Nat Res Spec/ Range Mgmt Spec/ Forester/ Soil Sci/ Agronomist

Natural Resources Conservation Service - Department of Agriculture

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Basic Education Requirement: 0401 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. Basic Education Requirement: 0454 Degree: 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.; OR Combination of Education and Experience: At least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil sciences and natural resources management shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Basic Education Requirement: 0460 Degree: Forestry; or a related subject-matter field that included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours of course work were in forestry, to include courses in each of the following areas: Management of Renewable Resources — study of the science and art of managing renewable resources to attain desired results, including courses such as silviculture, forest management operations, timber management, wildland fire science or fire management, utilization of forest resources, forest regulation, recreational land management, watershed management, and wildlife or range habitat management; Forest Biology — study of the classification, distribution, characteristics, and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of living organisms to the forest environment, including courses such as dendrology, forest ecology, silvics, forest genetics, wood structure and properties, forest soils, forest entomology, and forest pathology; Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory — sampling, inventory, measurement, and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources, including courses such as forest biometrics, forest mensuration, forest valuation, statistical analysis of forest resource data, renewable natural resources inventories and analysis, and photogrammetry or remote sensing. ; OR Combination of Education and Experience: At least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours in forestry are the same as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Basic Education Requirement: 0470 Degree: 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 Combination of Education and Experience: 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. Basic Education Requirement: 0471 Degree: Agronomy; or related discipline of science that included at least 30 semester hours of course work in the basic plant sciences, including at least 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, such as those dealing with plant breeding, crop production, and soil and crop management.; OR Combination of Education and Experience: At least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, including a minimum of 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. 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-12 grade level for consideration for the GS-13 grade level). 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: To qualify for the GS-13 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: 1. Making many decisions concerning interpretation of unusual and complex biological and ecological interactions, 2. Collaborate with natural resource survey experts to integrate natural resource management approaches. 3. Develops training materials which support analog and digital applications. To qualify for the GS-12 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: 1. Making many decisions concerning interpretation of unusual and complex biological and ecological interactions, 2. Collaborate with natural resource survey experts to integrate natural resource management approaches. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-13 or GS-12 level. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://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.
This recruitment is for a TEMPORARY PROMOTION not to exceed 1 year. Please see Additional Information section for more details. Soil and Plant Science Division (SPSD) is looking to fill 1 position within each of the following locations: Northwest Regional Area Southwest Regional Area Northeast Regional Area North Central Regional Area South Central Regional Area Southeast Region Area Fairbanks AK or Home AK

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