Please note that if a person has one year of undergraduate course work performing power flow or stability studies for high voltage power systems, plus will obtain a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electric Engineering by Spring, 2011, then they can apply for this position.
| | NORTHWEST POWER NORTHWEST VALUES |
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Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is evolving our application process over the next several months to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
PLEASE READ THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY. Be advised that the requested information in this job posting varies from previous announcements and from Merit Promotion announcements (for current or former federal employees).
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| Job Title & Series: Electrical Engineer (Study Engineer), GS-850 | Job Announcement Number: 8551-11-BPA |
| Grade & Salary Range: GS-09: $54,028 - $66,493 GS-11: $60,520 - $78,674 GS-12: $72,540 - $94,300 The full performance level of this position is GS-12.
This position may be filled at the GS-9, GS-11or GS-12 level. | Opens: 12/08/10 Closes:12/29/10 (Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) to be accepted.) |
| Organization: Transmission Service/ Systems Operations/Technical Operations (TOT)
| Location: Vancouver, WA |
| Type of Position: NOTES: This is a temporary promotion opportunity, not to exceed one year. Temporary promotions can be extended up to five years or made permanent without further competition. If this appointment is not made permanent, you will be returned to your original position of record, or to a different position of equivalent grade and pay. Temporary promotions may be terminated at any time based on the needs of management.
If you are currently employed at a grade equivalent to, or higher than, the advertised position, the action will be considered a detail for processing purposes, and no salary increase will be associated with accepting the position. Detailed employees will be returned to their original position of record. Details may also be terminated at any time based on the needs of management. | |
| Anticipated number of positions to be filled: More than one position may be filled | |
Eligibility:
Applications will be accepted from current BPA employees in the competitive service. Employees on Term appointments are not eligibile to apply.
About BPA:
The Bonneville Power Administration has been powering people and careers for nearly 75 years. We are a non-profit federal agency that provides clean, emissions-free electricity to the Pacific Northwest and maintains a high voltage transmission system to deliver that electricity. We are a leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship, promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy, the smart grid, fish and wildlife protection and initiatives to address climate change. We are a visionary and innovative agency that values diversity and creativity and encourages continuous learning. We are located throughout the Pacific Northwest with opportunities in cities, smaller communities and rural areas. You can learn more about BPA at www.bpa.gov .
Job Summary & Major Duties:
This Electrical Engineering position reports directly to the Manager for Technical Operations. This is a technical specialist position requiring broad technical and policy knowledge and experience in the development and application of transmission technologies sufficient to effectively guide agency and national research policy and project choices. Duties include:
- Provides technical knowledge for running power flow and stability studies to determine system operating limits for critical and significant transmission paths
- Provides technical knowledge for the definition, development, testing and deployment of Subgrid and/or Intertie or network operations for agency, regional or national level activities in the areas of constrained schedule management, curtailment procedures and processes, operational policy development and/or operational analyses.
Technical Operations provides products and specialized technical and operational support for real-time dispatch of the transmission system, including coordination with other internal groups, public utility customers and constituents, western interconnection utilities, and regional and national reliability entities. They develop and manage all near-term operational transfer capabilities, including the Total Transfer Capabilities for the Open Access Same-Time Information System. They provide outage coordination support, which includes an outage coordinator, tasked with facilitating and planning for complex outages with the requesting entities. They develop control center automation requirements or provide primary technical oversight for Automatic Generation Control, protection Under-frequency Load Shedding, Under-voltage Load Shedding and reactive switching scheme settings, SCADA, Remedial Action Schemes (RAS), automatic voltage control schedules, disturbance monitoring and reporting systems. They provide operating information necessary for other BPA functions such as Dispatch, to carry out their duties and directly support the development of standards, guides, procedures and agreements for safe and reliable interconnected electric utility operations within the western interconnection. They provide system modeling analyses of operational conditions for daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal operating conditions, create operational nomograms and provide specialized operational studies to support BPA, regional or national reliability compliance activities. They manage and distribute data generated in real-time and develop statistical and other analyses of power system data, including transmission system performance indices for use in operations and maintenance by other internal and external customers, regulatory entities such as NERC, FERC and/or WECC. They plan and develop the Operations Standards and Reliability Criteria and review and prepare responses to project requirements and contracts. They manage and support power system automation efforts, as well as provide operating information and data to support specialized research and development projects, capital and expense projects and Agency Asset Management and Asset Investment processes.
This position may be covered by the BPA Consecutive Accelerated Training and Promotion Plan (CATPP). Coverage is not guaranteed and the decision on individual coverage will be made by the selecting official. If covered, the following information is applicable.
