U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Job Family Position Classification Standard for Administrative Work
in the Equipment, Facilities, and Services Group, GS-1600

May 2003

Equipment, Facilities, and Services, GS-1601

Managerial Responsibilities in the Equipment, Facilities, and Services Series, GS-1601

Managerial work involving equipment, facilities, and services includes the following responsibilities and functions:

• direct the work of production or maintenance organizations;
• assume accountability for the success of specific line or staff programs, functions, or activities; and
• monitor the progress of the organization toward its goals and periodically evaluate and make appropriate adjustments.

In addition, equipment, facilities, and services managerial work involves performing one or more of these responsibilities and duties:

• determine goals and develop plans for a production or maintenance organization independently of or jointly with higher management;
• contribute significantly to the determination of resource needs and allocation of resources, and be accountable for their effective use;
• make or recommend organizational changes that have considerable impact, such as those involving basic structure, operating cost, and key positions;
• consider a broad spectrum of factors when making decisions (or recommendations to higher level management) including such matters as public relations, labor-management relations, and the effect on other organizations;
• coordinate program efforts with other internal activities or with the activities of other agencies;
• assess the impact of the organization's programs on other parts of the agency including those in other production or maintenance organizations, in other government entities, and in the private sector;
• set policy for the organization in such areas as determining program emphases and operating guidelines;
• understand and communicate agency policies and priorities throughout the organization managed;
• deal with general human resources management policy matters affecting the entire organization, with personnel actions affecting key employees, or other staffing actions having significant impacts; or
• delegate authority to subordinate supervisors and hold them responsible for the performance of their units.

How To Use This Appendix To Evaluate Managerial Positions

1. Study the position very carefully to ensure that it is appropriate for coverage by this appendix.
2. Determine whether or not the position fully meets or exceeds the criteria of factor level 3-3b in the General Schedule Supervisory Guide [164 kb] by applying the Threshold Criteria below.
• If the position does not meet the Threshold Criteria, then the Grading Criteria for Managerial Work in this appendix do not apply.  Evaluate the position as a supervisor or a specialist using other criteria in the General Schedule Supervisory Guide, this job family standard, or other appropriate standards.
• If the position does meet the Threshold Criteria, use the Grading Criteria for Managerial Work in this appendix to classify the position.
3. Apply the four factors of the Grading Criteria for Managerial Work described in this appendix to determine the tentative grade.
4. Determine whether the position meets further conditions that might affect the final grade of the position by applying the Comprehensive Evaluation Criteria in this appendix.  If appropriate, adjust the grade of position.

Step 2 - Apply the Threshold Criteria

Threshold Criteria from the General Schedule Supervisory Guide [164 kb]

Factor 3-3b – Exercise all or nearly all of the delegated supervisory authorities and responsibilities described at Factor Level 3-2c (see below) of this factor and, in addition, at least eight of the following:

1. using any of the following to direct, coordinate, or oversee work:supervisors, leaders, team chiefs, group coordinators, committee chairs, or comparable personnel; and/or providing similar oversight of contractors;
2. exercising significant responsibilities in dealing with officials of other units or organizations, or in advising management officials of higher rank;
3. assuring reasonable equity (among units, groups, teams, projects, etc.) of performance standards and rating techniques developed by subordinates or assuring comparable equity in the assessment by subordinates of the adequacy of contractor capabilities or of contractor completed work;
4. direction of a program or major program segment with significant resources (e.g., one at a multimillion dollar level of annual resources);
5. making decisions on work problems presented by subordinate supervisors, team leaders, or similar personnel, or by contractors
;
6. evaluating subordinate supervisors or leaders and serving as the reviewing official on evaluations of nonsupervisory employees rated by subordinate supervisors;
7. making or approving selections for subordinate nonsupervisory positions;
8. recommending selections for subordinate supervisory positions and for work leader, group leader, or project director positions responsible for coordinating the work of others, and similar positions;
9. hearing and resolving group grievances or serious employee complaints;
10. reviewing and approving serious disciplinary actions (e.g., suspensions) involving nonsupervisory subordinates;
11. making decisions on nonroutine, costly, or controversial training needs and training requests related to employees of the unit;
12. determining whether contractor performed work meets standards of adequacy necessary for authorization of payment;
13. approving expenses comparable to within-grade increases, extensive overtime, and employee travel;
14. recommending awards or bonuses for nonsupervisory personnel and changes in position classification, subject to approval by higher level officials, supervisors, or others; and/or
15. finding and implementing ways to eliminate or reduce significant bottlenecks and barriers to production, promote team building, or improve business practices
.

Factor 3-2c – Carry out at least three of the first four, and a total of six or more of the following ten authorities and responsibilities:

1. plan work to be accomplished by subordinates, set and adjust short-term priorities, and prepare schedules for completion of work;
2. assign work to subordinates based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees;
3. evaluate work performance of subordinates;
4. give advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters;
5. interview candidates for positions in the unit; recommend appointment, promotion, or reassignment to such positions
;
6. hear and resolve complaints from employees, referring group grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to a higher level supervisor or manager;
7. effect minor disciplinary measures, such as warnings and reprimands, recommending other action in more serious cases;
8. identify developmental and training needs of employees, providing or arranging for needed development and training;
9. find ways to improve production or increase the quality of the work directed; and/or
10. develop performance standards.

