This position is located in the National Park Service (NPS) Alaska Regional Office, Anchorage, within the Alaska Land Resources Program. This position is open to certain hiring eligibilities in the Anchorage local commuting area, except for VEOA applicants. VEOA applicants may live anywhere and are not restricted to the local commuting area of Anchorage, Alaska. Please review the "Clarification from the agency, Who May Apply" section below for important information before applying.

Duties

As a Navigable Waters Specialist, the incumbent provides leadership, technical assistance, direction, policy guidance, and program strategy and development as they relate to navigability determinations on waterbodies within the external boundaries of NPS units in Alaska. As a GS-12 Navigable Waters Specialist, this position is responsible for researching, providing technical advice and reporting the information relative to the historical development of travel, trade, and commerce on water bodies within subject areas as well as on jurisdiction, providing navigability information on litigation cases, and technical assistance to NPS, other federal agencies, and the Solicitor's Office. Duties may include: Locate and interview residents, government officials, and others knowledgeable about the physical character, history, and transportation, including past and present use of specific rivers, lakes, and streams, regarding boat use, suitability to navigate waters, commerce or susceptibility of commerce on water bodies, subsistence uses, recreation uses, hydrology, and impedance to water travel. Provide expertise on current laws, policies, and procedures relating to submerged lands in Alaska. Serve as an expert witness in navigability cases before the Interior Board of Land Appeals and the federal or state court system. Inspect waterbodies in the field and collect physical and historical information. Develop research strategies and priorities in consultation with park. Prepare detailed written accounts of interviews for the official records. As a GS-11 Navigable Waters Specialist, duties are similar to above but receives guidance and general direction from higher-level team members and supervisors. Duties may include: Research, compile and present written, oral, and digital map-based information from diverse sources for assessing and understanding the navigability status of water bodies. Inspect waterbodies in the field and collects physical and historical information. Develop research strategies and advise management of possible state-owned submerged lands adjacent to federal public lands. May serve as an expert witness in navigability cases. Advise management and others on possible effects of court decisions, legislation, and administrative actions relating to navigability of water bodies. Conduct geospatial analysis, including vector and raster analysis as related to navigability. Collect and analyze hydrologic data, and presents findings in formats including reports, maps, and speaking engagements. As a GS-09 Navigable Waters Specialist, duties are similar to the grades above but developmental to prepare for higher-level assignments. Duties may include: Research and compile written, oral, and digital map-based information regarding current law, policies, and procedures regarding the navigability status of water bodies and submerged lands in Alaska. Inspect water bodies in the field and collects physical and historical information. Research title work, court records, plats, and other often-conflicting material in order to make recommendations to higher-level specialists on the ownership status. Read and interpret legal descriptions, aerial photographs, recorded plats, tract maps, and courthouse records. Work closely with Geospatial Information System (GIS) staff to create GIS products including static maps, web maps, and GIS datasets relating to navigability. Perform various administrative tasks and provides technical assistance for financial, procurement, property, human resources, personnel records, timekeeping, payroll, travel, and other management functions. For more information regarding the duties or duty station, please contact Robert Childers, Realty Officer, at [email protected] This is a career-ladder position, however, promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level. Full-performance grade level is GS-12.

Requirements

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/29/2023-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. This position may be filled as a GS-09, GS-11, or GS-12 as follows: To qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: basic knowledge in or directly related to examination or adjudication of cases involving laws and regulations covering survey end land conveyance programs; analyzing problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions related to the development and use of transportation systems and navigability; using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) including dataset design, maintenance, cartography, vector and raster analysis; and interpreting data from USGS topographic maps, photographs, and orthophotos to discern the physical characteristics of water bodies. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a master's or equivalent graduate degree; or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Education must be in a field of major study that is directly related to the work of the position and has provided the applicant with the background of knowledge and skills necessary for successful job performance in the position to be filled. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of semester hours in excess of 18 semester hours by 18 or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the two percentages. They must equal 100% to qualify using this option. You must include the number of hours worked per week within your resume and a copy of your transcripts. - OR - To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess at least one of of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: advanced knowledge in or directly related to examination or adjudication of cases involving laws and regulations dealing with navigable waters and end land conveyance programs; advanced use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) including dataset design, maintenance, cartography, vector and raster analysis; and interpreting data from USGS topographic maps, photographs, and orthophotos to discern the physical characteristics of water bodies; skill in the collection, analysis, and presentation of hydrologic data; and adjudication or examination of applications and claims for title to public lands related to navigability. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or at least three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related. Education must be in a field of major study that is directly related to the work of the position and has provided the applicant with the background of knowledge and skills necessary for successful job performance in the position to be filled. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of credit hours in excess of 36 semester hours by 18 semester hours, or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the two percentages. They must equal at least 100% to qualify using this option. You must include the number of hours worked per week within your resume and a copy of your transcripts. - OR - To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: comprehensive knowledge in or directly related to examination or adjudication of cases involving laws and regulations dealing with navigable waters; adjudication or examination of applications and claims for title to public lands related to navigability; general practice of law that include substantial involvement in examinations of navigability case law, reading aerial photographs and maps to determine water body characteristics, and understanding the potential for commerce on water bodies by watercraft; and advanced use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and interpreting large amounts of data from USGS topographic maps, photographs, and orthophotos to analyze, document, and present hydrologic data and navigability information to management. You must include hours per week worked. When describing the nature of your duties (e.g., your paid or unpaid work or volunteer experience), please be extremely clear, thorough, and specific. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience. Make sure your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications and answers to the job questionnaire. For additional information on what to include in your resume, click here. For information on what you should leave out of your resume, click here. The following five-minute video may also be helpful for creating and updating your federal resume: click here. Volunteer Experience: 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

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your 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.

Contacts

• Address Alaska Regional Office 240 W 5th Avenue Anchorage, AK 99501 US
• Name: Carrie Shapbell
• Phone: (907) 644-3340
• Email: [email protected]