Natural Resources Scientist (Soil Scientist /Ecologist/ Rangeland Management Specialist)

Summary This position is located on the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Soil Survey Office. The incumbent works with the MLRA Leader, Soil Survey Office staff, and State Resource staff collecting accessory resource data on National Cooperative Soil Survey projects and developing coordinated ecological sites Learn more about this agency Requirements Conditions of Employment You 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. Subject to one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period. 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. For positions located in Alaska pre-employment drug screening is required. For positions located in Alaska the ability to pass an annual bear and firearms certification is a condition of employment. Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. 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(s) in which you are applying: Specialized Experience GS-05: Applicants that meet the Basic Requirements listed above meet the minimum qualifications at the GS-05 grade level. (You must submit transcripts.) Specialized Experience GS-07: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: assisting in the application of routine soil and water conservation processes; recommending practices to farmers and ranchers to help control erosion and conserve soil and water; and maintaining accurate field notes to draft preliminary conservation designs. OR Education in Lieu of Specialized Experience: Must have successfully completed at least one full year of graduate level education in a field such as soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. One full year is generally equivalent to 18 semester hours. (You MUST submit supporting academic transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: Must have a percentage of the graduate education and experience above which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. (You MUST submit supporting academic transcripts.) OR Superior Academic Achievement: Must meet the qualifications for Superior Academic Achievement, which include a bachelor's degree in soil conservation or a related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering and one of the following methods: A grade point average of B (3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for your completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; A grade-point average of B+ (3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in the major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university, or major subdivision; or Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Note: If more than 10 percent of your courses were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honorary society. (You must submit transcripts.) Specialized Experience GS-09: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: assists in scheduling of soil survey vegetation related activities; works with soil scientists to correlate vegetations and soils; analyzes relationships between vegetative communities and soil types and uses a computerized database in order to manipulate and enter Ecological Site Description information. OR Education in Lieu of Specialized Experience: Must possess two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. (You MUST submit supporting academic transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: 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 beyond the first year or 18 semester hours may be combined with specialized experience. You MUST submit supporting academic transcripts.) Specialized Experience GS-11: 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: assists in scheduling of soil survey vegetation related activities; utilizes data collection procedures to collect ecological site data; describes relationships between vegetative communities and soil types; and leads the writing of vegetation and ecological sections of assigned soils survey reports. OR Education in Lieu of Specialized Experience: Must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. for which the major course of study must be in a field directly related to the work of this position. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: Must have a combination of the specialized experience and graduate education as described above, such that they total 100% of the stated minimum qualifications for this specialty and grade. Only graduate education in excess of the first 36 semester hours may be used when combining education and experience for this specialty and grade. (Must submit transcripts and be reflected in resume.) (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) 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-Series Education Basic Qualifications: Ecology series 0408: Must have completed a bachelor's degree or higher in Biology or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours include at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences. Rangeland Management series 0454: Must have a bachelor's degree or higher in range management; or a related discipline that included at least 42 semester hours in a combination of the plant, animal, and soil sciences, and natural resources management, as follows: Range Management- At least 18 semester hours of course work in range management, including courses in such areas as basic principles of range management, range plants, range ecology, range inventories and studies, range improvements, and ranch or rangeland planning; Directly Related to Plant, Animal, and Soil Sciences - At least 15 semester hours of directly related courses in the plant, animal, and soil sciences, including at least one course in each of these three scientific area, i.e., plant, animal, and soil sciences. Courses in such areas as plan taxonomy, plant physiology, plan ecology, animal nutrition, livestock production, and soil morphology or soil classification are acceptable; Related Resources Management Studies - At least 9 semester hours of course work in related resource management subjects, including course in such areas as wildlife management, watershed management, natural resources or agricultural economics, forestry, agronomy, forages, and outdoor recreation management. OR Must have completed a combination of education and experience that included at least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil science and natural resources management shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.457: Must have a bachelor's or higher degree in soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. The study must have included 30 semester hours in a natural resource or agricultural field, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science. OR Must have a combination of education and experience that included at least 30 semester hours in one or more of the disciplines as shown above, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science, plus appropriate experience that included the application of techniques, principles, and methods from a variety of agricultural and natural resource fields or additional education. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science. Soil Scientist series 0470: Must have a bachelor's or higher in soil science or a closely related discipline that included 30 semester hours or equivalent in biological, physical, or earth science, with a minimum of 15 semester hours in such subjects as soil genesis, pedology, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil fertility. OR Must have a combination of education and experience that included courses equivalent to a major in soil science or a related discipline that included at least 30 semester hours in the biological, physical, or earth sciences. At least 15 of these semester hours must have been in the areas specified in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Additional information Location Consideration: You may select up to four locations. Locality 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/. 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 may be eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. 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. Relocation expenses may be authorized as allowable by Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) and USDA policy. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility here. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the USDA with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility here. Read more Benefits 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 window Learn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility 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.