This position is located in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Will serve as a Supervisory Soil Scientist or Ecologist for assigned portions of Major Land Resource Area. Will be responsible for the coordination, quality assurance and control, of data collection, providing coordination and support; technical guidance, and staff assistance including training and oversight, to Soil Survey Office Staff.

Duties

Provides leadership, direction, and technical guidance to staff within the assigned soil survey area. Evaluates technical needs, gaps, or deficiencies in existing soil survey data bases or reports, and in developing and implementing technical plans for initial, maintenance, and update of survey area. Studies the characteristics of soils, geology, topography, and landforms over the survey area to ensure consistency of map units. Develops soil landscape predictive models and uses soil-landscape relationships to develop and evaluate map units and mapping legends and systematically map and describe the way soils occur in the landscape. Controls the technical quality of all phases of soil survey work including collection, description, classification, correlation, investigation, and interpretation of all soil data prior to submitting to Regional Office. Serves on regional and national committees, interdisciplinary teams, and boards related to making and using soil surveys.

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.
• This position is designated for random drug testing under Departmental—Regulation DR 4430-7922-2 dated April 2011. This position must complete and pass Pre-Employment Drug Testing before entrance on duty (EOD).
• This position requires field work in areas where bears and other dangerous wildlife are common. Passing a course in bear safety and firearms handling skills on an annual basis and the legal ability to carry a firearm, are required for this position.
• Safety and Health: Work may require the safe operation of a 2-wheel or 4-wheel drive; operation of a Giddings soil probe, bull probe, ATV, snowmobile, or backhoe may be required.

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. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Please note that this job opportunity announcement is only open to current Career/Career-Conditional employees of the FPAC, CTAP/RPL eligibles, and Farm Service Agency permanent county employees. If you do not possess this status, you will not receive consideration. Time In Grade Requirement: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-09 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 Requirements for the 0408 series: Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree in biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences. Basic Requirements for the 0470 series: Degree:Bachelor's or higher degree in 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. (You must submit transcripts.) 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 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. (You 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: Specialized Experience at the GS-11: 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 that included: Performing soil survey activities to achieve agency objectives and goals; Entering soils geospatial data into an electronic data system to update soil map units and landscapes information; Entering Global Positioning Systems (GPS) data into an electronic database to complete the soil mapping and landscape modeling process; AND Conducting soil surveys and soil mapping tasks at part of employee's daily tasks. OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: soil science, biology, ecology, or a closely related discipline that included 30 semester hours or equivalent in basic and applied biological sciences, biological, physical, or earth science. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. Specialized Experience at the GS-12: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service that included: Coordinating soil survey activities to ensure consistency across regions to achieve agency objectives and goals; Conducting quality control on soils geospatial information to identify areas where soil map units and landscapes are incorrect; Performing quality control review on data generated from Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to complete soil mapping and landscape modeling; Managing and prioritizing the activities of soil survey and soil mapping tasks; AND Participating on committees, teams, and boards related to soil surveys. EDUCATIONAL SUBSTITUTION: There is no educational substitution for this position at the GS-12. 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 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. Selective Factor: This position requires field work in areas where bears and other dangerous wildlife are common. Passing a course in bear safety and firearms handling skills on an annual basis, and legal ability to carry a firearm, are required for this position. Must maintain annual Firearms Certification and Bear Safety Training. This position requires that the incumbent meet initial and continuing qualifications in the use of firearms as outlined in the Gun Control Act of 1968, amended by the Lautenberg Amendment of 1996. Certification of compliance with 18 U.S.C. 922 (g) and (n) National Rifle Association Shotgun Safety and handling certification. This is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter. Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use. (Per USDA policy.)

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
• Email: [email protected]