This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS is responsible for technical assistance to landowners and operators for implementation of soil and water conservation practices to watershed districts and sponsors for Operation and Maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and design of flood control measures.

Duties

Provides NRCS-wide economics assistance to states in water resources planning. Provides guidance and assistance to state conservationists and their staffs in conducting economic investigations associated with complex water resource projects. Leads unusual and/or extremely complex economic investigations to help inventory resources, forecast conditions, formulate alternative solutions, and evaluate effects of alternatives. Serves as the NRCS expert for the development of complex water resource reports and other documents that involve economics. Aids in developing evaluation techniques to measure economic impact of NRCS programs at the watershed scale and at the state level and beyond.

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.
• 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.
• IF APPLICABLE: Position has a Confidential Financial Disclosure (Form OGE-450) requirement. If selected, you will be required to submit Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter.
• 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

If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. (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). Time-in-grade requirements also apply to VEOA applicants having held a GS position in the past year. See addition information. One year at the GS-11 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level. One year at the GS-12 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-13 level. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: BASIC EDUCATION: Must possess one of the following. Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. (Must submit transcripts) or Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A 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. (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: Specialized Experience GS-12 Level: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Developing adequate criteria, statistics, and studies that can be used in appraising the costs and benefits applicable to specific natural resource projects; Engaging stakeholders to discuss and coordinate economic activities related to natural resources projects; and Preparing economic tables and narratives for inclusion in natural resource plans. Specialized Experience GS-13 Level: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Furnishing professional interpretations and judgments concerning economic technology development, transfer, and acquisition; Providing support to national water resources technical and program leaders in policy development and interpretation; Reviewing water resource documents for appropriate solutions that integrate economic principles while considering water resource law, policy, guides, and procedures; and Coordinating the collection and analysis of economic data. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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]