Deadline: Tue, 02/28/2023 - 12:00pm Employer: Department of Agriculture Forest Service Job Field: Forestry Job Type: Full Time Location: Regional/Multiple Location Detail: 18 vacancies in the following locations: Gainesville, GA 3 vacancies Pineville, LA 4 vacancies Jackson, MS 6 vacancies Blacksburg, VA 5 vacancies Job Description: Duties Duties listed are at the full performance level (GS-06). Conducts timber cruises and surveys within varying stand conditions to locate and estimate the quantity of timber on a given area, according to species, type, and quality. Estimates volume, defect, and quality of timber in a given area. Measures and defects timber on the ground using maps and written cruise plans provided by an advanced cruiser that explain sampling intensity, plot locations, type of cruise and any special instructions. Under supervision of a professional forester, and using pre-established marking rules, selects and marks trees to be harvested or left uncut. Lays out boundaries of cutting areas as outlined in the NEPA, considering variables such as accessibility, steep slopes, stream protection, nesting tree protection, wildlife impacts, fuels management and regeneration requirements. Marks trees using marking rules in areas complicated by variations in type, species composition, defect, site, age, class, etc. Prepares area maps, marks unit boundaries and occasionally uses GPS to record boundary locations. Is able to follow clear direction given by supervisor or other senior personnel and implement it efficiently, producing high quality outcomes that meet Regional standards. Summarizes cruising and marking data and prepares reports and topographic maps indicating quantity of timber, condition of area, difficulties to be encountered, etc. Qualifications: Requirements Conditions of Employment Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license. Qualifications 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. Basic Requirements: or the GS-04 level: Applicants must have six months of general experience AND six months of specialized experience that is directly related to the work of the position; OR successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science (no more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable); OR an appropriate combination of experience and education above high school as described above. The education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university and include courses that are related to the occupation of the position. Examples of general experience are: Performed farm/ranch labor, such as feeding/tending livestock or general maintenance of farm/ranch facilities; worked in a greenhouse, nursery or landscaping, e.g., planting, moving, watering, and tending plants; worked as an animal caretaker in a laboratory, zoo or pet store; other work experience, paid or unpaid, e.g., volunteer work at a park, youth camp, hospital, community sports league, local fire department, etc. Examples of specialized experience are: Performed natural resource support work, e.g., forestry, range, park technician, wildland firefighter, or similar jobs; performed routine support assignments in a forestry specialty area, e.g., wilderness, timber, fire prevention/control, etc. For the GS-05 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level; OR successful completion of a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position; OR successful completion of a 4-year course of study that included at least 24 semester hours in forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science (no more than 6 credit hours in mathematics is creditable); OR combination of education and specialized experience that together meets the requirements of the position being filled. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Examples of specialized experience are: Performed work as part of crew conducting forestry related support such as selecting and marking individual trees for harvest while following defined marking guidelines and silviculture prescriptions; performed Timber marking in varying stand conditions to locate and estimate the quantity of timber according to species, product, and quality; assisted in cruising of timber to include measurements for tree diameter, tree height, defect and quality determination, plot limiting distances, and related fundamental timber cruising procedures. 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. Education See above for education that may be qualifying for the specific grade level. Additional information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. Selections made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would be given a new appointment. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is not guaranteed. This is a bargaining unit position and is represented by either NFFE, AFGE, or NAGE. Forest Service daycare facilities are not available. Government Housing is not available. The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/ Read more How You Will Be Evaluated You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. This is a Direct-Hire Authority position, all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, the resume is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements. A rating will not be used; veteran's preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position. Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11845113 Miscellaneous: Required Documents The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Resume that includes: 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the responsibilities section including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications. If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330. Salary: $33,693 - $42,022 per year How to Apply: How to Apply Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m. (MST), Monday - Friday. If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be returned to Human Resources no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order for it to be entered into the system prior to the closing date. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, in USAJOBS click "Apply" and follow the instructions to attach your resume and required documents, complete the assessment questionnaire, and submit your application. NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Close Agency contact information HRM Contact Center Phone 1-877-372-7248 X2 Email HRM_Contact_Center@usda.gov Address USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT. Albuquerque, NM 87109 US Learn more about this agency
