Social/ Biological/ Physical Science Information Specialist

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management’s General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series listed below. Basic Requirement: 0101: Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree that included a major field of study in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. -OR- Combination of education and experience — that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. -OR- Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. 0401: Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree that included a major field of study in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. -OR- Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree in a major field of study that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Related course work generally refers to courses that may be accepted as part of the program major. -OR- Combination of education and experience that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, AND experience sufficient to demonstrate that I possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation that 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 needed to perform the work of the occupation. 1301: Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree that included a major field of study in: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. -OR- Combination of education and experience — education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-11 level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes performing two or more of the following: Working with managers and resource specialists to determine type, amount and level of information required to develop and analyze ecosystem management alternative; Assisting with developing data dictionaries, data models and metadata for multi-disciplinary information and geospatial applications; Applying applicable principles to facilitate geospatial model design and analysis procedures related to natural resource and relevant socio-economic data and products; and/or Operating complex computer systems and software packages and used established procedures to produce intricately detailed maps and graphics for a variety of natural resource programs and planning documents. -OR- 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (coursework directly related to position being filled); -OR- An appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master’s degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.). Work Experience: Your resume must clearly document the following for each block of work experience: the beginning day, month and year the work assignment started and ended; the hours worked per week; position title, series and grade if applicable; and description of duties performed. This information must be provided for each permanent, temporary, or seasonal appointment/work assignment, or volunteer work and should be clearly documented as a separate block of time. Incomplete, inaccurate, or conflicting work history may not be credited for qualifications purposes, and this may result in an applicant’s loss of consideration for the position. 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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
This position is located in the Northern Region, Region 1, Custer Gallatin National Forest with a duty location of Bozeman, MT. The incumbent is responsible for supporting managers and resource specialists in the use of geospatial technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for land, natural resources and ecosystem management. For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Lauren Oswald at 406-587-6743 or lauren.oswald@usda.gov.