Salary Range:	56,411.00 - 87,893.00 USD /year
Series & Grade:	GS-1360-11/12
Promotion Potential:	12
Open Period:	Friday, November 13, 2009 to Friday, December 04, 2009
Position Information:	Full Time Career/Career Conditional
Duty Locations:	1 vacancy - New Orleans Metro area, LA
Who May Be Considered:	United States Citizens

Job Summary:

The Department of the Interior is devoted to protecting and preserving the natural resources of this great nation, including National Parks, Landmarks, and the well-being of communities, including those of Native American, Alaska Natives and affiliated Islanders.

As Oceanographer you will provide technical expertise to the Environmental Sciences Section (ESS) in fulfilling their Regional NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) Responsibilities and to coordinate the Regional Environmental Studies Program. Accordingly you will provide relevant scientific documentation to complete Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements necessary to fulfill these obligations.  As well as provide support during all phases of studies contracted for providing oceanographic information. 

Applications will be accepted from all Qualified U.S. Citizens.

 

This is a permanent, full-time position.

 

This position is located with the Physical Sciences Unit, in the Environmental Sciences Section, under Leasing & Environment within Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, for Minerals Management Service located in Jefferson, LA

Key Requirements:

• Applicants must be U.S. Citizens
• This position is subject to a pre-employment background investigation
• Relocation expenses ARE authorized
• You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit

Major Duties:

The selectee will have the following responsibilities:

• Provides technical and higher mathematics/modeling expertise on all question or problems pertaining to or involving physical oceanography for the Gulf of Mexico Region and provides recommendations and technical guidance on same to management of the Gulf of Mexico Region.
• Participates in the preparation of documents including environmental impact statements (EIS), Environmental Assessments (EA), Special Reports, and or/ Reviews, Proposed Action and Alternative Memoranda, impact scenarios, and Environmental Studies Program statements of work.
• Coordinates Oil Spill Risk Analysis, environmental studies and NEPA documents to ensure that the physical oceanographic information being used is appropriate.
• Assists in the preparation of regional study plans and coordinating the development, design, procurement, administration and evaluation of major physical oceanographic study programs. 

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position you must meet the Basic Educational Requirements and in additional to meeting the basic education requirements, applicants must also have experience and/or directly related education.

 

Basic Educational Requirements:

 

Oceanographer GS-1360

1. Degree: major study of at least 24 semester hours in oceanography or a related discipline such as physics, meteorology, geophysics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, geology, or biology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of oceanography, physics, geophysics, chemistry, mathematics, meteorology, computer science, and engineering sciences.

OR

2. Combination of education and experience--course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
   

Applicants who qualify on the basis of major study in biology or geology must have had at least 6 semester hours in the major directly concerned with marine science or 6 semester hours in oceanography; applicants who qualify on the basis of other physical sciences or engineering must have had differential and integral calculus and at least 6 semester hours in physics.

Specialized Experience Requirements:

GS-11

Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-09).

 Examples of specialized experience include: demonstrated knowledge of oceanography related to the protection of environmental resources, coordinating and writing (with minimal oversight or supervision) scientific documents that relate to oceanographic or environmental issues; application of higher mathematics to oceanographic problems; demonstrated experience independently coordinating subtasks of environmental projects –or-- coordinating (or assisting with) the development of multidisciplinary technical environmental documents from start to finish; and knowledge of applicable laws and regulations relating to environmental programs and/or issues.

-OR-

You may substitute education for experience at the GS-9 level if you have achieved: A Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M., if related. 

*A Substitution of an Appropriate Combination of Experience and Education For Experience: Only education in excess of the first two years of progressively higher level graduate education toward a Ph.D. or the equivalent graduate degree may be used toward this combination.  

*To determine whether your combination of experience and education is “appropriate”: First determine your total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for this grade level; then determine your experience as a percentage of the experience required for this grade level; finally, add the two percentages.  The total percentage must equal 100 percent to qualify.

GS-12

 Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11).

 Examples of specialized experience include: working knowledge of oceanography related to the protection of offshore environmental resources, independently coordinating and writing scientific documents, as a subject-matter-expert, that relate to oceanographic or environmental issues; application of techniques of higher mathematics to oceanographic models or problems; independently coordinating and managing environmental projects --or-- independently overseeing the development of NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) environmental documents; experience giving professional presentations, or authoring professional documents related to environmental studies, or associated disciplines.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date (Friday, December 04, 2009) of this announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review in our office, in other Federal agency personnel offices, and on OPM's web site at: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications .

