RANGELAND MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST

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 REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-07 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-09 level. One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 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). See addition information. Basic Education Requirement: Degree: Bachelor’s or higher degree 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 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 areas, i.e., plant, animal, and soil sciences. Courses in such areas as plant taxonomy, plant physiology, plant ecology, animal nutrition, livestock production, and soil morphology or soil classification are acceptable. Related Resource Management Studies — At least 9 semester hours of course work in related resource management subjects, including courses in such areas as wildlife management, watershed management, natural resource or agricultural economics, forestry, agronomy, forages, and outdoor recreation management. (You must submit transcripts) OR Combination of Education and Experience: Must have at least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil sciences and natural resources management shown in A 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(s) in which you are applying: GS-09 Specialized Experience: 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: Assisting with monitoring and documenting changes in plant communities, rangeland, vegetative cover, and production and soil surface condition resulting from applied grazing management systems; Participating in administrative activities pertaining to range conservation, such as preparation of news releases on range conservation topics of local interest; and Assisting ranchers and farmers in identifying conservation opportunities and developing conservation plans consistent with the needs of their land. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: Must have 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master’s degree or master’s or equivalent graduate degree for which the major course of study must be in a field directly related to the work of this position. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: 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 18 semester hours may be used when combining education and experience for this specialty and grade. When combining education with experience, first determine the qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for this grade level; then determine the experience as a percentage of the experience required for this grade level; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent. (Must submit transcripts and be reflected in resume.) GS-11 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: Developing resource management plans with ranch operators and other land and resource decision makers; Studying trends in range conditions to assist landowners in keeping grazing management plans in balance with forage resources; Assisting with long and short term rangeland management plans by collecting cost/return data on range practices and rang conservation plans; and Analyzing ranch resources to make recommendations on rangeland management plans. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: Must have 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or which the major course of study must be in a field directly related to the work of this position. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: 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. When combining education with experience, first determine the qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for this grade level; then determine the experience as a percentage of the experience required for this grade level; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent. (Must submit transcripts and be reflected in resume.) 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
This position is located in a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service state, area, or field office within a designated state. The incumbent provides professional services in the planning and application of soil, water, and resource conservation and development activities on ranches and farms.