Summary This position is located with Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), in Transmission Business Operations (TAB), Transmission Chief of Staff (TA), Transmission Services (T).
Ready to take your agency experience to the next level? As Transmission Safety Program Manager, leverage your insider knowledge to lead strategic workforce initiatives, champion positive change, and solve key operational challenges. Help shape our future from within-apply today! Duties Powering the Pacific Northwest Starts with Protecting Our People: Step into Strategic Leadership as Transmission Safety Program Manager
At Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), our mission is vital: delivering reliable, affordable, and clean electric power across the Pacific Northwest while upholding environmental stewardship and operational excellence. Every megawatt transmitted relies on the skill, dedication, and safety of our people.
You already know firsthand the dedication it takes to keep this region powered. Now, take your agency career to the next level by shaping our operational future from within. As the Transmission Safety Program Manager, you will bring your deep understanding of BPA's systems, culture, and operational goals to lead high-impact safety, workforce, and organizational initiatives. Partnering directly with Transmission executive leadership, you will turn strategic priorities into practical, sustainable programs that protect our workforce, strengthen grid reliability, and foster a world-class safety culture across our entire transmission footprint.
Key Duties & Impact Areas
We have identified six premier responsibilities where your institutional insight and leadership will make a lasting impact:
- Lead Full-Lifecycle Strategic Programs from Concept to Completion - Provide end-to-end strategic leadership on complex, transmission-wide initiatives. You will define project vision, establish clear milestones, manage resources, and ensure programs transition smoothly from initial planning to everyday operational success across our regional operations.
- Serve as a Trusted Advisor to Executive Leadership - Act as a key strategic partner and expert advisor to Transmission Vice Presidents, executive managers, and operational leaders. You will translate complex workforce, safety, and operational data into clear, persuasive recommendations that guide executive decision-making on long-term agency priorities.
- Drive Proactive Risk Management and Systemic Problem-Solving - Anticipate challenges before they impact operations. By evaluating operational, cultural, and organizational risk factors, you will develop practical risk-mitigation plans, design preventive measures, and implement corrective actions that safeguard personnel and ensure reliable program delivery.
- Champion Enterprise Change Management and Leadership Coaching - Lead meaningful, sustainable organizational change across department and business line boundaries. You will design tailored change strategies-focusing on leadership sponsorship, clear communications, and coaching-to help teams across the agency embrace new safety standards, modern processes, and improved working methods.
- Build Broad Coalitions and Cross-Functional Alignment - Unite diverse teams of technical specialists, operational managers, and corporate partners across BPA. Leveraging consensus-building and collaborative problem-solving, you will bridge organizational boundaries to align shared goals, resolve complex technical issues, and deliver cohesive solutions.
- Optimize Programs Through Continuous Quality and Performance Metrics - Establish clear benchmarks and evaluation criteria to measure the true effectiveness of safety and workforce programs. You will gather real-world feedback, analyze performance trends, and modernize business practices to ensure our programs consistently meet mission goals and adapt to emerging operational needs.
Why Bring Your Leadership to This Role?
This is an exceptional opportunity to apply your proven track record, familiarity with our transmission landscape, and passion for continuous improvement in a role with direct, agency-wide visibility. Help build a safer, more resilient BPA from within-apply today and lead the standard for operational excellence.
Qualifications
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
A qualified candidate's resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as experience: 1) participating in or managing project lifecycles by defining requirements, developing schedules, tracking deliverables, and preparing business cases or process improvement analyses; 2) conducting workforce analyses, staffing assessments, or workload capacity modeling to evaluate organizational needs and support long-range human capital planning; and 3) creating and implementing change management deliverables, communications, or training materials to support stakeholder adoption and minimize resistance during organizational transitions.
There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-13 grade level.
"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.
Time-in-Grade: Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement to receive consideration.
CTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.
You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.Education There are no specific education requirements or substitution of education for experience for this position.
Requirements
In accordance with Executive Order 14170, applicants are encouraged to respond to four short, free-response, essay questions in the questionnaire. Answer to these questions is not scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration.
When you apply you will be asked a series of questions to determine your eligibility for employment and your qualification for this position specifically. You must answer all of these questions completely and truthfully.
Key Requirements:
- You must be a United States Citizen.
- This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
- Males must abide by Selective Service registration requirements.
- You will be required to report in person to the official duty location.
How you will be evaluated You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements above. Once the announcement closes, we will conduct a review of your application package to verify your eligibility and qualifications. If you are found qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process.
Minimum Qualifications: Once the application process is complete, the Human Resources Offices or Subject Matter Expert (SME) will review your two-page resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum job qualifications.
Selection will be based on skills and competencies, not educational credentials or self-reported experience.
Merit Promotion & VEOA Procedures: If you are minimally qualified for this job, your will be assessed and evaluated to determine if you are a best qualified candidate. Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements and current employees must have at least a fully successful or equivalent performance rating to receive consideration.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
- Accountability
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Influencing/Negotiating
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Reading Comprehension
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as having a score of 85 or better.
You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (11/22/2026) of this announcement.
To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13113858
USAHire: To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
The USA Hire Assessment includes a cut score. USA Hire cut scores are based on the minimum level of proficiency required to perform the job for a specific series and grade. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. The cut score is set at a government-wide level and not at the agency or individual vacancy level for USA Hire standard assessments. In accordance with 5 CFR 300.201(a), the U.S. Office of Personnel Management does not release testing and examination materials, scoring criteria including the specific cut score requirements, or other information used solely to determine individual qualifications, so as not to compromise the objectivity of the testing process. How to apply Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration.
The application process is as follows:
- You must have a login.gov account to sign into USAJOBS: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/account.
- To begin the application process in USAJOBS, click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all required and supporting documentation.
- You must click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 pm (ET) on the announcement closing date.
- After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder.
- If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements
- Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can reuse the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application.
You may update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period by returning to your USAJOBS account, select Update Application: https://login.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each application status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.
If you need help with login.gov or USAJOBS (e.g., account access, Resume Builder) visit the USAJOBS Help Center: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to
If you experience difficulty applying on USAJOBS, after clicking the Apply Online button, or you are experiencing a significant hardship hindering your ability to apply online, the Agency Contact listed in the announcement can assist you during normal business hours. If you receive any system error messages, take screenshots if possible, to aid technical support.Other information
- This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE
EEO Policy: USAJOBS Help Center | Equal employment opportunity policy
Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Employees or applicants may request Reasonable Accommodation (RA) for assistance, when applying or competing for a job or performing a job due to their medical condition or to exercise their religious beliefs. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or selection process, please contact the Staffing Specialist listed on this vacancy announcement. USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy
Reasonable Accommodation for USAHire: 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 reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations 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. 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 Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.
Veterans Information: USAJOBS Help Center - Veterans
Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Telework: https://www.opm.gov/telework/
Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ - Who must register: https://www.sss.gov/faq/#who-needs-to-register
BPA strives to ensure a safe and positive work environment.
We also understand the importance of work/life balance and offer a variety of programs and policies designed to create more flexible, responsive work environments supportive of commitments to community, home and family members. BPA also supports employees' overall wellness through its Be Well program, which helps employees adopt healthier lifestyles and feel better about their work/life balance. The program supports five key areas of life: career, community, financial, physical and social.?
