This position is located in Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in the Maryland State Office. The NRCS mission is to provide resources to farmers and landowners to aid them with conservation. This position will provide engineering assistance working with landowners, groups, and units of government to apply and maintain a variety of conservation practices in their area of assigned responsibility.

Duties

Performs construction inspections on simple and complex structures for conservation systems. Performs drafting and other graphical work on a computer-aided drafting system. Maintains state-of the-art knowledge in the use, application, and management of computer hardware and software applicable to available computer-aided drafting CAD systems. Directs collection of field data and assures adequacy of collected data. Designs and supervises the design of complete engineering practices and structures involved in Agency programs. Prepares engineering cost estimates and construction performance time estimates. Provides training in surveying and engineering equipment usage. Acts as instructor of engineering subjects at statewide and other training sessions. Coordinates with engineering specialists in performing NRCS quality reviews of conservation practices.

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.
• 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

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-07 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-08 level. One year at the GS-08 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-09 level. One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-10 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). Specialized Experience at the GS-08: To qualify for the GS-08 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include the following- Providing on-site technical assistance to field office on the installation of a variety of conservation practices that may include parallel terraces, ponds, waterways, etc.; Compiling, computing, plotting and checking a wide variety of data for natural resource-related conservation projects AND Using computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) and manual techniques to prepare sketches, drawings, diagrams and charts for several phases of projects such as excavation, embankment, structures, triangulation, profiles and traverses, etc. OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-08 level: Must have a Master's or equivalent doctoral degree, or 2 full years of graduate education in engineering or other directly related field. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: Must possess a combination of specialized experience and graduate education as described directly above that total 100% when combined. First, determine total qualifying experience as a percentage of the specialized experience described above; then determine the education as a percentage of the graduate education described above; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of one year (18 semester hours) may be used when combining education and experience for this grade. (Must submit transcripts.) Specialized Experience at the GS-09: To qualify for the GS-09 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-08 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include the following- Preparing designs and layouts for natural resource-related conservation projects; Assisting field office personnel in developing designs and requesting assistance from the engineering staff on complex design problems; Conducting a range of standard surveys and data collection activities to provide data for civil engineering project design; AND Conducting inspections of construction projects on simple structures for conservation systems. OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-08 level: Must have a Master's or equivalent doctoral degree, or 2 full years of graduate education in engineering or other directly related field. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: Must possess a combination of specialized experience and graduate education as described directly above that total 100% when combined. First, determine total qualifying experience as a percentage of the specialized experience described above; then determine the education as a percentage of the graduate education described above; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of one year (18 semester hours) may be used when combining education and experience for this grade. (Must submit transcripts.) Specialized Experience at the GS-10: To qualify for the GS-10 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include the following- Conducting a wide range of non-standard surveys and data collection activities to provide data for natural resource-related conservation projects; Making recommendations for solutions to routine construction project problems that can be resolved by calculations typical to civil engineering projects; Performing quality control of engineering work performed by field office personnel; Developing designs and requesting assistance from the engineering staff on complex design problems; AND Preparing engineering data reports and recommended priorities, which are used in the formulation of cost estimates and bills of materials. OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-10 level: Must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of graduate education in engineering or other directly related field. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: Must possess a combination of specialized experience and graduate education as described directly above that total 100% when combined. First, determine total qualifying experience as a percentage of the specialized experience described above; then determine the education as a percentage of the graduate education described above; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of two years (36 semester hours) may be used when combining education and experience for this grade. (Must submit transcripts.) 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.

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]