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Transmission Safety Program Manager

Department of Energy
Bonneville Power Administration

Summary

This position is located with Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), in Transmission Business Operations (TAB), Transmission Chief of Staff (TA), Transmission Services (T).

Ready to take your agency experience to the next level? As Transmission Safety Program Manager, leverage your insider knowledge to lead strategic workforce initiatives, champion positive change, and solve key operational challenges. Help shape our future from within-apply today!

Overview

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Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$114,684 - $149,091 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
27-BPA-53934-13113858-BPA
Control number
892725400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to active Bonneville Power Administration employees with competitive status, currently on a career or career-conditional appointment.

Videos

Duties

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Powering the Pacific Northwest Starts with Protecting Our People: Step into Strategic Leadership as Transmission Safety Program Manager

At Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), our mission is vital: delivering reliable, affordable, and clean electric power across the Pacific Northwest while upholding environmental stewardship and operational excellence. Every megawatt transmitted relies on the skill, dedication, and safety of our people.

You already know firsthand the dedication it takes to keep this region powered. Now, take your agency career to the next level by shaping our operational future from within. As the Transmission Safety Program Manager, you will bring your deep understanding of BPA's systems, culture, and operational goals to lead high-impact safety, workforce, and organizational initiatives. Partnering directly with Transmission executive leadership, you will turn strategic priorities into practical, sustainable programs that protect our workforce, strengthen grid reliability, and foster a world-class safety culture across our entire transmission footprint.


Key Duties & Impact Areas
We have identified six premier responsibilities where your institutional insight and leadership will make a lasting impact:
1. Lead Full-Lifecycle Strategic Programs from Concept to Completion - Provide end-to-end strategic leadership on complex, transmission-wide initiatives. You will define project vision, establish clear milestones, manage resources, and ensure programs transition smoothly from initial planning to everyday operational success across our regional operations.

2. Serve as a Trusted Advisor to Executive Leadership - Act as a key strategic partner and expert advisor to Transmission Vice Presidents, executive managers, and operational leaders. You will translate complex workforce, safety, and operational data into clear, persuasive recommendations that guide executive decision-making on long-term agency priorities.

3. Drive Proactive Risk Management and Systemic Problem-Solving - Anticipate challenges before they impact operations. By evaluating operational, cultural, and organizational risk factors, you will develop practical risk-mitigation plans, design preventive measures, and implement corrective actions that safeguard personnel and ensure reliable program delivery.

4. Champion Enterprise Change Management and Leadership Coaching - Lead meaningful, sustainable organizational change across department and business line boundaries. You will design tailored change strategies-focusing on leadership sponsorship, clear communications, and coaching-to help teams across the agency embrace new safety standards, modern processes, and improved working methods.

5. Build Broad Coalitions and Cross-Functional Alignment - Unite diverse teams of technical specialists, operational managers, and corporate partners across BPA. Leveraging consensus-building and collaborative problem-solving, you will bridge organizational boundaries to align shared goals, resolve complex technical issues, and deliver cohesive solutions.

6. Optimize Programs Through Continuous Quality and Performance Metrics - Establish clear benchmarks and evaluation criteria to measure the true effectiveness of safety and workforce programs. You will gather real-world feedback, analyze performance trends, and modernize business practices to ensure our programs consistently meet mission goals and adapt to emerging operational needs.

Why Bring Your Leadership to This Role?
This is an exceptional opportunity to apply your proven track record, familiarity with our transmission landscape, and passion for continuous improvement in a role with direct, agency-wide visibility. Help build a safer, more resilient BPA from within-apply today and lead the standard for operational excellence.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

In accordance with Executive Order 14170, applicants are encouraged to respond to four short, free-response, essay questions in the questionnaire. Answer to these questions is not scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration.

When you apply you will be asked a series of questions to determine your eligibility for employment and your qualification for this position specifically. You must answer all of these questions completely and truthfully.

