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Director, Health and Ecological Criteria Division

Environmental Protection Agency
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Summary

***This announcement has been amended to reflect a closing date of April 26, 2023.***

This Senior Executive Service (SES) position is located in the Office of Water (OW), Office of Science and Technology (OST), Health and Ecological Criteria Division (HECD). About OW.

This is an office-centered position--you must physically report to the duty station stated in this announcement on a regular basis. Partial work-from-home flexibilities may be authorized.

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Overview

  • Hiring complete
  • Open & closing dates

    03/20/2023 to 04/26/2023

  • Salary

    $183,501 - $212,100 per year

  • Pay scale & grade

    ES 00

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    Location

    1 vacancy in the following location:

  • Remote job

    No

  • Telework eligible

    Yes—as determined by the agency policy.

  • Relocation expenses reimbursed

    No

  • Appointment type

    Permanent

  • Work schedule

    Full-time

  • Service

    Senior Executive

  • Promotion potential

    00

  • Job family (Series)
  • Supervisory status

    Yes

  • Security clearance

    Not Required

  • Drug test

    No

  • Announcement number

    RTP-SES-2023-0033

  • Control number

    713843800

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Duties

The Director for the Health and Ecological Criteria Division (HECD), in the Office of Science and Technology (OST), in the Office of Water (OW), at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for developing sound, scientifically-defensible human health and ecological protection criteria for the nation's water resources under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. HECD is responsible for developing maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs) and health advisories for contaminants in drinking water; developing health-based levels for use by the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) in unreasonable risk to health guidance, providing human health toxicological and exposure assessment documentation to support drinking water standards, assisting in emergency situations by providing scientific and toxicological advice; developing ambient water quality criteria, sediment quality criteria bioaccumulation factors, biological criteria, wildlife criteria, wetlands and habitat criteria, and sewage sludge criteria and regulations; developing risk assessment and exposure assessment methodologies applicable to Office of Water programs; and coordinating OW research needs with Office of Research and Development regarding human health, ecological effects, risk assessment, exposure assessment, and criteria development activities.

Specific duties of this position include:

  • Serving as a principal advisor to the OST Director and the Assistant Administrator for Water for major program areas assigned to the Division.
  • Planning, developing, organizing, directing, and implementing national policy, priorities, guidance, and strategies regarding the human health and ecological risk assessment for criteria and standards for organic and inorganic chemical, microbiological (turbidity, chlorine residual), and radiological contamination for the purpose of assuring safe and aesthetically desirable water under provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act; and restoring and maintaining the biological, chemical, and physical integrity of the nation's water resources under provisions of the Clean Water Act.
  • Providing overall direction and management for a multidisciplinary staff organized across multiple subordinate branches.
  • Accomplishing or directing the actions involved in coordinating HECD programs with internal and external organizations including key officials of EPA; other federal agencies, state, local and tribal governments; private industry; environmental organizations and the public.
  • Demonstrating leadership and commitment to scientific integrity as a top priority in the organization.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen.
  • You must submit resume and required documents (see How to Apply section).
  • You may be required to travel between 25-49% of each month.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to E.O. 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

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.

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 will result in your application being disqualified, unless you are a noncompetitive eligible applicant. 

ECQ 1 - LEADING CHANGE. 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. 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. 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. Involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
ECQ 5 - BUILDING COALITIONS. 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.

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 at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf

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

TQ 1 - Demonstrated experience managing a complex multi-disciplinary scientific and/or technical organization.

TQ 2 - Demonstrated experience leading the execution of science-based programs to protect human health or the environment (e.g., development of human health or aquatic life risk assessments, risk communication, program evaluation, systematic review process, and management).

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Veterans’ preference is not applicable to the Senior Executive Service.

If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.

EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information:  EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at EPA. Our excellence can only be fully realized by staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in the Agency’s workplace and mission. We encourage applications from candidates with a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. At EPA, diversity is a vital element in bringing a balance of perspectives to bear on every challenge we face. We are committed to creating a diverse workforce because we know that the individual strengths and abilities of our employees make us a stronger organization. The more inclusive our employee base is, the greater the variety of ideas that are generated, and the more representative we are of the nation we serve. To learn more about how EPA values and supports our diverse workforce, visit Equal Opportunity Employment at EPA.

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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 your narrative statements addressing the 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.


