This position is located a Soil Survey Office in Wisconsin, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The primary function of this position is to serve as a team member developing and disseminating soil information for use in conservation planning at NRCS, and to provide soil data assistance to landowners, conservation partners, NRCS personnel and other parties.

Duties

Assists in evaluating map units of the survey area in order to plan the most feasible method of updating map units to current standards and support the National Cooperative Soil Survey objective of a seamless digital soil survey of the nation. Examines existing soils geospatial information using geospatial technologies to identify areas where soil types and landscapes are not correctly associated. Works with plant scientists and the MLRA Soil Survey Leader to document soil-plant relationships and to collect production estimates for crops, trees, and grasses and develop other information for ecological site descriptions. Uses soil-landscape relationships to systematically map and describe the way soils occur in the landscape.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected you will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Direct Deposit: 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 at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.
• Physical Demands: Work is performed in the field and requires physical exertion such crouching, bending, lifting equipment and soil samples (up to 70 pounds), hand digging of soil pits, walking or driving over wet, rough, uneven or rocky surfaces.
• Physical Demands: The job requires the operation of hand and power tools to examine soils in place and to obtain soil samples for laboratory analyses. May require to travel to outlying areas, sometimes under adverse weather conditions.
• Work Environment: Fieldwork involves exposure to moderate risks and discomforts such as high levels of dust, animals, poisonous insects and plants, adverse weather conditions, and regular exposure to operating equipment such as 4x4 vehicles.
• Work Environment: Field work is typically performed alone and often in remote locations. Employee is required to wear proper personal protective equipment when operating backhoe and traveling in ATV vehicles.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. Basic Education Requirement: Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree in 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. (You must submit transcripts.) 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 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. (You must submit transcripts.) 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: GS-5: Must meet the basic requirement as described above and therefore, meet minimum qualifications at the GS-05 grade level. (You must submit transcripts.) To qualify at the GS-7 grade level, you must meet ONE of the following: Specialized Experience: Must have one or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service performing duties such as: Assisting with evaluations of soil surveys to identify discrepancies; Preparing soil survey reports using computer software such as word processors, spreadsheets, and databases; and Utilizing geospatial technologies such as GIS, GPS, and remote sensing to evaluate soil types and landscapes. OR Education: Must have successfully completed at least one full year of graduate level education in soil science or a closely related discipline. One full year is generally equivalent to 18 semester hours. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience:Must have a percentage of the education and experience which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Superior Academic Achievement: Must meet the qualifications for Superior Academic Achievement, which include a bachelor's degree in soil science or a closely related discipline and one of the following methods: A grade point average of B (3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for your completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; A grade-point average of B+ (3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in the major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university, or major subdivision; or Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Note: If more than 10 percent of your courses were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honorary society. (You must submit transcripts.) To qualify at the GS-9 grade level, you must meet ONE of the following: Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Assisting senior staff with the development of digital soil maps; Evaluating soil surveys to identify discrepancies; Preparing soil survey reports using computer software such as word processors, spreadsheets, and databases; and Utilizing geospatial technologies such as GIS, GPS, and remote sensing to evaluate soil types and landscapes. OR Education: Must havetwo years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Master's degree or Master's or equivalent graduate degree in soil science or other directly related discipline. Two full years is generally equivalent to 36 semester hours. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: 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. (Note: Only graduate level education beyond the first year or 18 semester hours may be combined with specialized experience. You must submit transcripts.) (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) 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

Education

You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Contacts

• Address Natural Resources Conservation Service 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Midwest Services Branch
• Phone: 8164265706
• Email: [email protected]