This position is covered by Bonneville’s Consecutive Accelerated Training and Promotion Plan for Annual Positions (P.L. 335-06). Candidates selected under this announcement at grades GS-05 through GS-11 will be placed in an accelerated training program designed to accelerate his/her ability to assume higher-level duties and responsibilities by allowing training to be substituted for experience required in the position. A candidate entering the program is eligible for a maximum of three (3) consecutive promotions up to the GS-12 grade-level, based upon training received as part of the program. The individual(s) selected for this position will be required to enter into a training agreement prior to reporting for work. Although the intent of the program is to advance an employee, promotions are not guaranteed and will depend on acceptable performance as well as the availability of higher-level work.
Example of Plan Application: A candidate enters the program at the GS-07 grade level with promotion potential to the GS-12 grade level. The candidate is eligible for promotion to the GS-09 grade level after a six-month period provided all training requirements are met and performance is at an acceptable level. The candidate is eligible for subsequent promotions to the GS-11 and GS-12 grade levels after six-month periods, respectively, provided all training requirements are met and performance is at an acceptable level. Therefore, if the candidate successfully completes each phase of training, he/she may advance from GS-07 to GS-12 in 18 months rather than the standard 36 months it would take without the benefit of the accelerated training program.
Minimum Qualifications:
Specialized Experience
GS-09: One year of electrical engineering experience performing power flow or stability studies for high voltage power systems.
GS-11: One year of electrical utility engineering experience performing and analyzing power flow or stability studies for high voltage power systems.
GS-12: One year of electrical utility engineering experience performing power flow or stability studies for higher voltage power systems, along with the ability to provide power system analysis and recommendations
In order to be rated as meeting the minimum qualifications, we must be able to determine from your application that you have a minimum of one year of the specialized experience requirement described above. Applicants who have qualifying experience performed on less than a full-time basis must specify the percentage and length of time spent in performance of such duties.
NOTE: Minimum Qualifications and Time-in-Grade Requirements must be met within 60 calendar days of the closing date of this announcement. Applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade level in the Federal service. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to the next lower grade of the position to be filled.
EDUCATION
College transcripts are required. Failure to submit will result in a rating of not qualified.
A. Degree: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience – college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding; both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
1. Professional Registration – Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration.
2. Written Test – Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals-In-Engineering (FE) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Applicants who have passed the examination and have completed all the requirements for either (a) a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology (BET) from an accredited college or university that included 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, or (b) a BET from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) may be rated eligible for certain engineering positions at the GS-5 level. Eligibility is limited to positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of the engineering technology program.
3. Specified Academic Courses – Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
Related Curriculum – Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance.
NOTE: College transcripts are required (photocopies are acceptable). If you are not currently in a GS-800, professional engineering series, you must provide a copy of your college transcripts with your application. Failure to provide will result in a rating of not qualified.
Education obtained outside the United States: If your education has been obtained outside the U.S, you must submit proof with your application that your transcripts have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education institutions.
Substitution of education for specialized experience: Completion of education in the amounts shown below is qualifying at grades, GS-09 and GS-11 if it provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.
GS-09: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.
GS-11: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Your application materials will also be reviewed against the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) listed below to determine your qualifications
Please describe your experience and thoroughly address the statements below within your resume, cover letter, and/or other supporting material you choose to submit. We must be able to determine that you possess the following KSAs. Clearly articulating your experience possessing this knowledge, performing these skills or demonstrating these abilities is critical to determining your qualifications for this position. For more information on how to complete KSAs, please go to http://jobs.bpa.gov/How_To_Apply/ksa.cfm.
From your application packet, we must be able to determine that you have direct experience meeting the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs).
1. Ability to use power flow and stability modeling applications under various power system conditions. (Include:
· the problems you’ve encountered and resolved
· on- and off-line analyses tools you used or developed
2. Ability to provide electrical engineering support in the development, testing, and deployment of network operations. (Include:
· activities in the areas of constrained schedule management
· curtailment procedures and processes,
· operational policy development and analysis.
3. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing. (Include:
- Types of written communication used
- Examples of negotiating or persuasion communications
- Examples of conflict resolution
4. Ability to work as a part of a team. (Include:
- identifying needs and addressing them;
- learning and applying new techniques and solutions
- assisting team members to achieve common goals
Additional Requirements
· Applicants must possess a current valid State’s Driver License to operate a government owned vehicle (GOV).
· 1 to 5 nights of overnight travel per month is a requirement of the position.
Security & Suitability
The sensitivity level of this position is designated as ‘Low Risk – Nonsensitive’, which requires that the selectee pass a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) personnel investigation and receive a favorable suitability determination. Under existing OPM regulations, current Federal employees transferring from another department or agency who have successfully passed this level (or higher) personnel investigation will not be subject to re-investigation under OPM suitability regulations. Further, employees with unescorted access to facilities, systems, and equipment, which, if destroyed, degraded, or otherwise rendered unavailable, would affect the reliability or operability of the bulk electric system, or have access to critical cyber assets that are essential to the reliable operation of the bulk electric system will be required to undergo a Special Agency Check every seven years, thereafter (or sooner if for cause.)
