The Pathways Recent Graduate Program is for recently graduated or graduating individuals who are looking for developmental experiences in the Federal Government intended to promote possible careers in the civil service. Locations will be Negotiable: Applicants interested in locations not specifically listed on the announcement are encouraged to communicate/negotiate location availability during the interview stage.

Duties

Provides technical leadership and assistance in agronomic, precision agriculture, and soil health to individual land users or groups of land users. Assesses and evaluates soil and water resource management problems and farming practices on individual or multiple tracts of land in the assigned area. Evaluates effectiveness of agronomic practices, identify technical problems and/or deficiencies, recommend improvements, and motivate landowners to implement and maintain sound conservation management systems. Assists with vegetative and management practices to secure a balanced program of soil and moisture conservation. Provides technical assistance in promoting conservation tillage, crop rotations and nutrient and pest management through tours, conferences, and direct assistance to field office personnel and producers. Assists in conducting on-the-job and formal training in agronomy to internal and external customers, providing information to field offices on agronomic techniques for inventorying, analyzing, and selecting treatment alternatives.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Satisfactory Background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one-year trial 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 https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Signed participant agreement is required for employment under Pathways.
• This position requires the incumbent to possess and maintain a valid state driver's license.
• Duty Location may change based upon training needs or upon conversion to competitive service.

Qualifications

(NOTE: You must attach a copy of your transcripts. Failure to submit transcripts will result in an ineligible rating.) Basic Requirements: For the GS-05 level: Degree: Degree: agronomy; or related discipline of science that included at least 30 semester hours of course work in the basic plant sciences, including at least 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, such as those dealing with plant breeding, crop production, and soil and crop management. Combination of education and experience: at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, including a minimum of 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Evaluation of Education: Course work in such subjects as botany, plant taxonomy, plant physiology, plant breeding or genetics, plant ecology, plant pathology, microbiology, agronomy, or those dealing with basic soil-water-plant relationships of an agronomic or ecologic nature may be used to meet the 30-semester-hour requirement in the basic plant sciences. Agronomy courses include agronomy, field crops, field crop production or management, soil and crop management, plant breeding and development, weed control, and similar courses, including those in soils, biochemistry, plant physiology, etc., provided they dealt with principles, methods, or procedures that are applied directly in agronomic work and in the solving of agronomic problems. GS-7 Grade Level: In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualification requirement in order to be considered for this position: Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level or higher in the Federal service (or private sector equivalent) demonstrating experience and knowledge of agronomy, hydrology, biology, soils, and practical engineering techniques and other natural resource conservation principles, methods and techniques. Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and practices applicable to soil health, crop science and soil science; OR Superior academic achievement in a bachelor's degree a curriculum directly related to the work of the position. To qualify for superior academic achievement, you must have ONE of the following: (1) standing in the upper third of your college class or major subdivision at the time you apply; (2) grade point average of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or its equivalent for all courses completed, either (a) at the time of application or (b) during the last 2 years of your undergraduate curriculum; (3) B+ (3.5 on a 4.0 scale) or its equivalent for all courses completed in a related discipline, either (a) at the time of application or (b) during the last 2 years of your undergraduate curriculum; OR (4) election to membership in one of the national honorary scholastic societies that meets the requirements of the Association of College Honor Society; OR Education Substitution: (1) one year of graduate-level education in soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. OR Possess 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. GS-9 Grade Level: In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualification requirement in order to be considered for this position: Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or higher in the Federal service (or private sector equivalent). For this position, examples of specialized experience include advanced-trainee level experience such as: providing technical guidance and direct assistance to personnel and producers to carry out natural resource's conservation planning and application for agronomic practices; solve complex agronomic problems on individual farms or group projects; and assist with vegetative and management practices to secure a balanced program of soil and moisture conservation, and, assists in the development of resource management systems OR Substitution of Education in Lieu of Specialized Experience: 2 or more years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in agronomy or a directly related discipline. OR Possess 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. To view the position's Qualification Requirements of the associated occupational series as outlined in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, General Schedule Qualifications Standards. See the link below: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=0400-ndx 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. Recent Graduates will serve on this appointment for one year learning the fundamentals of the position for which they can be converted. For more information on the Pathways Recent Graduate Program, please visit https://www.usajobs.gov/StudentsAndGrads. This paid appointment may offer additional Recruitment and Relocation incentives. It may allow for Student Load Repayment Program opportunities. Please see additional information in the announcement below.

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. If you have not yet conferred your degree or certificate, but will within 120 days of the closing date of this announcement, a letter from the school documenting current standing, degree being obtained and expected graduation date must be submitted with your application. 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. Official transcript will be required prior to entering on duty. 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: Barry Culbreath
• Phone: 816-926-1482
• Email: [email protected]