Supervisory International Transportation Specialist (SME) (Open to both U.S. Citizens and Federal Employees)

Duties

(PLEASE NOTE WHEN APPLYING USE THE JOB POSTING LINK BELOW AND SELECT THE “APPLY” BUTTON – NOT THE EMAIL LINK)

As a Supervisory International Transportation Specialist, you will:

Serve as a division chief and recognized expert in transportation policy discussions and negotiations.  Manage the operational execution of the office and daily management of its people and program responsibilities. Expertise in leading a team or as a senior representative on bilateral or multilateral programs including interpreting, applying or negotiating agreements or developing and implementing international programs or projects.
Formulate program objectives and work with the Director to determine which programs or projects should be initiated, dropped, curtailed or otherwise modified, and the amount of resources assigned to particular activities.  Direct the formulation and adoption of policies designed to address new and unprecedented issues and problems stemming from changes in the international transportation industries.
Plan, develop, and coordinate international initiatives and formulate coalitions with international organizations, senior officials of other U.S. and foreign government agencies and the U.S. and foreign private sectors, ensuring that interagency and private sector contacts are constantly briefed on new developments.  Manage and implement multimodal partnerships on advancing U.S. policy objectives.
Represent the Office of International Transportation and Trade in high level meetings, conferences and negotiations with other governments and international organizations to achieve the international and multimodal transportation policy objectives of the United States.  Lead U.S. delegations at international meetings, assuming full responsibility for representing the views and interests of the U.S. Government.
Provide research and expert policy guidance by preparing reports and recommendations.  Provide policy guidance, counsel and assistance to the Office Director, the Assistant Secretary and the Secretary, the Congress and other executive branch agencies on all transportation and trade policy matters.
IDEAL CANDIDATE STATEMENT: The Department of Transportation is looking for a seasoned, motivated and self-reliant professional who can share their expertise formulating and implementing international transportation policy and managing staff and multi organizational project activities and resources to achieve project objectives and milestones. Someone with demonstrated experience in leading a team or as a senior representative on bilateral or multilateral programs including interpreting, applying or negotiating agreements or developing and implementing international programs or projects.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment
You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

your performance and conduct;
the needs and interests of the agency;
whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
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.

SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT:  Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required.
SUPERVISORY PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year supervisory probationary period (unless already completed).
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A background security investigation is required for all selected individuals. Appointment will be subject to the applicant’s successful completion of the security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
DRUG TEST: This position has been determined to be a critical safety/security position as defined in the Department of Transportation (DOT) Order, DOT 3910.ID entitled “Drug and Alcohol-Free Departmental Workplace.” Therefore, is selected for this position you will be required to submit to a pre-employment / pre-appointment drug test. you will also be subject to Random Drug Testing.
Qualifications
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

Individual Occupational Requirement: Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of the transportation function(s) of the position to be filled (for positions above GS-5).

To qualify for the Grade 15, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-14, it must include:

Experience formulating and implementing international transportation policy as a regular part of your job with minimal supervision; AND
Supervisory experience, including leading teams, utilizing project management tools, and coordinating team activities to deliver successful results.
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:

External Awareness – Understands and keeps up-to-date on local, national, and international policies and trends that affect the organization and shape stakeholders’ views; is aware of the organization’s impact on the external environment.
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.
Management – Maintains a balanced workload among subordinates, adapts to changing priorities, reviews work products for quality and compliance with requirements, and assesses performance and training needs.
Communication – Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
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/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant’s criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, Show email. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

PLEASE NOTE:

Relocation expenses may be considered and are contingent on budget.
Recruitment bonus may be considered and is contingent on budget.

Expand additional information
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.
Benefits
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

All applicants:  Your application will be reviewed in two phases determine how you move forward in the hiring process.  Phase I: Your resume will be reviewed to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. ONLY two (2) pages of your resume will be reviewed. Additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume) will not be reviewed.  Applicants passing “Phase I” will move on to the “Phase II” of the assessment process where your application will be reviewed and rated based on the KSAs/Competencies listed in the vacancy announcement by a Subject Matter Expert (SME).

You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
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RESUME: In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application.  These should be legible and in a readable font size. A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages.

Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time, or average number of hours worked per week,  and position titles.  If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level.  The resume should show relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and forwarded to the selecting official in consideration of your application. To receive credit, submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).

VETERANS: Your last DD214 (member 4 copy), Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility.

If applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214 (member-4 copy).
If claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability.  An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
If applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran’s Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) (https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214 (member-4 copy), which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.
FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit SF-50(s) that verify your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant.  DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50.  Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks’ time-in-grade requirements. https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/service/sf-50

NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.

DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 80) and provide all of the following documents:

your most recent performance appraisal,
the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.
Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee’s Guide to Career Transition.

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.  You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.