, and resources management matters coming before the Administrator. The Office implements decision-making processes and coordinates the development, clearance and submission of all policy and programmatic planning documents for the chemical safety program.

The Deputy Director for Programs in OPPT provides day-to-day supervision and direction for all activities assigned as delegated by the Office Director, utilizing their scientific background and technical expertise.

Specific duties of the position include, but are not limited to:

• Managing efforts to enhance and implement the Agency’s chemical management program by developing and implementing policies for new and existing chemicals, including national program chemicals.
• Developing policy and providing scientific and technical support for Office programs, including TSCA reform efforts to strengthen EPA’s chemical management program and interfacing with internal and external stakeholders.
• Collaborating with the Office Director and Deputy Director for Management in planning and managing resources, both human and financial, and evaluating organization and functional assignments to determine how to improve operations.
• Coordinating strategic planning and program evaluation, including participating in planning the development, assessment and coordination of activities related to chemical management and pollution prevention programs assigned to the Agency.
• Supervising a large staff of employees organized into units headed by subordinate managers and supervisors.

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• You must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.

If you are selected, you must complete a 1-year SES probationary period, if not previously completed.

The Ethics in Government Act, P.L. 95-521, requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a financial disclosure statement, OGE-278, prior to assuming the SES position, annually, and upon termination of employment.

REAL ID requirements became effective on 05/07/25. If you are selected for this position and plan to use your driver’s license or identification card during the onboarding process (i.e., for employment eligibility verification or to obtain your EPA identification card), the document must be a REAL ID-compliant state-issued driver’s license or identification card that includes the REAL ID-compliant star marking, or must be an Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL). You will receive information about alternative acceptable documents (e.g., passport) prior to onboarding. For more information about REAL ID, see Dept. of Homeland Security and REAL ID FAQs.

This position is designated as High Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

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Qualifications

The work of this position is classified in the Program Management, 0340 series where the qualifications include both general management skills and characteristics that are applicable to all SES positions and technical or program responsibilities specific to this position. Applicants must have substantive general experience which provides a good basic or general knowledge of the principles of organization, management and administration; and substantive specialized (operating administrative or managerial) experience in a type of work or a combination of functions directly related to this position.

All applicants must have one year of specialized experience at a level close to the work of this job that demonstrates the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform in this role. Typically this experience can be found in work within this field or a field that is closely related.

As a basic requirement for entry into the Senior Executive Service, applicants must also provide evidence of progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications listed below.

A. Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Mandatory for competitive applicants - Failure to address these factors within the required 2-page resume will result in your application being disqualified, unless you are a noncompetitive eligible applicant. 

ECQ 1 - COMMITMENT TO THE RULE OF LAW AND THE PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDING. Involves demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people.
ECQ 2 - DRIVING EFFICIENCY. Involves demonstrated ability to strategically and efficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades.
ECQ 3 - MERIT AND COMPETENCE. Involves demonstrated knowledge, ability, and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality.
ECQ 4 - LEADING PEOPLE. Involves demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals, and to drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture. This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and hold individuals accountable.
ECQ 5 - ACHIEVING RESULTS. Involves demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to stated goals from superiors.

Your responses should be clear and concise and show a level of accomplishment and a degree of responsibility. Leadership competencies for each ECQ can be found in OPM's Guide to SES Qualifications.

B. Technical Qualifications (TQs) - Mandatory for all applicants - Failure to address these factors within the required 2-page resume will result in your application being disqualified.

TQ 1 - Demonstrated experience initiating actions, effectively integrating complex information in support of regulatory programs, and solving complex problems and issues.

TQ 2 - Demonstrated experience providing leadership and direction for conducting chemical risk assessment and developing risk management options.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be evaluated based on the experience described in your resume with the required Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Technical Qualifications (TQs). It will then be forwarded to a three-member Rating Panel consisting of SES members for further review. The Rating Panel will decide which Best Qualified applicants will be issued to the Selecting Official by the Human Resources Office.