Federal Position Descriptions
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Chair

Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board
Responsibility
Management Scope

The five-member board is authorized to establish and manage separate offices for highway, marine, aviation, railroad, pipeline and hazardous materials investigations (49 U.S.C. § 1111). The National Transportation Safety Board had a budget request of $106 million for fiscal 2017 and 423 full-time equivalents.2

Primary Responsibilities

• Appoints, hires and supervises officers and employees, with the exception of the full-time employees in the immediate offices of another board member
• Fixes the pay of officers and employees as necessary to carry out the board’s statute
• Distributes business among the officers, employees and administrative units of the board
• Supervises the board’s expenditures (49 U.S.C. § 1111)
• Presides over agency hearings
• Testifies before congressional committees
• Accompanies agency investigators in response to major transportation accidents
• Serves as on-scene spokesperson for the agency3

Strategic Goals and Priorities
[Depends on the policy priorities of the administration.]
Requirements

• Transportation background
• Previous leadership experience

Competencies

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills and ability to appear before media
• Ability to work under high pressure

Past Appointments
  • Christopher Hart (2015 to 2017) – Board Member for the National Transportation Safety Board; Deputy Director for Air Traffic Safety Oversight at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); FAA Assistant Administrator for System Safety; Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration4
  • Deborah A.P. Hersman (2009 to 2014) – Senior advisor to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; National Transportation Safety Board Member5
  • Mark Rosenker (2006 to 2008) – Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board; Safety Board member; Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Military Office6
AGENCY

National Transportation Safety Board

Mission: The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent, nonregulatory agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety.

COMPENSATION

Level IV $155,500 (5 U.S.C. § 5315)1

REPORTS TO

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency. Board members serve at the pleasure of the chairman.

SENATE COMMITTEE

Commerce, Science and Transportation

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Footnote
  1. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31, May 5, 2017), contains a provision that continues the freeze on the payable pay rates for certain senior political officials at 2013 levels during calendar year 2017.
  2. http://www.ntsb.gov/about/reports/Documents/NTSB_FY2017_Budget.pdf
  3. OPM
  4. http://www.ntsb.gov/news/speeches/CHart/Pages/bio_hart.aspx
  5. http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=69355712&privcapId=4772236&previousCapId=4772236&previousTitle=National%20Safety%20Council
  6. http://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/Mark_Rosenker_is_New_NTSB_Vice_Chairman.aspx
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