Supervisory Air Traffic Control Specialist (Executive Officer - MSS-3)
Department: Department of Transportation
Location(s): Elgin, Illinois
Salary Range: $197308 - $225700 Per Year
Job Summary: Serves as an Executive Officer (XO) at an ATC-12 level TRACON facility. This MSS-3 managerial position is responsible for exercising supervisory responsibilities over subordinate managers responsible for multiple facility support activities. These activities include planning and infrastructure, quality assurance, systems efficiency, domestic and international procedures, automation, and training.
Major Duties:
- Directs a highly technical multi-layered workforce team through subordinate managers that provide administrative, tactical and strategic support to facility operations and that have impact on the effective and efficient use of the National Airspace System (NAS). The teams consist of a combination of operational and non-operational air traffic control specialists, management officials, technical support personnel, and an administrative support workforce. Responsible for oversight, planning and directing multiple support activities for the facility, such as training, airspace and procedures, plans and programs and other facility program areas. Serves as the lead for a functionally integrated team of technical and administrative managers and other personnel. Provides training, coaching and guidance to subordinates and facilitates team building throughout their program areas. Using measures of organizational performance, continuously reviews work progress to assure that results meet the agency's mission and the customers' needs. Serves as a member of the management team and provides advice on ways to improve organizational performance and strategic goals. Continuously reviews work processes to assure that results meet the mission and goals of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the needs of the aviation community, and the safety of the flying public. Provides training, coaching, and guidance to subordinate managers and is responsible for team building. Participates in accident investigations and incidents as directed by higher authority. Provides vision and leadership to facility teams. Assigns work to be accomplished by subordinate managers and their staff. Sets and adjusts long and short-term goals and priorities in support of FAA Flight plan initiatives. Approves leave; prepares schedules for completion of work; assigns work to subordinates based on priorities; evaluates work performance of subordinates ensuring equity of performance standards and ratings; gives advice on work and on administrative matters; makes decisions on work problems presented by subordinates; hears and resolves group grievances and serious employee complaints; effects disciplinary actions; recommends/approves selections and transfers; recommends awards or bonuses; approves expenses for overtime, equipment, and personnel; and identifies and arranges for developmental and other training needs of subordinates. Recommends necessary budgetary and reprogramming actions required to ensure the effective operation of the facility. Recommends, reviews and revises operational and administrative procedures to ensure compliance with national programs. Recommends and allocates budget, staff, and other resources to accomplish objectives that impact multiple organizational units/projects/programs and across multiple functions and/or disciplines. Manages budgets and either acquires or reallocates resources among organizational units/projects/programs. Leads and integrates both short-term and long-term future needs through the budget planning process. Meets and has frequent contacts with both internal and external customers including subordinates, other peer management representatives, union representatives, administrative support staff within the facility, higher ranking managers and supervisors, service center personnel, members of the state, local and federal government, foreign government aviation officials, representatives of the aviation industry and military. Also interacts with key staff of public interest groups, government officials, professional organizations and contractors. Contacts take place in meetings and conferences or in unplanned situations where the XO is designated as a contact point and these meetings have the potential for considerable consequence to the NAS, members of the general public, and representatives of the aviation industry.
Qualifications: Applicants must demonstrate they possess required specialized experience. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: 1. Must have held an FAA 2152 FV-J/FG-14 or above regional or headquarters positions for at least 1 year (52 weeks); OR 2. Must have been facility rated or area certified for at least 1 year (52 weeks) at an Air Traffic Services (ATS) facility. NOTE: An employee who has been facility rated or area certified for at least 1 year (52 weeks) in an ATS facility that is upgraded is considered to meet the qualification requirements of the upgraded position; OR 3. Must have held an MSS position for at least 1 year (52 weeks) in an ATS facility. AND In addition to the qualification requirements above, applicants must have held an MSS-2 position or above in an ATS facility OR a 2152 FG-14 position or above for at least 1 year (52 weeks) in order to qualify for this position. Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement.
How to Apply: Applicants may be required to complete one or multiple assessments as part of the evaluation process. This assessment aims to evaluate the competencies and qualifications essential for the position. You must apply online to receive consideration. Your application must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the Close Date for it to be accepted. If you are applying for positions associated with FAA registers, your application must be submitted at the time a referral list is created in order to receive consideration for positions associated with a register. RESUMES ARE LIMITED TO TWO PAGES. IN DESCRIBING YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE AND/OR EDUCATION, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC AND INCLUDE INFORMATION AS IT RELATES TO THE QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS POSITION. We strongly encourage applicants to utilize the USAJOBS resume builder in the creation of resumes. Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information: Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job) Relevant work experience: should align to the Job Announcement and address all required qualifications and include job title, employer name, start/end dates, number of hours worked per week. Education, certification or licensure: If required, education should include school/institution name, completion date, degree type and GPA. Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide ALL of this information may result in a finding of ineligible. You may upload completed documents to your USAJOBS Account. This will provide you the opportunity to utilize the uploaded information again when applying for future vacancies. Please see this guide, Document Upload Guide, for more information on uploading and re-using the documents in your applications.
Application Deadline: 2026-01-05