This Public Notice Flyer will fill several Civil Engineer positions in the Department of Commerce (DOC), Office of Economic Development Administration (EDA), under the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-272) to support implementation of the FY2025 Disaster Supplemental Program and other EDA programs.
Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. To qualify at the GS-9 level: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience: Assisting in the design and construction of civil works projects or systems using established criteria or specifications. -OR- THE FOLLOWING EDUCATION MAY BE SUBSTITUTED FOR WORK EXPERIENCE FOR THE GS-9: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering. -OR- Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement. In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above Superior Academic Achievement is based on: Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; (3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/). -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify. To qualify at the GS-11 level: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience: Assisting in the design and construction of civil works projects or systems using established criteria or specifications; and Assisting with any of the following: review of final construction plans, cost estimates and other related documents for compliance -OR- THE FOLLOWING EDUCATION MAY BE SUBSTITUTED FOR WORK EXPERIENCE FOR THE GS-11: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering. -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify. To qualify at the GS-12 level: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience: Designing civil works projects or systems using established criteria or specifications; and Reviewing final construction plans, cost estimates or other related documents for compliance. THERE ARE NO EDUCATION SUBSTITUTIONS AT THE GS12 GRADE LEVEL OR HIGHER. To qualify at the GS-13 level: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience: Managing construction or public works projects; Reviewing contracts prior to bid to determine that construction plans and specifications are within the project scope; Monitoring the finances of engineering projects to assure funds are available and approved costs have been paid.
This position requires Civil Engineers with a wide range of engineering and project management responsibilities. The incumbent will play a major role on a multi- disciplined team making recommendations to the Area Director regarding technical project feasibility and merits, and regarding all aspects of the construction of multi-million-dollar projects, including management of development and implementation of strategies that anticipate customer needs, and the execution of vital change initiatives. As a Civil Engineer, you will: Be responsible for construction project management; ensure conformance with acceptable engineering standards and all statuary and regulatory requirements; Recommend appropriate action, to include changes to the EDA project scope of work; arrange for and participate in pre-construction conferences with representatives of the recipient and the construction contractors, outlining the duties of each during the construction and warranty period and explaining EDA policies and requirements to be followed in the implementation of projects; Review recipients' final construction plans and cost estimates and other related documents for compliance with EDA policies and procedures; approve project scope according to applicable local, state, and federal codes and statutes; Monitor recipients' compliance with all applicable procedures and requirements which are prerequisite to solicitation of bids including, but not limited to, the requirements of Section 106 of PL 89-136, the Relocation Assistance Act, Flood Insurance Act, Clean Air Act, Davis-Bacon and related Acts, Executive Order PL 90-480 concerning design of buildings for handicapped persons and all pertinent sections of the latest edition of EDA's Summary of Standards.