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Required Documents

Documents to be submitted online:

NOTE: You should ensure your social security number, date of birth, and any other personal information are redacted.

-- Resume clearly stating your experience related to this position as described in the Duties section and Qualifications section.  In describing your experience, you need to be clear and specific.  We may not make assumptions regarding your experience.  

-- A narrative statement covering each of following:

  • Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Required for competitive applicants - Address each of the five factors individually within a limit of ten pages total. Exceeding this limit will result in disqualification of your application. 
  • Technical Qualifications (TQs) - Required for all applicants - Address each listed factor individually within a limit of two pages per factor. Exceeding this limit will result in disqualification of your application. 

Your examples should use the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) model to emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments with results of your actions, policy initiatives and level of contacts. Additional information on the proper preparation of ECQ statements and the CCAR model is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf

-- Senior Executive Service (SES) noncompetitive applicants: If you are currently serving under a career SES appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program approved by OPM, proof of SES noncompetitive eligibility must be submitted: 

  • SF-50 showing your status as a:
    • current Career SES appointee,
    • former Career SES appointee with career SES reinstatement eligibility, or
    • current or reinstatement eligible Career SES-equivalent executive who is/was employed in a Federal government agency that has an interchange agreement with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) allowing for movement between the agency’s SES-equivalent personnel system and the SES; OR
  • A certificate of completion from an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP). This applies only if your ECQs have been approved by an OPM Qualifications Review Board through the SES CDP.
  • You are not required to submit a narrative statement addressing the ECQs, but are encouraged to do so.

To learn more about submitting documentation, visit Uploading Documents to USAJOBS.

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How to Apply

You are strongly encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application for this position.

You must provide specific examples of your education, experience, training and awards in the manner and order instructed below which are applicable to each Executive Core Qualification (ECQ) and Technical Qualification (TQ). Response to the five ECQs and TQs is mandatory. Failure to address the ECQs and TQs will result in your application being disqualified. 

To begin the application process, click the Apply button to the top right on this screen, follow the prompts to log-in/register, submit all required documents, and complete the assessment questionnaire. To be considered, you must submit a complete application package by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the day the announcement closes.

All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJOBS document portfolio feature.

If you cannot apply online, you must contact the Human Resources Office listed below for assistance no later than three business days prior to the closing date of this announcement.  You must provide complete application materials by the day the announcement closes.

For detailed instructions to assist you in ensuring your application package is received, go to EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

EPA provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities.  Decisions for granting reasonable accommodation are made on a case-by-case basis.

  • If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process (submitting the application or completing the application process), contact the Human Resources Office listed below no later than three business days prior to the closing date of this announcement, and the Human Resources Office will work directly with you.
  • If you are referred to the hiring official for consideration and need an accommodation during the selection process, you should notify the person who contacted you from the hiring official’s office.
  • If you are selected and need an accommodation during the hiring process, notify the HR Specialist who made the job offer to you.

The National Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators will provide assistance to you, the Human Resources Office, and/or the hiring official as needed.  For more information, see Reasonable Accommodation.

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Agency contact information

Claire Worley
Phone
919-541-0892
Email
worley.claire@epa.gov
Address
Environmental Protection Agency
US Environmental Protection Agency
Human Resources Management Division
109 T.W. Alexander Drive, MD-C639-02
Research Triangle Pk, North Carolina 27711
United States
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Next steps

It is your responsibility to check your USAJOBS account for application status information. You can track the progress of your application via your USAJOBS account by clicking the Track This Application link. Your USAJOBS application status will appear in your profile if your application was received successfully; if your submission was not received, the application status will show as unavailable. After the announcement closes, the Human Resources Office will conduct a review of your application package. If your application is complete and you meet basic qualification requirements, it will be forwarded to a three-member Rating Panel consisting of SES members for further review of your narrative statements addressing the required ECQs and TQs. The Rating Panel will decide which Best Qualified applicants will be referred to the Selecting Official by the Human Resources Office. Interviews are arranged through the Selecting Official. If you are selected, you will be contacted personally by the Human Resources Office posting this announcement. Your application status will change in USAJOBS when updates are available for each step of the process.

NOTE: We may verify all information you provide in your resume and questionnaire responses through reference and/or background check, and/or verification of your education. Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for employment consideration.

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This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/713843800. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.