FEMA Announces Instructional Systems Specialist Job

Job Title: Instructional Systems Specialist

Department:Department Of Homeland Security

Agency:Federal Emergency Management Agency

Job Announcement Number:FEMA-14-KJD-36730DEUR

JOB SUMMARY:

About the Agency

When disaster strikes, America looks to FEMA. Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit www.fema.gov for additional information.

This position is ideal for an individual interested in planning, leading, administering, managing, and evaluating programs that target fire/emergency services officer professional development. This position starts at a salary of $89,924 (GS-13). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), US Fire Administration’s National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD.

EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born after 12/31/59.
• This position may require occasional non-emergency travel.

DUTIES:

In this position, you will become a member of the Curriculum & Instruction Branch. Typical assignments include:

• Planning, leading, administering and evaluating professional development programs that target management and executive-level fire officers;
• Working with staff to evaluate curriculum options and the effectiveness of curriculum content;
• Monitoring and assessing training and educational needs related to program goals and objectives;
• Planning and providing oversight of activities and programs for alumni; and
• Planning and conducting high profile national meetings, conferences, symposiums.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

The qualification requirements listed below must be met within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Applicants must provide a transcript to support the education requirement to be considered for this position.

Degree that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours appropriate to the work of the position to be filled. The course work must have included study in at least four of the following five areas:
1. Learning theory, psychology of learning, educational psychology: Study of learning theories as they relate to the systematic design, development, and validation of instructional material.
2. Instructional design practices: Study of the principles and techniques used in designing training programs, developing design strategy and models, and applying design methods to the improvement of instructional effectiveness.
3. Educational evaluation: Study of the techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of instructional/educational programs, including developing written and performance tests and survey instruments, and determining reliability and validity of evaluation instruments.
4. Instructional product development: Study of the techniques appropriate for developing training materials, including identifying learner characteristics, specifying objectives, applying training strategy, validating training materials, and evaluating training.
5. Computers in education and training: Study of the application of computers in education and training, including selecting appropriate computer software.

In addition to meeting the education requirement listed above, you qualify for this position at the GS-13 level (starting salary $89,924) if you possess the following: One full year of specialized experience at the GS-12 level that demonstrates the following: experience in leadership development or similar discipline and have professional experience in a national or state fire service training organization, a college/university, or as a chief officer or equivalent who heads a major bureau or division within a fire department/emergency medical services organization.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use a job questionnaire to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education and training. The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:

• Knowledge of and experience in the fields of adult education, instructional systems design and emerging educational technology.
• Knowledge of current public sector policy issues.
• Skill in the design and use of applied research techniques.
• Skill in managing and coordinating multiple, ongoing training courses and/or workshops.
• Ability to interact with high-level Government officials, senior officers and private-sector professionals.
• Ability to communicate and present orally.
• Ability to communicate and present in writing.

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:

1. Best Qualified: Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a superior level of all evaluation criteria.
2. Well Qualified: Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a satisfactory level of the evaluation criteria.
3. Qualified: Applicants possessing the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. 
Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the Federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. Information about ICTAP or CTAP eligibility can be found by clicking here to access OPMs Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.

Veterans: Veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. Veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific, professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. This position is considered scientific/professional. For information on veterans preference, please click here. 

To preview questions please click here.

BENEFITS:

You can review our benefits at: https://careerconnector.jobs.treas.gov/cc/fema/vacancy/preview!benefits.hms?orgId=724&jnum=109418

OTHER INFORMATION:

• To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation forPublic Trust as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a review of financial issues, such as delinquency, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.
• This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.
• Relocation expenses are not authorized for this position.
• All candidates must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.

HOW TO APPLY:

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday) – see Agency Contact Information. If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us as soon as possible.
Step 1 – Create or Upload a resume with USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov)
You may create a resume in USAJOBS or upload one of your own choosing. Although you must enter your Social Security Number (SSN) for USAJOBS, we will only see the last four digits for identification purposes.
Step 2 – Apply Online
Click the “Apply Online” link of this announcement and then select the resume you wish to submit with your application. You will be redirected to the CareerConnector website to complete the application process.
Step 3 – Answer the Online Questions and Submit Your Online Application
If this is your first time on the CareerConnector website, you will be prompted to register by answering questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. The system will save these responses and take you back to the main screen so that you can answer the job-specific questions. Select “Take me to the assessment” and click on the “Continue” button to answer the job-specific questions. You must answer all the questions and click the “Finished” button.
Step 4 – Review and Confirm Your Submission
You will now have the option to upload a document or print fax cover-sheets for your required documents (see step 5 for details). Once you click “Done,” you will see a summary of your application for your review. You may also print a copy for your records. When you click “Finished” at the bottom of the page, you will then be directed back to USAJOBS where you can confirm that your application has been submitted and track your application status.
Step 5 – Submit Required Documents
You can submit any required documents (discussed below) by document upload or fax. Whichever method you choose, please include the job announcement number with your documents. To protect your privacy, we encourage you to remove your SSN from any documents that you submit.
Document Upload:
You may upload supporting documents in one of two ways:
1. Once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement, you will be prompted to upload your document(s) to your application. You will be given the choice to either upload the document as part of the application process or you can select a document that you’ve already loaded on USAJOBS. or
2. You can upload a document to an existing application by logging into your USAJOBS account profile. Click on “My Applications” and search for the vacancy. Once you’ve located the vacancy, click on the vacancy and select “Apply Online.” Move through your existing application to the Documents page and select Upload in order to add a document to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation that the document uploaded.
In the Application Review section, you may verify acceptance of your documents in CareerConnector if you see them listed on the “Vacancy Documents” screen. Then, click on “Finished” to be returned to USAJOBS.
Fax: Create a fax cover-sheet in CareerConnector by following the “Faxing Supporting Documentation” instructions. The fax number will be on the cover-sheet.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

1. Your resume 
2. Your responses to the job questionnaire 

3. Your transcript This position has an education component to the qualifications. Submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) or a list of coursework with hours completed. Those with foreign education, click this link. 

4. Are you a veteran? Submit Member Copy 4 of your DD 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) and/or documentation of service connected disability. Click here for more veterans information.
5. Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP)? Submit: 

• a copy of your agency notice,
• a copy of your most recent performance rating, and
• a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, noting your current position, grade level, and duty location.