Resource Conservationist (DETAIL/TEMP PROMOTION NTE 1 YEAR)
About This Position
This position is located in the State Conservationist office, assigned to a field office or area office in the assigned state, Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS), US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The incumbent assists the field offices and staff in developing and implementing a comprehensive natural resource conservation program by providing technical guidance, assistance, and evaluation on matters related Farm Bill Programs and Conservation Program contracting and implementation.
Qualifications
Applicants 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. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. (e.g. one year at the GS-07 grade level for consideration for the GS-09 grade level and one year at the GS-09 grade level for consideration for the GS-11 grade level). Basic Education Requirement: Degree: Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to a major as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education
In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered: Specialized Experience for the GS-09 Level: To qualify for the GS-09 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include: Species control, water quality improvements, livestock management, wildlife habitat, and forest management. Preparing Species control, water quality improvements, livestock management, wildlife habitat, and forest management.
Preparing conservation or resource management plans and providing financial or implementation assistance; Communicating and sharing general information and explaining issues related to natural resource conservation, problems, and solutions to landowners, residents, and land managers.
OR
Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: soil conservation or a related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by
- Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by
- Add the two percentages. Specialized Experience for the GS-11 Level: To qualify for the GS-11 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the Federal GS-09 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service.
This experience must include: Developing conservation plans that employ conventional and established criteria and techniques to interpret soil, water, and environmental data for sound land use; Interpreting land use potential and deficiencies and advising partner agencies and organizations, landowners and users on natural resources conservation methods and techniques; Resolving natural resource problems related to the implementation of soil and water conservation plans; Developing and implementing land treatment measures and water management practices.
OR
Education: Ph.D.
OR
equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: soil conservation or a related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by
- Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by
- Add the two percentages. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Group-Standards 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.
Major Duties
Assist the field offices and staff in developing and implementing a comprehensive natural resource conservation program throughout the geographic area of responsibility.
Provides technical assistance and guidance to carry out various types of natural resource conservation programs, ensuring conservation goals are effectively and efficiently achieved.
Works with landowners and operators, individually and in groups, to develop a wide variety of conservation plans according to established policies and procedures and in accordance with landowners' decisions.
Provides technical guidance and information to engineers, conservation districts and regional planning groups to insure the development of highly specialized land resource plans, and to incorporate needed soil and water conservation measures.
Represents the agency at conservation district meetings and serves as an advisor to district committees, and participates in meetings, tours, and demonstration projects to explain resource conservation planning.
Provides program management, training, and quality control for various NRCS Farm Bill Programs.
Assists landowners with the application of planned resource management systems in compliance with agency standards and specifications.
Education
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You 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.
Click on this link for more information.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package. A rating will not be used; all applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.
Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process.
To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right. To view the application form, visit:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12926851
Additional Information
Location negotiable after selection in one of the following locations: Clarkston, Dayton, Pasco Pomeroy, Walla Walla Locality Pay: The salary for each location may vary depending on locality. Locality tables my 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.
Temporary Promotion Not-to-Exceed: This is a temporary promotion not-to-exceed one year and may be extended (up to 5 years) without further competition or may end earlier due to lack of work or funds, or at the discretion of the Hiring Manager.
Note: If you are applying at the target grade level identified in the vacancy announcement and you currently hold that same grade level, the personnel action will be processed as a detail instead of a temporary promotion. This detail may be extended without further competition or may end earlier due to lack of work or funds, or at the discretion of the Hiring Manager. This temporary promotion may be made permanent without further competition.
If the temporary promotion is not made permanent, you will be returned to your permanent position of record with any increases that would have been received if not temporarily assigned. If it is not possible to be returned to the prior position, you should be placed in another position in your agency for which qualified, at the same grade and geographic location as before. Should this not occur, reduction-in-force procedures may be necessary.
If you are selected, we will work with you and your supervisor on an agreement covering return rights so every effort will be made to return you to a properly classified position for which qualified and at the same grade level. Bargaining Unit: This is a non-bargaining unit position.
This position is subject to all applicable laws, regulations, and policies under the direction of Agency. Selection does not restrict the Agency from any future reorganization or realignment efforts. If a change in duty location is required after selection due to a directed reassignment, relocation expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with Federal Travel Regulations. Declination of a directed reassignment could result in your removal from Federal service.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin.
You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged.
We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX).
Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages.
Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.
Required Documents
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications.
Resume cannot exceed 2 pages.Current Permanent FPAC-NRCS Employees: Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are/were in the competitive service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute. Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP or RPL priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.