Community Planner (Transportation)
What you'd do
The employee will serve as a Community Planner responsible for overseeing and administering Federal-aid transportation planning programs and activities that lead to the development of transportation plans and work products that lead to implementable transportation projects or programs. Provides advice and guidance to State Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organization(s) (MPO), and local government officials regarding assigned areas of the Transportation Planning program.
Major duties
As a Community Planner (Transportation), you will: Provide guidance and technical assistance to Division staff, state Department of Transportation and MPO staffs on Federal planning requirements, policies, and procedures. Negotiate working agreements, exchanges, and review information, and resolve problems. Provide leadership and influence in key transportation planning decisions. This includes activities such as those related to Statewide Planning and Research Programs (SPR), Statewide Transportation Planning Products, Metropolitan Planning products, and the Unified Planning Work Program. Play a key role in reviews to assess the adequacy of State and/or Metropolitan agency planning processes to meet Federal transportation planning requirements, including TMA Certification Reviews and Reports. Monitor emerging issues and planning applications and takes responsibility for learning the application of these emerging or specialty areas to planning practices and requirements. Initiate and facilitate communication with partner agencies to share FHWA developed state-of-the-practice transportation processes, tools, and best practices. The ideal candidate is an experienced mid-career transportation planning professional who has the skills and abilities to effectively represent the agency to Federal, state and local officials and the general public. This candidate is someone with good communication, negotiation and partnering skills who desires to work in a challenging, complex, innovative environment.
What you need to qualify
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration. To qualify for the GS-11 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-09 it must include: Experience in transportation planning that entailed consideration of the interplay of various modes of transportation. This experience may have included performing work, such as or related to the following: Reviewing transportation products/documents and preparing comments and recommendations; Providing advice and guidance on transportation planning at a local, regional, state, or national level; Researching information and developing presentations on a variety of transportation planning topics; Reviewing transportation programs and making recommendations for improvement; or Coordinating with other technical specialists on transportation planning products. To qualify for the GS-11 on Education alone, you must have: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application. To qualify for the GS-12 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11 it must include: Experience in transportation planning that entailed consideration of the interplay of various modes of transportation (as described above under the GS-11 section); AND Experience developing and/or evaluating transportation planning and program development processes at a local, regional, state, or national level; AND Experience in representing the organization at public meetings and conferences. You cannot qualify on education at the GS-12 level; you must have experience. 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: Organizational Awareness - Knows the organization's mission and functions, and how its social, political, and technological systems work and operates effectively within them; this includes the programs, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the organization. Technical Competence - Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues. Public Planning - Knowledge of functions, principles, methods, and techniques of public planning, including those related to community planning, outdoor recreation planning, and natural resource management, such as demand forecasting, environmental impact analysis, financial forecasting, and land use planning and zoning. Performance Measurement - Knowledge of the principles and methods for evaluating program or organizational performance using financial and nonfinancial measures, including identification of evaluation factors (for example, workload, personnel requirements), metrics, and outcomes. 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/frequently-asked-questions/employment-faq/federal-hiring/how-do-i-apply-for-federal-jobs/ Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
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