Deputy Director, Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate

The Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Directorate at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) leads the entire Marshall workforce in its commitment to assuring mission success and making the workforce and the work of the Center and the Agency as safe as possible. The SMA Deputy Director assists the SMA Director in planning, establishing, implementing, and directing all SMA programs and processes for the MSFC institution and associated in-house and contracted activities.

This job is open to

• Federal employees – Competitive service
  Current or former competitive service federal employees.
• Federal employees – Excepted service
  Current excepted service federal employees.
• Senior executives
  Those who meet the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).

Clarification from the agency

The area of consideration for this position is all groups of qualified individuals within the civil service, Senior Executive Service (SES) reinstatement eligible, and SES Candidate Development Program certified graduates with noncompetitive eligibility. A person is considered to be in the civil service only if occupying a civil service position at the time of application.

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Duties

The Deputy Director, Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate:

• Provides SMA Technical Authority leadership for planning and directing safety, reliability, software, avionics, quality assurance/engineering operations in a manner judged to produce the best results in terms of quality, efficiency, economy, and timeliness for the total safety related activities of the Center.
• Represents MSFC in designated areas of responsibility with NASA Headquarters, Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, Enterprises, NASA Centers, other government elements, industry, or community boards, panels, committees, councils, working groups and ad hoc groups as requested or approved by the Director, SMA.
• Serves occasionally as the spokesperson in industry-wide discussions of safety, reliability, and quality assurance programs.
• Provides advice and assistance to the Director, SMA, the Center Director, his/her immediate staff, and all office and department heads Center-wide.
• Directs development of Center-wide SMA standards and guidelines tailored to unique program requirements and manages the Agency-delegated functions.
• Supports and works with responsible MSFC organizations to ensure an integrated center safety culture.
• Assists in determining Center policy for SMA implementation and identifying/resolving issues in assigned areas of responsibility, successfully making decisions or recommendations in achieving goals and objectives as outlined in the NASA and Center strategic plans.
• As delegated the Deputy Director, SMA, serves as the approval authority for the Center Director on waivers to Center safety policies and regulations and for the program offices as approval authority for waivers to quality and reliability requirements.
• Partners with the Director, SMA, to make available the resources to define and provide SMA-required services and manages the organization, providing SMA services for programs, projects, Center partners, and the institution at MSFC.
• Fosters and continually drives a culture of engagement, diversity, inclusiveness, excellence, and innovation within and outside of the organization and NASA. Champions the Agency’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility and creates an environment and culture that promotes and enables the Agency’s commitment to safety, inclusion, integrity, teamwork, and excellence.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• The individual selected will be required to file an ‘Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report’ (OGE-278) in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
• Initial Senior Executive Service (SES) Career appointee is subject to a one-year probationary period.
• Successful completion of a background investigation commensurate with the risk and sensitivity level of the position.
• Successful completion of pre-employment and random drug testing may be required.
• Must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

You must have the skill and ability to perform the duties described above as demonstrated by progressively responsible supervisory/leadership experience, normally obtained over several years by serving in positions at the GS-15 level or equivalent.

Your application package must be in your own words. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement, or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA’s guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process.

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you MUST address each Executive Core Qualification (ECQ) and Mandatory Technical Qualification (MTQ) separately. If you fail to do so, your application will be rated ineligible. We recommend you provide two (2) examples of relevant experience for each ECQ. Responses to ALL ECQs must not exceed ten (10) pages; MTQ responses must not exceed one (1) page per MTQ. Please include your full name on all documents submitted.

If you are currently serving under a career SES appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES (this means you were previously employed as a Career SES employee and you successfully completed a one-year probationary period), or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program and been certified by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) you MUST submit a resume and in a separate document address the MTQs. Any ECQs submitted will not be considered. Your resume must clearly state that you are a current career SES, eligible for reinstatement, or SES CDP certified and year of certification.

When preparing your responses to the ECQs and MTQs, you are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action, and Result model outlined in the OPM’s Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualification. For a sample template on how to format your ECQ narrative visit NASA’s Executive Leadership Opportunities.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS:

ECQ 1 – Leading Change: The ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

ECQ 2 – Leading People: The ability to lead people toward meeting the organization’s vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

ECQ 3 – Results Driven: The ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

ECQ 4 – Business Acumen: The ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

ECQ 5 – Building Coalitions: The ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS:

MTQ 1 – Demonstrated experience with safety, reliability, and quality assurance engineering activities, projects, and/or programs related to institutional safety, scientific experiments and spacecraft systems, cutting-edge propulsion and space launch vehicle systems, and habitation systems/vehicles design, development, and operations.

MTQ 2 – Demonstrated experience developing and implementing policies impacting multiple exploration, science, space operations, space technology, and/or safety programs/projects.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement. To be eligible, you must clearly state in your resume the following: degree, major and/or minor, and college/university.

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major study in engineering, physical science, mathematics, life sciences, computer science, or other field of science.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a credential evaluation service that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. These education credentials must be deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, click here.

Additional information

Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance.

• Benefits
  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.
  Review our benefits
  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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

All qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet the basic qualification requirements, your application will be evaluated based on your narrative statements addressing the ECQs and MTQs. Your application may then be referred to and evaluated by an Executive Resources Panel (ERP) and will be placed in one of the following categories: Not Qualified, Qualified, or Highly-qualified. Candidates may receive an interview and/or be asked to provide a list of references. The ERP will make a recommendation to the appropriate approving authority.

• Benefits
  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.
  Review our benefits
  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.
• Required Documents
  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have – whether you’re a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you’re eligible under their policies.
  You must provide a complete application package. If you do not provide all required information, you will not be considered for this position. Only provide the following:
  1. Resume showing relevant work experience (start/end dates stated in month/year, description of duties), applicable education at a minimum, and your contact information. For current or previous Federal employees, it should also include the Pay Plan, Series and Grade for each work experience entry. Limit your resume to 10 pages. If more than 10 pages are submitted, only the first 10 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
  2. Executive Core Qualifications narrative responses, if applicable. Limit your response to 10 pages. If more than 10 pages are submitted, only the first 10 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
  3. Mandatory Technical Qualifications narrative responses. Limit your response to 1 page per MTQ. If more than 1 page per MTQ is submitted, only the first pages for each MTQ will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
  You may be asked to provide additional documentation to support your eligibility and the information provided in your application package. For example, we may request transcripts, SF-50s, SES Candidate Development Program certificate, etc. Therefore, we encourage you to have these documents prepared and ready when requested by the agency. If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.
• How to Apply
  To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.
  A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.
  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
  • Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take s