U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
This Directive was canceled February 14, 2006.
Order | ||
---|---|---|
Subject | ||
Personnel Management Manual: Part I, Chapter 3: Assignment and Utilization of Employees | ||
Classification Code | Date | |
M3000.1B | May 22, 2000 |
Par.
(1) A geographically mobile work force is beneficial to agency effectiveness as well as to employee career development. Supervisors and high-level management officials should encourage their employees to diversify their work experience in order to enhance their career opportunities. Agency managers may actively foster movement by exercising their option to competitively advertise vacant career-ladder positions when circumstances warrant.
(2) Geographic and functional diversity of experience may be considered in the FHWA merit promotion process, but only in positions where such diversity is job-related.
(1) Positions in the competitive service, i.e., GS-1 through GS-15, and all Federal Wage System positions are covered under MPP procedures.
(2) The same procedures are used for filling FHWA excepted service positions overseas, unless the Executive Director specifically exempts these positions from coverage.
(3) Senior Executive Service (SES) positions are not covered under this MPP.
(1) Distribution of Announcements. All announcements will be circulated in a timely manner using distribution media (either electronic or hard copy format) easily accessible to all potentially interested employees within the designated area of consideration.
(2) Areas of Consideration. The area of consideration for eligible applicants should be large enough to provide an adequate supply of well-qualified candidates. In determining the organizational and geographic area, the grade level, specialized qualifications needed for successful performance, and nature of the position being filled should be considered.
(3) Minimum Area
(a) The minimum area of consideration cannot be smaller than a resource center or division office in the field or an office or a comparable organizational unit within the Washington Headquarters.
(b) For excepted service positions overseas, the individual office, may be used as the minimum area of consideration for promotion actions at grades GS-14 and GS-15 or equivalent positions in the Foreign Service.
(c) FHWA-wide is the mandatory minimum area of consideration for all grade GS-15, GS-14 and GS-13 positions. The Executive Director may authorize exceptions to the minimum area of consideration to meet agency needs.
(d) The Director, Office of Human Resources, may approve exceptions to the minimum area of consideration in cases where there are unusual circumstances which provide compelling business reasons to do so, provided those reasons meet the regulatory requirements of 5 CFR 335.103, Requirement 2.
(4) Length of Open Period for Announcements. The areas of consideration and the corresponding minimum open periods are:
Areas of Consideration | Minimum Open Period |
Government or Department-wide or all sources | 21 calendar days |
Government
or Department-wide (Limited to a single metropolitan or commuting area, e.g.,(Washington, D.C.) |
14 calendar days |
FHWA-wide | 21 calendar days |
FHWA Headquarters-
wide (Includes field offices located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area) |
14 calendar days |
Resource Center, Division or Office-wide | 10 calendar days |
(1) All qualified candidates will be further evaluated on the relevance of their experience, education, training, performance, honors, awards and outside activities in relation to each KSA.
(2) Selecting officials, in consultation with the servicing personnel specialist, will determine whether the qualified candidates are further evaluated against the KSA's established for the position by an ad hoc rating panel, a subject-matter expert (SME), or other appropriate individual. The selecting official may also designate himself/herself as the SME if he or she feels sufficiently familiar with the requirements of the position to serve in that capacity. Regardless of who evaluates the qualified candidates against the KSA's, his/her evaluation will be documented in the case file. For a technical career track position, the qualified candidates are evaluated by a peer/expert review panel and a management panel against the KSA's developed from the appropriate technical career track evaluation criteria.
(3) The selecting official will choose from among the best qualified candidates.
(4) Nonpromotion candidates, who are not required to compete, (see Actions Excluded from Merit Promotion Procedures) may also be rated and ranked by a rating panel, SME, or other appropriate individual, if requested by the selecting official. They will be considered to be separate from the promotion candidates. Nonpromotion candidates applying for a technical career track position will be required to be rated and ranked by the peer/expert review panel and the management panel convened for that position.
(1) The selecting official is responsible for taking timely action on the certificate(s), in accordance with instructions contained on the certificate.
(2) Upon receipt of the certificate, the selecting officials are encouraged to interview their top candidates, and have the flexibility to distinguish among candidates and determine who should be interviewed. Interviews may be conducted personally or by other means. The selecting official may also request that other qualified individuals interview the candidates.
(3) The selecting official may choose any candidate from among those who have been certified and rated as best qualified, based on his or her own judgment of how well candidates will perform in the position being filled. The selecting official will ensure that fair consideration has been given to all candidates.
