Pathways Recent Graduate (Pdp) - Community Planner

Under the DOT Recent Graduates Program, this position in the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Professional Development Program (PDP) provides up to 24 months of entry-level career development training for participants to learn and apply technical skills to advance the Nation's highway program. Participants matriculate through assignments with seasoned professionals (PDP coaches) as apprentices through mentored on-the-job training in the planning field.

Qualifications:

Please be sure that you have read and meet the following mandatory requirements before proceeding:

• DOT Pathways Recent Graduate Program requirements (outlined under the Requirements section).
• Individual Occupational Requirement for the GS-0020 series (outlined under the Education Requirements section).

Note that current students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of the closing date of this announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

If the above has been met, then review the following grade specific experience and/or education qualifications to determine if you meet full eligibility before applying:

For the GS-09:

On Experience, you must have at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-07 grade level, which included:

• Experience using planning principles, methods, and practices to correlate data and follow an operation through a series of related detailed steps or processes in fact gathering or analysis; AND
• Experience conducting studies of the physical, social, and/or economic factors which are characteristic of a small community or a project area in a community; AND
• Experience preparing summaries, narrative statements, and analyses of the pertinent, technical facts reported in project studies.

Or on Education, you must have at least 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or have been awarded a master's or equivalent graduate degree. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

You can also have a combination of graduate education and experience.  This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

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:

1. Public Planning - Knowledge of functions, principles, methods, and techniques of public planning, including those related to community planning, outdoor recreation planning, and natural resource management, such as demand forecasting, environmental impact analysis, financial forecasting, and land use planning and zoning.
2. Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
3. Oral 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 clues, 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

Education:

Individual Occupational Requirement for the 0020 Community Planning Series - All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to a this position:

A. Degree: Community Planning; or related field such as urban affairs, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, sociology, geography, economics, political science, or public administration that included at least 12 semester hours in the planning process, socioeconomic and physical elements of planning, urban and regional economic analysis, and development finance.

Note: Applicants with degrees in related fields, such as those listed above, who do not have the 12 semester hours of specified course work must have had at least 1 year of work experience in community planning acquired under the supervision and guidance of a Community Planner. 

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major in one of the above disciplines, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the above disciplines of which at least 12 semester hours were in the planning process, and socioeconomic and physical elements of planning, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

For more specifics, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-0020-Community Planning series at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0000/community-planning-series-0020/

College or university education -- Educational course work may be at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Successful completion of graduate level courses will be accepted as evidence that an applicant also possesses the knowledge taught in courses at lower levels in the same field.

For more information on the Pathways Program, please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/students-recent-graduates/#url=Program-Fact-Sheets

You must provide a copy of ALL of your applicable college/vocational/technical transcript(s). See  "Required Documents" section for additional information.

Employment Type: FULL_TIME