Education: If this position requires specific educational coursework to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements. Failure to provide the documents will result in you receiving an ineligible rating.  

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp .

Requirements: As part of the on-line application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or competencies and it takes approximately 30 minutes to complete:

Knowledge of Physical Oceanography

Scientific Documents

Environmental Laws

If you are a status applicant (current permanent Federal employee or former permanent Federal employee with reinstatement eligibility), or  are eligible under a special appointing authority and you are selected under this vacancy, you may be subject to serving a new one-year probationary period.

 

If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.

How You Will Be Evaluated:

Basis of Rating: You will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you are eligible, you will receive a numerical rating based on your on-line responses to the application questions.   These responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questionnaire you will not be considered for this position.

To preview this questionnaire and determine if your experience matches the skills required for this position, click the following link: View Assessment Questions

Veteran's Preference: If you are claiming 10-point Veterans Preference, you MUST submit an SF-15, DD-214 and supporting documents as outlined on the SF-15.  If you are claiming 5-point Veteran's Preference, you MUST submit a DD-214 that identifies your type of discharge.  This information must be received by the closing date ( Friday, December 04, 2009 ) .

For more information on Veterans' Preference visit:  http://www.opm.gov/veterans/html/vetguide.asp .

Note: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.

Benefits:

The Federal Government offers a number of exceptional benefits that are unmatched by most other organizations.  The following web address is provided for your reference to explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees.   This link also provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal employees. http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/ei61.asp .

Other Information:

Important Note:  All Department of the Interior (DOI) employees are subject to conflict of interest restrictions and may be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report.  Please refer to the Minerals Management Service webpage for Ethics located at:   www.mms.gov/adm/ethics.html  for additional information.  DOI employees are subject to the Conflict of Interest Restrictions imposed upon all employees of the Executive Branch of the Federal government.  Employees of DOI and MMS are restricted concerning their holdings of Federal lands and resources administered or controlled by the Department of the Interior.  This includes the holding of stock in corporations engaged in mining activities on Federal lands (e.g.: oil, gas, coal, alternative energy resources, etc.).

Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate.  Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly.  Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date.

If you are claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, you must submit proof by the closing date of the announcement that you meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(a) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP or you will not receive priority consideration.  The proof includes a copy of the agency notice, your most recent Performance Rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty station.   To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, you must earn a minimum score of  85 or above (prior to the assignment of veteran's preference) on the rating criteria for this position.

If you are selected for this Federal position, you will be required to complete a "Declaration of Federal Employment", (OF-306), prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.  If you do not answer all questions truthfully and completely, or provide any false statements on your application, that may be grounds for not hiring you, or dismissing you after you begin work, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

Your application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a).   The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.

Recruitment methods and selection procedures will be based solely on merit after fair and open competition, and will be made without regard to political, religious, or labor organization affiliation or non-affiliation, marital status, race, color, sex, national origin, non-disqualifying disability, sexual orientation, or age.

How To Apply:

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, which includes both of the following parts:

1.  Your responses to the on-line Assessment Questionnaire; and

2.  Your résumé and any other documents specified in the Required Documents section of this job announcement.

We highly recommend using Application Manager for convenience and the quickest processing. Track your progress to a Complete Application Package using the My Application Packages checklist and status displays in Application Manager. Your Application Package status must be Completed AND Submitted by  Friday, December 04, 2009.

Step 1

Instructions for Applying Online: If your résumé is coming from the USAJOBS Résumé Builder, you begin the process by clicking the "Apply On-line" button near the bottom of this page. Your résumé will be attached only to the Application Package you complete and is submitted immediately after you click the "Apply On-line" button for this job announcement and not to any Application Packages you may have already created. If your résumé is going to be one you have prepared outside of USAJOBS Résumé Builder, click this link to begin the process: Online Questionnaire.

To return to Application Manager at any time, use the method selected to begin the initial process as described above, or simply go to http://applicationmanager.gov/ .

Instructions for Applying By Fax: If you are faxing a completed Form 1203-FX, do not use a separate cover page. Simply make sure that all six pages of the Form 1203-FX are on top of any other documents you are faxing. The fax number is 1-478-757-3144.  Feed all documents into your fax machine top first so that we receive them right-side up.  You can find the Form 1203-FX on the OPM website or at this link: http://opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/OPM1203fx.pdf .

