Program Specialist (Agriculture)

All qualification requirements must be met by 11/19/2024 (the closing date of the announcement). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To ensure full credit for your experience, please indicate the start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and the location of employment in your resume. Qualification claims will be subject to verification. Specialized Experience: This vacancy is being announced at one grade level. Specialized Experience at the FP-03 (GS-13): To be minimally qualified for this position at the FP-03 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression, FP-04 or GS-11/12 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: International field experience including design, management, implementation, training and/or monitoring and evaluation of projects or programs to address agricultural development challenges (e.g., limited access to information or resources, degraded soils, access to water, crop loss and waste, limited access to markets, increasing (average) age, gender inequality, climate variability and environmental changes), and improve their agricultural productivity, sustainability and resilience while improving their livelihoods, food security and nutrition. Please note: Past experience that satisfies the Specialized Experience MUST be well documented within your resume. Failure to provide this information in your resume with corresponding start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and location of employment may result in disqualification from further consideration. Specialized Experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or through volunteer work done with National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) or other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Additional information on qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site. Peace Corps employees are employed using the Foreign Personnel (FP) pay scale. The FP pay plan does not follow the same structure as the GS pay plan. In the FP pay plan, as the grade-level numbers decrease the level/pay for the position increases. The FP-09 is the lowest entry-level grade and the FP-01 is the highest senior-level grade.
The Agriculture (AG) program specialist will have expertise in areas such as agronomy, soil science, agroecology, natural resources management, small animal husbandry, agricultural extension along with a strong understanding of food security and human nutrition, sustainable rural livelihoods and climate change impacts on agriculture. Additionally, the AG Specialist will have a familiarity with basic principles of regenerative agriculture, permaculture, farm management and/or agribusiness.