Key Requirements:

  • You must be a United States Citizen.
  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • Males must abide by Selective Service registration requirements.
  • You will be required to report in person to the official duty location.

Qualifications

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
A qualified candidate's resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as experience: 1) participating in or managing project lifecycles by defining requirements, developing schedules, tracking deliverables, and preparing business cases or process improvement analyses; 2) conducting workforce analyses, staffing assessments, or workload capacity modeling to evaluate organizational needs and support long-range human capital planning; and 3) creating and implementing change management deliverables, communications, or training materials to support stakeholder adoption and minimize resistance during organizational transitions.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-13 grade level.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

Time-in-Grade: Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement to receive consideration.

CTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

There are no specific education requirements or substitution of education for experience for this position.

Additional information

  • This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE
EEO Policy: USAJOBS Help Center | Equal employment opportunity policy
Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Employees or applicants may request Reasonable Accommodation (RA) for assistance, when applying or competing for a job or performing a job due to their medical condition or to exercise their religious beliefs. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or selection process, please contact the Staffing Specialist listed on this vacancy announcement. USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy
Reasonable Accommodation for USAHire: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.
Veterans Information: USAJOBS Help Center - Veterans
Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Telework: https://www.opm.gov/telework/
Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ - Who must register: https://www.sss.gov/faq/#who-needs-to-register

BPA strives to ensure a safe and positive work environment.

We also understand the importance of work/life balance and offer a variety of programs and policies designed to create more flexible, responsive work environments supportive of commitments to community, home and family members. BPA also supports employees' overall wellness through its Be Well program, which helps employees adopt healthier lifestyles and feel better about their work/life balance. The program supports five key areas of life: career, community, financial, physical and social.?

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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 for this job based on how well you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements above. Once the announcement closes, we will conduct a review of your application package to verify your eligibility and qualifications. If you are found qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process.

Minimum Qualifications: Once the application process is complete, the Human Resources Offices or Subject Matter Expert (SME) will review your two-page resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum job qualifications.

Selection will be based on skills and competencies, not educational credentials or self-reported experience.

Merit Promotion & VEOA Procedures: If you are minimally qualified for this job, your will be assessed and evaluated to determine if you are a best qualified candidate. Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements and current employees must have at least a fully successful or equivalent performance rating to receive consideration.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as having a score of 85 or better.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (11/22/2026) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13113858

USAHire: 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 an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The USA Hire Assessment includes a cut score. USA Hire cut scores are based on the minimum level of proficiency required to perform the job for a specific series and grade. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. The cut score is set at a government-wide level and not at the agency or individual vacancy level for USA Hire standard assessments. In accordance with 5 CFR 300.201(a), the U.S. Office of Personnel Management does not release testing and examination materials, scoring criteria including the specific cut score requirements, or other information used solely to determine individual qualifications, so as not to compromise the objectivity of the testing process.

Bonneville Power Administration

We are truly honored that DOE has been named America's #1 Best Employer for Veterans in 2023 by Forbes-not only among Government agencies, but among employers across the U.S. We are so proud of this ranking which reflects our commitment to the employment of veterans. As so many veterans at DOE renew their service to our Nation, we are deeply committed to their success and advancement. Veterans shape the future of energy

The Bonneville Power Administration is a nonprofit federal power marketing administration based in the Pacific Northwest. Although BPA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, it is self-funding and covers its costs by selling its products and services. BPA markets wholesale electrical power from 31 federal hydroelectric projects in the Northwest, one nonfederal nuclear plant and several small nonfederal power plants.

This position is located in Vancouver, WA, a splendid place to live because of its picturesque downtown area full of trendy shops, delicious restaurants, and exclusive breweries. There are several breathtaking nature parks, miles of bike trails, and amazing panoramic mountain views! Vancouver is the perfect place for anyone who loves to be outdoors and really enjoys nature!

Agency contact information

Matthew Nobles
Phone
503-230-4634
Email
manobles@bpa.gov
Address
Bonneville Power Administration
P.O. Box 3621
Portland, OR 97208
US

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