The incumbent serves as the Resource Soil Scientist, responsible for maintenance, interpretation, & distribution of soil survey information; conducting information & education activities related to soils & soil survey; providing training to NRCS employees and other technical specialists; assisting with conservation planning, highly erodible land & wetland determinations, environmental assessments, & natural resource management activities; & providing leadership, technical review, and guidance.

Duties

Provide soil expertise (e.g., assignment of soil erodibility factors and identification of hydric soils) at appeals that are elevated to the County Farm Service Agency Committee, State Conservationist, and the National Appeals Division. Conduct on-site investigations of soils to resolve complex problems and provide advice, guidance, and leadership to others in delivering products and services that meet requestor's needs. Serve as a technical soil specialist for highly erodible land, wetland conservation, conservation compliance and soil health management systems. Develop and provide training in soil science and the use of soil survey information to NRCS and non-NRCS audiences. Provides leadership and guidance in soil survey data in NASIS, and monitors and updates soil survey data as necessary to meet current needs and provides leadership in accessing soil survey data. Integrates soils and soil survey information with overall program activities. Provide leadership and guidance to field offices and assists in the preparation of area-wide plans of operation, business plans, budget plans, long range plans, and training plans related to soil survey technical services. Review field office use of soils information in the application of conservation practices and programs.

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.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. (e.g. one year at the GS-09 grade level for consideration for the GS-11 grade level and one year at the GS-11 level for consideration for the GS-12 level). You must include an SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one) that supports meeting this requirement with your application package. Basic Education Requirement: Degree: 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. 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 in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered: Specialized Experience for the GS-11 level: To qualify for the GS-11 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include Providing direct support as a resource soil scientist to field offices for technical soil services; Processing Farm Bill program assessments and working collaboratively with Soil Survey offices; Maintenance, interpretation, and distribution of soil survey information; Conducting soils informational/educational activities and providing training for employees and other technical specialists OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-11 level: Three year(s) of progressively higher level graduate educationleading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in soil science or a closely related discipline; OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. Specialized Experience for the GS-12 level: To qualify for the GS-12 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include: Investigating, analyzes and evaluating soil survey information and problems involving a wide variety of circumstances or unusual conditions; Resolving complex soil issues, developing new methods and practices, and modifying/adapting soils science guidelines to intricate issues. Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-12 level. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: Soil Science Series 0470 (opm.gov) 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.

Education

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information.

Contacts

• Address Natural Resources Conservation Service 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Molly Throop
• Email: [email protected]