 

Note:  If you do not have Adobe Acrobat and are not able to view PDF files, go to the Adobe website www.adobe.com/ to download the latest version of this software free. 

Instructions for completing Form 1203-FX: If you are applying to this announcement by completing the FORM 1203-FX instead of using the On-line Application method, please use the following step-by-step instructions as a guide to filling out the required questionnaire.

1. You will need to print the vacancy announcement and refer to it as you answer the questions. You may omit any optional information; however, you must provide responses to all required questions. 2. If the questionnaire includes narratives for you to respond to, you MUST type your responses in a separate document using Microsoft Word (.doc) or plain text (.txt) format.  3. Add that document to the bottom of your completed FORM 1203-FX before faxing.  4. Be sure to double check your application BEFORE you submit it.
View Occupational Questionnaire

Required Documents:

Step 2

Submitting Required Documents: In order to determine minimum qualifications, at a minimum your résumé must contain the job title (include job series and grade if Federal), duties, starting and ending date (month and year) and hours per week worked.  If you do not provide the minimum information requested above, this will prevent you from qualifying for this position.

Please note: if you do not have Adobe Acrobat and are not able to view PDF files, go to the Adobe website www.adobe.com/ to download the latest version of this software free. 

In addition to your résumé and the online questionnaire, the following documents are required for this vacancy announcement:

• Transcripts (if applicable)
• Qualifications (such as professional Certificate, license, etc. if applicable)
• Veterans Preference documentation (if applicable)
• Miscellaneous

If you upload your documents using Application Manager, DO NOT FAX the same documents.

Faxed documents will take 2-3 business days to process.  To fax documents, you MUST use the special cover page. Print the pre-populated cover page on the upload documents screen of Application Manager Or, you may click this link http://staffing.opm.gov/pdf/usascover.pdf to print a copy of the cover page. When faxing documents, follow the procedures outlined below:

• Include the 8-character Vacancy Identification Number MM291895,
• Provide your Social Security Number and full name in the spaces provided or we will not be able to associate your document(s) with the rest of your application,
• You may submit multiple documents for the same vacancy announcement using one cover page,
• Fax your cover page and documents to 1-478-757-3144

Faxed documents submitted with missing or incomplete information will not be processed.  Any of the following will prevent your documents from being processed:  

• Not using the special cover page mentioned above
• Missing, incomplete, or invalid Vacancy Identification Number
• Missing or incomplete Social Security Number or name

Note:  If you have documents in your Application Manager account from a previous vacancy announcement, they can be opened, copied and saved then reused as an upload file for this vacancy. Uploading your documents will speed the processing of your application for this announcement.

Once the on-line questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement e-mail that your submission was successful. 

TO VERIFY RECEIPT OF YOUR FAXED AND/OR UPLOADED DOCUMENTS:

1. To verify receipt of your documents, please allow at least one hour for your documents to upload and clear the virus scan then log in to Application Manager at: https://applicationmanager.gov/ 
2. Select Vacancy Identification Number MM291895
3. You will see a list of all uploaded and faxed documents that we have received from you for this vacancy announcement.  Though your uploaded documents appear immediately, please allow at least two business days for your faxed documents to appear  If they have not appeared after two business days, you may need to re-submit them.

NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MIDNIGHT Eastern Time (Washington, D.C. time) ON THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT ( Friday, December 04, 2009). 

If you do not submit a complete on-line application, you will not be considered for this position and requests for extensions will not be granted, so double check your application BEFORE you submit it.   Most libraries and employment offices can provide access to the Internet.   If you are unable to apply on-line for any other reason, you must speak to someone in the Servicing Human Resources Office listed on this announcement PRIOR TO THE CLOSING DATE (Friday, December 04, 2009) for assistance.   The Servicing Human Resources Specialist will make a decision on a case-by-case basis.

Contact Information:

HR Assistant Phone: (703)787-1446 Email: human.resources@mms.gov

Or write: Minerals Management Service DO NOT SEND MAIL PLEASE APPLY ONLINE Herndon, VA 20170 USA

What To Expect Next:

If you are rated as one of the most highly qualified candidates, you will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and a possible interview.   We expect to make a selection within 30-45 days of the closing date of this announcement.  After a selection is made all applicants for this vacancy announcement will be notified of their status either by letter or e-mail.