Supervisory General Engineer (Director) -Direct Hire

Summary

This position serves as Director of the Office of Enforcement in the Office of Pipeline Safety (PHP), located within the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Duties

The Supervisory General Engineer (Director): Develops a strategic approach to the development, implementation, and coordination of the nationwide pipeline safety enforcement program. Develops and implements enforcement policy on compliance and enforcement matters for application by federal and state officials. Interprets policy and assists with resolving differences when conflicts of interpretation arise. Develops performance measures and indicators to track enforcement program impact and outcomes in accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act. Develops the Office of Pipeline Safety enforcement procedures and guidelines used in securing evidence of compliance and noncompliance with the federal pipeline safety standards using due process mandated by Federal laws. Develops new techniques for determining the existence of noncompliance and correlates the results obtained by use of those techniques with the intent of regulations and past field experiences. Coordinates, as appropriate, with the Office of Inspector General, Department of Justice and the PHMSA Chief Counsel's Office on criminal cases. PHMSA desires a candidate with a proven record of managing a pipeline safety enforcement program related to the transportation of natural gas, petroleum, and other hazardous materials by pipeline. An individual who consistently manages and maximizes personnel potential through delegation, coaching, empowerment, and accountability. The candidate must be capable of adapting quickly to complexities and challenges and possess sound judgement and willingness to make decisions during stressful environments.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience requirements. To qualify for the Grade 15, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-14, it must include: Experience applying regulations for the Federal pipeline safety program. Knowledge of the practice and operations of the pipeline industry as it relates to compliance with Federal safety regulations. Experience leading a diverse workforce including creating a culture that fosters high standards of ethics; developing strategies to maximize employee potential; developing performance plans and monitoring performance; resolving conflicts; fostering workforce diversity on the staff and recognizing staff contribution. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Safety Engineering: Knowledge of engineering concepts, principles, and practices applicable to the design, construction operation and/or maintenance of natural gas and/or hazardous liquid pipeline systems and materials. Labor Law: Knowledge of the practices and operations of the pipeline industry in compliance with Federal safety regulations and safety programs administered by the states. Manages and Organizes Information: Successfully coordinate with pipeline stakeholders in the development of regulations and standards and advocate program objectives. Conflict Management: Manages and resolves conflicts, grievances, confrontations, or disagreements in a constructive manner to minimize negative personal impact. Writing: Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. For all types of consideration, 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. For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4 All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

MANDATORY EDUCATION 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) 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 1 year 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). All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to an engineering position. TRANSCR