50-250

C

20

400-600

B

60

750 and above

A

100

Note: In the Comprehensive Evaluation Criteria that follow this section, frequent and substantial fluctuations in the workforce may themselves be a strengthening element in setting the grade.

Determine the tentative grade level as follows:

1. Add the points that result from applying Factors 1, 2, 3, and 4.
2. Use the following table to arrive at the tentative grade of the position.

Step 4 Apply Comprehensive Evaluation Criteria To Determine Final Grade

This section describes conditions that determine whether application of the Comprehensive Evaluation Criteria is appropriate.  If application is appropriate, the section provides guidance for you to apply the criteria to adjust the tentative grade upward or downward, based on how the conditions strengthen or weaken the position, and arrive at a final grade.  Any such adjustment should not exceed one grade.

Apply the Comprehensive Evaluation Criteria to a position only if it satisfies at least one of the following conditions:

• the workforce size applicable to the position falls between the ranges for levels in Factor 4, Scope of Operations;
• the position is on the borderline between levels for all of the first three factors; or
• item 2 below applies.

When application of the Comprehensive Evaluation Criteria is appropriate, you should consider as a minimum the items listed below in your evaluation.   Evaluate the position as a whole covering all factors affecting the work.   You may include in your evaluation items we do not specifically address below.   Here are the items to consider:

1. Many managers receive support from staff-level planning, scheduling, or engineering units reporting to higher echelons.  This is not a weakening factor if the manager takes an active part in the development and modification of the plans and schedules provided by those staff groups.
2. Normally evaluate the position at least one grade above the highest General Schedule grade applied to two or more subordinate positions.  Do not use Deputy positions and positions supervised only for administrative purposes to support the grade of another position under this provision.
3. Consider the relationship of the grade of the position to the grades of other properly classified positions with comparable, higher, or lower management responsibilities in the same organization.
4. Consider strengthening elements such as unusual planning or coordination responsibilities not adequately considered under Factor 1.  Many things such as the number of trades supervised and the dispersion of the work force can be used as clues to the level of planning and coordinating responsibilities of the manager, although none can be converted automatically into any particular level of this factor.  For example:
• Other things being equal, a manager directing the work of fifteen distinct trade operations represented by four separate labor organizations will have more complex planning and coordination responsibilities than a manager with a similar number of employees in only one trade represented by a single union.  But, a manager supervising only one trade can have high level planning and coordinating responsibilities if the workers under his direction work on projects requiring coordination with workers from other organizations and other trades.
• Physical dispersion of the work force can add to a manager's planning and coordination problems, but again, no degree of dispersion can be placed automatically at any particular level of Factor 1.  Twenty workers stationed 100 miles down the road working on a single project require very little guidance or review.  The work site does not add as much to the manager's problems as twenty workers in teams of two reporting to ten different work sites and requiring frequent guidance and review.  In trying to evaluate the impact of dispersion of the work force on the managers planning and coordinating responsibilities, consider:
• the number of employees working at scattered work locations;
• the independence of their operations (i.e., do they work on their own most of the time, or does the manager have to spend significant amounts of time guiding and checking the work?);
• the number of different locations involved;
• regardless of the number of locations involved, whether all of the workers report to the same place each morning; and
• the difficulty of communicating with the different work sites (keep in mind that this difficulty in communicating matters very little if almost no communication is required or is required only at regular intervals).
5. Consider weakening elements such as extensive review and highly centralized controls over the position.
6. Review positions that require comprehensive knowledge of a specific trade to ensure that managerial–not technical (i.e., trades)–knowledge is the paramount requirement.
7. One strengthening situation warranting careful consideration is that of managers in shipyards having nuclear capability.  This is not to say that the actual technical work is necessarily more difficult.  Technically, painting a bulkhead on a nuclear submarine is little different from the same task on a conventional submarine.  This is also not a credit given for hazardous work.  But, because of the possible hazards involved, and because of the public's concern over these possible hazards, nuclear work is subject to very stringent controls and safeguards that greatly complicate a manager's work.  For example:employees are limited in the numbers of hours they can be exposed to nuclear work.  Employees performing nuclear work must attend orientation to nuclear work in general and specific training for each type of operation.  Each job requires additional documentation, and reporting requirements multiply.  Errors and safety violations require detailed investigations and counter measures.  The manager is given strict guidelines, but they place added demands on his or her managerial skills rather than reduce his or her need for them.   The impact of nuclear work is not the same for every manager associated with it.   Although typically the greater the amount of nuclear work in proportion to the total workload of the manager, the greater the impact, no precise formula can be given for crediting this work situation toward a grade.  However, increase one grade level for borderline positions with substantial involvement in nuclear work.
8. This appendix assumes the active involvement of the manager in an industrial fund operation.  Working capital funds using business-type accrual accounting systems and cost-based budgets finance such operations.  There is an especially heavy emphasis on cost analysis and control.  Consider the lack of an industrial fund operation a weakening factor in the classification of positions covered by this appendix.
9. Do not consider the degree to which the work is essential when setting the grade of the position.  All of the positions covered by the appendix perform work that is essential to someone.  Some of the most essential assignments can be relatively simple to carry out.
10. Consider responsibility for leading or coordinating the work of steering committees responsible for agency programs carried out by several shipyards, facilities, centers, or other organizations across the country.