Deadline: Tue, 03/14/2023 - 12:00pm Employer: USDA Forest Service Job Field: Forestry Job Type: Full Time Location: Regional/Multiple Location Detail: The location of the position can be in any one of the following Forest Service Research Station or Field Offices: Lincoln, NE (NAC headquarters) Hilo, HI Moscow, ID Saint Paul, MN Columbia, MO Durham, NC Corvallis, OR Burlington, VT Blacksburg, VA Madison, WI Job Description: The USDA Forest Service National Agroforestry Center is now advertising a permanent full-time position GS-0401-12/13 Natural Resources Specialist – Agroforestry. Key duties of the position are to: Conduct research on the ecosystem services provided by agroforestry systems Develop peer reviewed publications, research reports, briefings, and science delivery materials to be presented to diverse audiences Serve as a liaison with scientists, partners, stakeholders and agency communication staff Help to formulate national guidance and program direction related to agroforestry Develop science delivery and program materials that communicate the intent and importance of agroforestry The position will work as a team member within the USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC). The mission of NAC is to advance the health, diversity, and productivity of working lands, waters, and communities through agroforestry. NAC is a nationally recognized Center that conducts applied science, develops synthesis products, fosters communication, and provides technical assistance for agroforestry. 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. Qualifications 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. SCREEN OUT (Selective Placement Factor). Selectee for this position will be a senior subject matter expert and technical advisor providing scientific and professional guidance, leadership, coordination, and direction in the field of agroforestry. To qualify, you must have graduate level education or experience in the field of agroforestry or agroecosystems. Graduate level education (master's level or higher) or experience must be in agroforestry or a related field (i.e., natural resources, ecology, environmental/climate science, earth systems, agronomy, horticulture, forestry). To qualify, you must clearly describe this experience or graduate level education in your application or attachments and how this education or experience applies to agroforestry systems. Such experience or education may include research experience in agriculture, forestry, and or agroforestry, with a publication record; or experience developing evidenced based guidance related to agroforestry and/or agroecology. Basic Requirement for Natural Resources Management Series (0401): Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study 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-- Combination of education and experience with courses equivalent to a major described above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Your resume must reflect the experience used to meet this requirement. 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 GS-12: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least a GS-11 grade level in federal service. Specialized experience at this level is defined as three or more of the following: --Demonstrating expertise and advice on program delivery and activities related to agriculture, natural resources management, land management, forest management, range management, ecosystem management, sustainability and climate, environmental justice, or inventory and monitoring. --Providing project management support and coordination for biological science related studies, identifying opportunities to improve program area. --Working with partners to accomplish program goals and objectives. --Conducting long/short term studies and investigations in the field of agriculture, forestry and/or agroforestry. --Coordinating surveys and analyzing biological data associated with environmental studies. For GS-13: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least a GS-12 grade level in federal service. Specialized experience at this level is defined as three or more of the following: --Providing technical and administrative leadership, guidance, and direction to a program to enhance the effectiveness, delivery, and scope of program activities within an area related to agriculture, natural resources management, land management, forest management, range management, ecosystem management, sustainability and climate, environmental justice, or inventory and monitoring. --Analyzing and recommending program policies, objectives, guidelines, or plans. --Reviewing long/short-range plans to ensure consistency with program strategies and priorities. --Establishing public and private sector partnerships. --Conducting long/short term studies and investigations in the field of agriculture, forestry and or agroforestry.. 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, and 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. This can result in an applicant not being considered 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. Education Education alone is not qualifying for the grade levels advertised. To qualify you must possess the specialized experience described above. 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 not a bargaining unit position. This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements. This position is not eligible for telework. 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 Benefits 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/11850437 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: $82,830 - $98,496 per year Pay scale & grade GS 12 - 13 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
