English (Instructor)

About the role

This is a Full-Time Faculty Non-Tenure Track appointment in the Excepted Service, with an initial term not-to exceed 06/2029.

Mission Statement: To educate and graduate leaders of exemplary character who are inspired to serve the national security, marine transportation, and economic needs of the United States as licensed Merchant Marine Officers and commissioned officers in the Armed Forces.

What you will do

• Be required to perform the duties of a professor of English, in particular teaching classes in composition, technical and professional writing, and literature.
• Be responsible for the development and conduct of educational courses and programs, research, instruction and academic counseling of Midshipmen and assuming a share of departmental and other academic responsibilities.
• The ideal candidate for this position will be a highly motivated and experienced professional possessing a Doctorate degree in English and experience teaching freshman-level composition courses, as well as 200-level literature courses.
• Must also possess integrity, stamina, and ingenuity, and be capable of adjusting to various work environments, physical demands, and schedules.
• Highly Desirable: The preferred applicant will have experience teaching technical and professional writing, as well as experience teaching college-level composition courses that incorporate basic or remedial components.
• “Or Equivalent” example: Adjunct work at a college campus, temporary replacement.
• Can be accumulated multiple years as faculty at various institutions.
• Either as a total of 10 months of work (like most schools) or a minimum of 4, 3 credit courses.

Requirements

• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• TRIAL PERIOD: This is an Excepted Service position.
• This job will be filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive service.
• Applicants selected for an excepted service position may be subject to a two-year trial period.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
• Upon completion of your 2 year trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

This series includes positions that require applying full professional knowledge of the theories, principles, and techniques of education and training to instructional and educational administration work in education programs operated by Federal agencies. Some positions also require specialized knowledge of one or more subjects in which the instruction is given.

Basic Requirements For Teaching Positions: Bachelor's degree from an accredited or pre-accredited institution that included or was supplemented by supervised student teaching, and at least one course in each of the following areas: general psychology, human development, history and/or philosophy of education, and teaching methods at the learning level of the position to be filled, i.e., elementary or secondary learning level.

For secondary school teaching positions, applicants must also have had at least 24 semester hours (or equivalent) of course work in each of the principal fields of instruction. or Combination of education and experience - Applicants who have completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's degree but who do not meet the specific course requirements shown above meet minimum qualification requirements if they have completed at least one full academic year of professional teaching experience at the elementary or secondary school level as appropriate to the position to be filled.

Professional teaching experience is defined as full and primary responsibility for the instruction of assigned students under general supervision in a recognized or accredited school or other accredited educational institution.

This includes responsibility for preparation and presentation of lessons and the evaluation of students' progress throughout the learning period, including a determination of the students' success or failure according to established criteria. or Teacher certification or licensure in a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

How you will be evaluated

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: Please be clear and specific when describing your experience, as HR evaluates applications strictly on the facts provided and will not make assumptions. To receive full credit, your narrative responses must be written in paragraph format and explicitly match your resume.

Begin each response by listing the exact position title, organization, employment dates (MM/YYYY–MM/YYYY), full- or part-time status, average weekly hours, and federal series/grade (if applicable). Within the body of the paragraph, clearly describe your specific duties, actions taken, tools used, and measurable outcomes.

HR will cross-check these details against your resume; if your resume does not fully support every claim and timeframe, the experience will not be considered for credit, which may result in an ineligible determination.

For this announcement, all applicants will be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the educational and specialized experience requirements. Applicants will not be rated or ranked. All applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Documents you must provide

• In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application.
• These should be legible and in a readable font size.
• A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages.
• Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time (e.g., Program Analyst, GS-343-11 | January 2009–Present | 40 Hours/Week) and position titles.
• If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level.
• The resume should show relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience.
• TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series.
• The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements.
• Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
• PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS / INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, you may submit recent performance appraisals and incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months.
• To receive due consideration during the evaluation process, your performance appraisal must show the official rating of record and be signed by a supervisor.
• If an appraisal is unavailable, you must submit a statement explaining why (do not submit a performance plan).
• Qualifying incentive documentation includes superior performance, special act or achievement awards, and quality step increases.
• All submitted documentation will be forwarded to the selecting official to support your application.
• VETERANS: If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with supporting documentation, e.g., SF15, DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation.
• IMPORTANT: Submit all required resume details and documents by the closing date.
• Verify that all files have successfully transferred before submitting.
• Late or incomplete applications will be disqualified.

What to expect next

Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist will evaluate your application. You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com. (Select "My USAJOBS" and click "Applications").

Ratings will be determined based on the documents and information received by the closing date. If you are selected for an interview, the hiring agency will contact you directly. Once the position is filled, we will notify all applicants of their final status.

Additional information

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment.

In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, ***.

To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.