ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SPECIALIST

Summary

You will serve as a ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SPECIALIST with the Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Policy Management & Budget, Office of Environmental Policy & Compliance in ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

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Duties

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As an Environmental Protection Specialist for the Office of the Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Policy Management & Budget, Office of Environmental Policy & Compliance, at the full performance level (GS-14) the major duties will include but are not limited to the following:

1. Provides advice and guidance to bureaus in the region with the implementation of departmental environmental policy and management guidance for Interior's Bureaus and offices, including National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance programs, reviews, and multi-bureau departmental Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and other issues pursuant to NEPA and the Department's delegated responsibilities.
2. Reviews and coordinates environmental compliance issues that cross Bureaus' lines of authority, which meet certain criteria and often involve controversial subjects or those having specific Secretarial interest.
3. Represents the Department on committees, working groups, task forces, and response teams with other governmental and non-governmental entities to deal with a wide range of environmental matters with regional or statewide implications that fall within the purview of the Department's authorities and/or programs.
4. Serves as the Department's regional lead for the protection of natural and cultural resources and historic properties during both emergency and remedial response activities in support of the National Response Framework for Emergency Support Function (ESF) #10 and ESF #11, and the National Disaster Recovery Framework for Natural and Cultural Resources Recovery Support Function (NCR RSF).
5. Participates as the Department's representative on Regional Response Teams, Area/Sub-Area Committees, and international Joint Response Teams, for oil discharges, hazardous substance releases, natural disasters, and terrorism incidents in their region in compliance with the National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP).
6. Serve as the Department's regional point of contact for notification, and distributing notices to the bureaus of oil and hazardous substance spills occurring in the region and provides advice and assistance to Federal, State, Tribal, and/or foreign governments regarding response activities.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. This position requires after hours duties 24/7 for emergencies such as oil and hazardous substances spill coordination.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

*Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/26/2026 -unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience . For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position you must possess the following minimum qualifications by the close date of the announcement:

Specialized Experience (GS-13) : To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Applying environmental laws, regulations, policies and procedures to review and evaluate complex and sensitive issues and projects, including those related to related to environmental reviews, incident preparedness or response, or cleanup of hazardous waste sites;
2. Supporting senior level officials on technical policy or guidance pertaining to environmental issues such as those related to environmental reviews, spill preparedness and response, or disaster response and recovery;
3. Interpreting guidelines on various environmental programs and implementing guidelines in partnership with government entities or organizations (Federal, State, local and/or international).

Specialized Experience (GS-14) : To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Applying environmental laws, regulations, policies and procedures to review and evaluate complex and sensitive issues and projects, including those related to related to environmental reviews, incident preparedness or response, or cleanup of hazardous waste sites;
2. Advising senior level officials on technical policy or guidance pertaining to environmental issues such as those related to environmental reviews, spill preparedness and response, or disaster response and recovery;
3. Developing and interpreting guidelines on various environmental programs and implementing guidelines in partnership with government entities or organizations (Federal, State, local and/or international).

Volunteer Experience: 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.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for experience.

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive. A continued service agreement may be required if it is determined you are eligible for a permanent change in duty station (PCS), recruitment, or relocation incentive.

All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.

Physical Demands/Work Environment: The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required, e.g., walking, standing,

carrying light items during periodic site visits.

The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.