This position is located at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, Madison, WI. In this position, you will serve as a central resource and liaison for the Soil Health Collaborative. Conducting impactful research and outreach efforts with university and NGO partners on soil health, assist the team in implementing program and procedures which govern the administration of soil health projects.

Duties

Serves as a central resource and liaison for the Soil Health Collaborative team. Works with the Soil Health Collaborative leadership team and the supervisor to ensure the operation plans reflect the teams' priorities and policies. Provides input on and leads efforts to develop or revise internal communication protocols among project leadership and externally with project partners. Coordinates and gathers necessary information to draft cooperator agreements, which will include providing guidance on the development of logic models, project objectives, budgets, and budget justifications. Maintains consistent coordination among diverse teams within the Soil Health Collaborative. Coordinates and leads project- wide meeting and field days with cooperators and stakeholders. Assists in writing and assembling documentation for the submission of grant proposals and other agreements.

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.
• 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

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Basic Requirements for Natural Resource Specialist Series, 401: Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Basic Requirements for Soil Science Series, 0470: 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 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Basic Requirements for Agronomist, 0471 Series: 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. OR 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. Graduate Education: Agronomy, or one of the related disciplines or fields of science, such as plant physiology, soils, or genetics, where the curriculum or pattern of training placed major emphasis on field crops or agronomy. Graduate study in related fields, such as botany, plant pathology, and biochemistry may also be qualifying, provided it placed a sufficient amount of emphasis on agronomy. 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirements described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below. GS-09: Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-09 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-07 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience conducting research related to soil health; assisting in writing and assembling agreement and grant proposal documentation for research programs; and using virtual tools to coordinate project meetings and report on project outcomes. OR Education: Successful completion of two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include Biology, Soil Sciences, Agronomy, Genetics, Plant Science, Social Science, and Botany. OR A combination of education and specialized experience as described above. GS-11: Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-11 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-09 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience with providing administrative and scientific support related to soil health research; implementing programs and procedures for soil health outreach projects; and reviewing agreement and grant proposal documentation to obtain research project funding. OR Education: Successful completion of three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include Biology, Soil Sciences, Agronomy, Genetics, Plant Science, Social Science, and Botany. OR A combination of education and specialized experience as described above. 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

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 5601 Sunnyside Ave Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Kendra Bledsoe
• Phone: 7032599425
• Email: [email protected]