Natural Resource Specialist

Help HelpRequirementsConditions of EmploymentYou must be a US Citizen or US National.Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected you will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.Direct Deposit--Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/.Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Work requires physical exertion sufficient to be able to walk across farmland, rangeland, or forested terrain for periods of several hours' duration, carrying loads of less than 20 pounds. Office work is primarily sedentary.WORK ENVIRONMENT: Field work may include extreme cold, hot sun, rain and snow, exposure to biting insects, poisonous plants, and wildlife; special protective measures may be required.QualificationsApplicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Please note that this job opportunity announcement is only open to current Career/Career-Conditional employees of the NRCS. If you do not possess this status, you will not receive consideration.TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible.One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 level.One year at the GS-11 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level.(Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted).Basic Education Requirement:Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. (You must submit transcripts.)ORCombination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation. (You must submit transcripts.)In Addition To Meeting One Of The Basic Requirements Listed Above, Applicants Must Meet The Following Minimum Qualifications Requirement In Order To Be Considered:MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level in which you are applying:To qualify at the GS-11 grade level, you must meet the following:Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties:Assisting landowners with enrollment into conservation assistance programs;Developing short-term conservation plans in compliance with regulations;Assisting with financial assistance programs in accordance with agency policies; andCommunicating technical information about conservation issues with various groups such as landowners or residences.(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience.) OREducation: Must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. (You MUST submit supporting academic transcripts.)ORCombination: Combination of the above described education and specialized experience such that they total 100% when combined. To determine your combination, first compute your experience as a percentage of the experience listed above; then determine your education as a percentage of the education listed above; then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent. (Only graduate level education in excess of two years (36 semester hours) may be combined with specialized experience. You MUST submit supporting academic transcripts.)To qualify at the GS-12 grade level, you must meet the following:Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties:Assisting landowners with quality assurance related to conservation assistance programs;Developing short-term and long-term conservation plans;Assist land owners with problem-solving related to their conservation plans or assistance enrollment;Providing information and outreach on conservation financial assistance programs; andCommunicating technical information about conservation issues with various groups such as landowners, residences, or business representatives.(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience.) Note: There is no education substitution at the GS-12 grade level.IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.The OPM Qualification Standards for this position can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-SeriesEducationYou must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration.Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Please check out this link for more information Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov)Additional informationLocality Pay: The salary for each location may vary depending on locality. Locality tables may be found at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/.Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8 hour work day, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor.PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following:If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted.If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline.Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized; Management may authorize superior qualifications & enhanced annual leave for applicants who are deemed to be highly qualified.Read more Help Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.Review our benefitsEligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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