Natural Resource Specialist (Agricultural Conservation Easement)

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: Degree: Must possess a bachelor’s degree or higher in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.; OR Combination of Education and Experience: Must possess a combination of education and experience that includes courses equivalent to a major, as 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. 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: Specialized Experience at the GS-11: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Providing conservation easement program guidance, training, and coordination to facilitate an mission and assigned program responsibilities; Providing direct assistance to agency staff and partner groups to implement assigned programs using Farm Bill and other applicable policies, software, and other conservation planning tools; Assisting with the management of contracts for outside services and surveys to determine appropriate easement compensation rates; and Assisting with the management of restoration agreements, contracts, and budgets. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience.) OR Must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or, 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. (Note: You must submit supporting academic transcripts.) OR Must possess a 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 in excess of two years (36 semester hours) may be combined with specialized experience. You must submit supporting academic transcripts.) 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 on a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Staff, located in a NRCS State Office, and is supervised by the State Resource Conservationist. The incumbent serves as the Easement Coordinator in a state for all conservation easement programs. The incumbent is responsible for providing program guidance, training and coordination to facilitate the agency mission and assigned program responsibilities.