Director-National Bio and Agro-defense Facility-USDA ARS

Agency: USDA-ARS
Location: Manhattan, Kansas
Job Category: Faculty Appointments
Salary: $164,201 to $189,600 per year
Last Date to Apply: April 11, 2019
Website: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/528262500
Description: This position is designed as a SES, Career-Reserved or General. USDA structures its SES positions into position levels. This is a position level two. Exceptions to the salary cap may be considered in certain circumstances. SES employees are also eligible to receive bonuses and performance-based awards. Visit http://www.opm.gov/ses/ for additional information and benefits for SES employees. Responsibilities The incumbent serves as the Director of the USDA National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF) at Manhattan, KS. The NBAF science programs are carried out by ARS and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Director serves in a participating leadership role for the planning and program development of the NBAF missions, goals, and policies. Shares responsibility with the Area Director for the allocation, oversight, and efficient use of agency and extramural resources (funds, personnel, property) assigned to research programs. Assures fair selection, professional development, and oversight of the scientific staff and support personnel. Ensures prompt reporting of all operational-related injuries/illnesses, environmental releases, and security issues to the appropriate authorities and to the Area Director per Departmental requirements and processes and to APHIS as appropriate. Assures that the joint administrative management shared by ARS and APHIS is cost effective and efficient, considers ARS and APHIS policies and adequately addresses the needs of all NBAF personnel and programs. Travel Required Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Qualifications: Conditions of Employment Veterans Preference is not applicable in the Senior Executive Service. Initial appointments are required to serve a 1-year probationary period Narrative Statements for the ECQs must not exceed 10 pages Background Investigation required. Qualifications YOU MUST UPLOAD YOUR RESPONSES TO THE EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs) AND TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs). As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible executive leadership and supervisory experience that is indicative of senior executive level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-14/15 grade level in the federal service or its equivalent in the private sector. As such, your resume should demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully fulfill responsibilities inherent in most SES positions such as: - Directing the work of an organizational unit; - Ensuring the success of one or more specific major programs or projects; - Monitoring progress toward strategic organizational goals, evaluating organizational performance and taking action to improve performance; and - Supervising the work of employees; and exercising important policy-making, policy determining, or other executive functions. Failure to meet the basic qualification requirement and address all Mandatory Technical and Executive Core Qualification factors will result in your application being disqualified. EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs): The ECQs were designed to assess executive experience and potential not technical expertise. They measure whether an individual has the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions. All applicants must submit a written narrative to address the ECQs. Your narrative must address each ECQ separately and should contain at least two examples per ECQ describing your experiences and accomplishments/results. The narrative should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments, policy Initiatives undertaken and the results of your actions. Applicants should not enter "Refer to Resume" to explain your answer. The narrative must not exceed 10 pages. NOTE: Current career SES members, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates who have been certified by OPM do NOT need to address the ECQs. 1. Leading Change: This core qualification 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. (Competencies: creativity and innovation, external awareness, flexibility, resilience, strategic thinking, vision) 2. Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organizations 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. (Competencies: conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others, team building) 3. Results Driven: This core qualification 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. (Competencies: accountability, customer service, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem solving, technical credibility) 4. Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. (Competencies: financial management, human capital management, technology management) 5. Building Coalitions: This core qualification 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. (Competencies: partnering, political savvy, influencing/negotiating)Fundamental Competencies: These competencies are the foundation for success in each of the Executive Core Qualifications: Interpersonal Skills, Oral Communication, Continual Learning, Written Communication, Integrity/Honesty, Public Service Motivation. The Fundamental Competencies are crosscutting; and should be addressed over the course of each ECQ narratives. It is not necessary for you to address the Fundamental Competencies directly as long as the narrative, in its totality, shows mastery of these competencies on the whole. Applicants are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action and Result (C-C-A-R) model outlined in the guide. Challenge - Describe a specific problem or goal. Context - Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale). Action - Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge. Result - Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills. Additional information about the SES and Executive Core Qualifications can be found on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) SES Website. You are strongly encouraged to review OPMs Guide to SES Qualifications for specific examples and guidance on writing effective ECQ narrative statements. MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs): All applicants must submit a written narrative response to the following TQs. You must address each TQ separately. Each TQ narratives must not exceed two (2) pages. Please give examples and explain the complexity of the knowledge possessed and the sensitivity of the issued you handled. 1. Described your demonstrated skills in management of high containment (BSL-3 and above) laboratory facilities including administrative oversight and long range planning. 2. Describe your demonstrated research experience in the study of animal emerging and zoonotic (transmitted from animals to humans) diseases or similar activities. Education 0401 Series: 1. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR 2. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education 0701 Series: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree, i.e., Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD), obtained at a school or college of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA). The AVMA web site, http://www.avma.org (external link) , has a listing of all AVMA-accredited veterinary medical schools. OR Graduates of foreign veterinary medical schools that are not accredited by the AVMA Council on Education (Refer to AVMA web site, http://www.avma.org (external link) for information about schools in this category) must meet one of the following requirements.
Job Number: 98
Contact Person: Britnie Tucker
Contact Phone: 202-260-8315
Contact eMail: britnie.tucker@dm.usda.gov