Application Package Checklist:
Resume, cover letter, and/or other supporting material you choose to submit that fully describes your education and experience. Application must contain sufficient information to determine eligibility for the position. (The Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612) can be found at http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/of612.asp).
Applications must include the following information:
- Job Announcement number, title, and grade
- Full legal name, mailing address, contact telephone number and email address
- Country of citizenship
- High school attended which includes name of high school and location.
- Employment history [Unpaid experience (internships, volunteer work, etc.) related to the position may also be included]. Include job title (include series and grade if position was Federal), duties and accomplishments, employer's name and address, supervisor's name and phone number, starting and ending dates (month and year), salary, and hours worked per week. Explain any gaps in employment.
- Indicate if we may contact your current supervisor.
- A list of other job-related training, skills (i.e., languages, tools, machinery, typing speed, etc.), certificates and licenses, recognition, professional memberships, publications, leadership activities, etc.
Grade Information: You must indicate on your application the grade level(s) for which you are applying. Candidates hired at less than full-performance level may be promoted without further competition when assigned higher-level duties and meeting all qualification requirements.
College transcripts (photocopies are acceptable) for positions with education requirements.
If your resume or application does not provide all the information requested in the vacancy announcement, you may lose consideration. Material received after the closing date will not be accepted.
How To Submit Your Application:
Applications may be emailed, faxed or mailed. Due to security requirements, we only accept hand-delivered application from individuals who currently have badge access to the building. Applicants are responsible for ensuring materials are transmitted successfully.
Ø Via Email: Application materials may be emailed to jobs@bpa.gov with the Job Announcement Number in the subject line. If you send your application through multiple formats, please include your name and the Job Announcement Number on each page.
Ø Via Facsimile: Application materials may be faxed to 503-230-3149
Ø Via US Mail: Application materials may be mailed to Bonneville Power Administration, ATTN: Human Capital Management, NHQ-1, PO Box 3621, Portland, OR 97208-3621.
After You Apply:
You will be notified via email of receipt of your application package. Applicants should retain a copy of their application as BPA does not return applications or provide copies. For more information, please refer to: http://jobs.bpa.gov/How_To_Apply/whathappens.cfm.
Upon receipt of your complete application package, a review of your application materials will occur to ensure you meet the specialized experience (minimum qualification) requirements. Your application materials will then be reviewed against the knowledge, skills and abilities listed above to determine whether you qualifications.
Applications submitted by fax or e-mail must be time/date stamped or electronically postmarked at point of origin by the closing date. If all materials are not received by the closing date, your application will be evaluated solely on the information available.
Additional Information:
| Veterans | The Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) gives veterans access to job vacancies that might otherwise be closed to them. The law allows eligible veterans to compete for vacancies advertised under agency’s promotion procedures when the agency is seeking applications from outside of its own workforce.
The Veterans Recruitment Appointment Authority (VRA) is a special authority by which agencies can appoint eligible veterans without competition to positions at any grade level through General Schedule (GS) 11 or equivalent. VRA appointees are hired under excepted appointments to positions that are otherwise in the competitive service.
For more information, please refer to the OPM VetGuide: http://opm.gov/staffingPortal/Vetguide.asp
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| Career Transition Assistance Program/ | Individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. ‘Well qualified’ for non-status applicants means an applicant who scores 85 points or higher prior to the addition of veteran's preference, if applicable.
Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605 (a) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP or ICTAP eligible.
For additional information please refer to http://www.opm.gov/ctap/. |
| Benefits | Information on BPA benefits can be found at: http://www.jobs.bpa.gov/Benefits/
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| Equal Employment Opportunity
| The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factor.
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| Reasonable Accommodation | 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.
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| Legal and Regulatory Guidance | Privacy Act - Privacy Act Notice (PL 93-579): The information requested here is used to determine qualifications for employment and is authorized under Title 5 U.S.C. 3302 and 3361.
Signature - Before you are hired, you will be required to certify the accuracy of the information in your application.
False Statements - If you make a false statement in any part of your application, you may not be hired; you may be fired after you begin work; or you may be subject to fine, imprisonment, or other disciplinary action.
Selective Service - If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. You may obtain your Selective Service Number at: https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfVerification.aspx
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| Forms Availability | All application materials may be obtained by calling 503-230-3230, or 1-877-975-4272. You may also download a copy of this announcement, including all forms, from our website at http://www.jobs.bpa.gov . |