(1) Unit managers must secure the concurrence of the Executive Director before making a final selection for a position at or above the GS-14 level. In addition, Resource Center Directors must have first obtained the concurrence of the appropriate Core Business Unit Program Manager or Service Business Unit Director on the selection.
(2) The Director of Administration must concur with the selection of any Financial or Administrative Manager or Personnel Officer.
(3) The Chief Counsel and appropriate officials in the Office of the Secretary must approve the employment or promotion of attorneys at any grade level.
CHART OF ACTIONS COVERED BY OR EXCLUDED FROM COMPETITIVE MERIT PROMOTION PROCEDURES |
||
Type of Action |
Competitive Merit Promotion Procedures are Required for: |
Actions Excluded from Merit Promotion Procedures |
Promotions | Non-career promotions |
Career Promotions
1. Promotions, when
at an earlier stage the employee was selected:
|
Temporary Promotions | Over 120 calendar days to a higher grade position | 120 calendar days or less to a higher grade position. Extensions for up to five years, if previously filled competitively. Can become permanent without further competition under certain conditions. |
Term Promotions | To a higher grade position | Can become permanent without further competition, if previously filled competitively. |
Details--to a higher grade or to a position with greater known promotion potential than present position. | Over 120 calendar days | 120 calendar days or less. Extension of detail for up to one year in 120 day increments, if previously filled competitively. |
Selections for training | Part of authorized training agreement or promotion program or required for promotion consideration. | |
Reassignment/ demotions | Reassignment/demotion to position with greater promotion potential than the last position held. | Reassignment/demotion to a position with no known promotion potential or having no greater promotion potential than current position. |
Transfers/ reinstatements | Transfer to higher grade position or one with greater known promotion potential. Reinstatement to a higher grade position than previously held in the competitive service. | Reinstatement/transfer to a position at no higher grade or with no greater promotion potential than previously held in the competitive service, provided that the candidate has not been removed from the grade for performance reasons or "for cause." |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
Corrective Action | One-time special consideration of a candidate not given proper consideration in a previous promotion action. |
The positions listed below have been identified as career-ladder positions in the FHWA.
The listing reflects the maximum potential grade level to which promotions may be effected under career promotion procedures. The listing should not be construed as a commitment to promote employees who occupy these positions within the indicated grade range.
At any time, unit managers may elect to competitively announce a vacant career-ladder position at or below the established maximum grade level.
SERIES | TYPES OF POSITIONS | GRADE LEVELS | |
|
FROM | THROUGH | |
GS-020 | Community Planner | 5 | 12 |
GS-028 | Environmental Protection Specialist | 5 | 12 |
GS-110 | Economist | 5 | 12 |
GS-200 |
Personnel Management
Positions (includes GS-201, GS-235, & GS-260) |
5 | 12 |
GS-203 | Personnel Clerk/Assistant | 3 | 6 |
GS-303 | Program Clerk/Assistant | 4 | 6 |
GS-305 | Mail and/or File Clerk | 1 | 4 |
GS-312 | Clerk-Stenographer | 2 | 5 |
GS-326 | Office Automation Clerk | 1 | 4 |
GS-334 | Computer Programmer/Systems Analyst | 5 | 12 |
GS-335 | Computer Aid/Computer Technician | 3 | 5 |
GS-341 | Administrative Assistant/Officer | 5 | 12 |
GS-343 | Management and Program Analyst | 5 | 12 |
GS-360 | Equal Opportunity Specialist | 5 | 12 |
GS-500 |
Financial Management
Positions (includes GS-501, GS-510, & GS-560) |
5 | 12 |
GS-503 | Fiscal Clerk/Assistant | 3 | 6 |
GS-525 | Accounting Technician | 4 | 6 |
GS-540 | Voucher Examiner | 2 | 6 |
GS-800 |
Professional Engineering
Positions (includes GS-801, GS-810, GS-830, GS-850 & GS-855) |
5 | 12 |
GS-802 | Engineering Technician (Federal Lands) | 2 | 7 |
GS-818 | Engineering Draftsman | 4 | 6 |
GS-1000 |
Information and Arts
Positions (includes GS-1001, 1035, 1082, 1083 & 1084) |
5 | 12 |
GS-1102 | Contract and Procurement Specialist | 5 | 12 |
GS-1170 | Realty Specialist | 5 | 12 |
GS-1531 | Statistical Clerk/Assistant | 3 | 6 |
GS-2100 |
Transportation Positions (includes GS-2101, GS-2123, & GS-2125) |
5 | 12 |
GS-2102 | Transportation Clerk/Assistant | 3 | 6 |