The position will serve as State Compliance Coordinator assigned to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in the Columbus, OH State Office and is part of the State Compliance Team reporting to the State Soil Scientist. This position is to serve as team leader of the State Compliance Team {CT) and ensure that Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland Compliance (WC) technical determinations and activities are conducted in compliance with applicable statutes, policies, and procedures.

Duties

Reviews HEL and WC information and makes determinations that are in congruence with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Develops, recommends, and coordinates new or updated HEL and WC policies and procedures to the supervisor and the State Leadership Team, i.e., State Resource Conservationist (SRC), State Soil Scientist (SSS), and State Appeals Coordinator (SAC). Performs site visits to review wetland areas as delineated on wetland maps to determine classification of land by review of the soils, hydrology, and vegetation of for Food Security Act wetland determinations and mitigations. Makes suggested improvements in Agency policies, practices, and procedures based on lessons learned.

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.
• Subject to one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.
• 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

AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Please note that this job opportunity announcement is only open to current Career/Career-Conditional employees of the USDA. If you do not possess this status, you will not receive consideration. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-9 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 level. One year at the GS-11 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted). Basic Qualifications for the 401 series: Must possess a Bachelor's or higher degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Must possess a combination of education and experience. This includes courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. (You must submit transcripts.) Basic Qualifications for the 457 series: Must have a bachelor's or higher degree in soil conservation or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, agricultural engineering or a closely related discipline that included 30 semester hours in natural resource or agricultural field, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Must have a combination of education and experience: at least 30 semester hours in one or more of the disciplines as show in A above, including at least 12 semester hours in combination of soils and crops or plant science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science. 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.) 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 in which you are applying: GS-11: Must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service performing the following duties: Assisting state specialists with developing wetland and/or soil conservation plans; Preparing written materials such as informational bulletins, handbooks, and reports; Serving as a consultant regarding conservation plans for staff; and Providing assistance and training to field office staff related to wetland and/or soil conservation activities. (Must be reflected in resume.) OR Must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in wetland or soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Must possess a 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. Only graduate level education in excess of two years (36 semester hours) may be combined with specialized experience. (You must submit transcripts.) GS-12: Must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service performing the following duties: Assisting state specialists with developing wetland and/or soil conservation plans and reports; Preparing written materials such as informational bulletins, handbooks, policies, and reports; Serving as a consultant regarding wetland and/or soil conservation plans and problems for staff and landowners; Providing assistance and training to field office staff related to wetland and/or soil conservation activities; and Collaborating with community organizations on interpreting wetland and/or soil survey data and needed erosion control measures. (Must be reflected in resume.) (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. 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: Midwest Services Branch
• Phone: 8164265706
• Email: [email protected]