The Internship Program is designed to provide students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions, from high school to graduate level, with opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school and while getting paid for the work performed. These Student Trainee positions will be filled as Intern not-to-exceed appointments. Please see the Requirements - Education section for contact information on these positions.

Duties

Duties listed are at the highest grade level being advertised (GS-05): Receives training in the principles, concepts, work processes, and regulations of one or more functional areas of physical science centered positions. Work assignments are selected to ensure that the Intern receives on-the-job training and exposure to one or more program functions. As training advances and proficiency is demonstrated, work assignment are increasingly more demanding, and are designed to provide experience in a variety of activities. On a scheduled basis, following the Pathways Participant Agreement, receives assignments in various Physical Sciences functions to gain an understanding of the various program concepts and operations. Develop an understanding of the total mission as well as organizational/functional interrelationships, and gain work experience through temporary work assignments in positions centered on physical sciences. Receives formal and on-the-job training in OPM, Department of Agriculture and Forest Service policies, rules, regulations, and procedures. Is instructed on the use of personal computers, and file and data management.

Requirements

• Must be at least 16 years of age and meet education requirements.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National at the time of non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position in the competitive service.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/.
• The incumbents of Internship positions may be reassigned/relocated to any geographical location where the employee's services are needed as determined by management. Mobility agreement may be required.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• A signed participant agreement is required for employment under Pathways.
• Complete at least 640 hours of work experience prior to graduation
• Maintain Pathways program eligibility for the duration of the appointment.
• Must be in good academic standing as defined by the educational institution.
• Must be enrolled at least half-time in a qualifying educational institution seeking a qualifying degree or certificate.
• The candidate's academic and career goals must be related to the position that they are appointed to.
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period.

Qualifications

You are required to meet the eligibility requirements of the Internship program, as described below in order to be considered for this position. You must meet all the eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, go to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Group-Standards INTERNSHIP PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY Applicants must meet Pathways Intern Program Eligibility Requirements as shown below by the closing date of the announcement. Spring 2024 graduates will be required to provide proof of continued enrollment in the form of transcripts, acceptance letter or other appropriate documentation for Summer 2024 or Fall 2024 at the time of tentative selection. If no proof of continued enrollment is provided at that time, you will no longer be eligible for this internship. You must meet the definition of a student that is, be currently enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited technical or vocational school, two-year or four-year college or university, graduate or professional school. You must be taking at least a half-time academic course load leading to a degree or certificate. A certificate program is defined as a post-secondary education, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum. Applicants must be seeking a degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) and be in good academic standing (GPA of 2.0 or equivalent) to qualify for the intern program and to stay throughout the duration of their intern program. If your school uses an alternate grading system, you must submit proof and explanation of the grading system with your application or you will not be considered for this position. Position Qualifications: Applicants must meet position qualifications requirements as shown below at the time of appointment. Entrance on duty dates for appointment may be made as early as Spring of 2024. The agency must be able to verify that the education was completed successfully before the applicant can be appointed. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided. Provide course descriptions as necessary. Basic Requirement: The minimum qualification requirements for each grade level of this vacancy announcement are described below: Note: One full academic year of undergraduate; graduate; vocational; trades; technical or high school is the number of credit hours by the college, university or school to represent one year of full-time study. For GS-03: Completion of one full academic year of post-high school study For GS-04: Completion of an associate's degree or 2 academic years of post-high school study For GS-05: Completion of a bachelor's degree or equivalent degree May be converted to any position with a Full Performance Level not to exceed GS-9. Conversion to a position with a full performance level of GS-9 is not guaranteed, you may or may not be offered conversion.

Education

Education completed in foreign colleges and universities may be used if it has been accredited or evaluated by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

These position have a positive education requirement. The student must be currently enrolled in a physical science degree program that will satisfy on graduation the specific requirements for a professional or scientific position identified by on your pathways agreement. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/general-physical-science-series-1301/

POSITION INFORMATION:
This announcement is associated with the 2024 Summer Intern and Intern NTE recruitment event. The target start date for these positions is Spring 2024.

If you have questions regarding duty locations in this announcement please email [email protected]. Please include the announcement number and the exact location(s) for which you have questions in your email.

Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.

This announcement may be used to fill intern positions with the possibility for conversion to positions with a full-time work schedule or a permanent seasonal work schedule. If the position has a permanent seasonal work schedule, full-time work is guaranteed for 13 pay periods or 18 pay periods; and when not working, you will be placed in non-pay/non-duty status.

The duty locations listed in this announcement include primary and alternate locations for available positions. You must select all duty locations for which you wish to be considered; final duty location for each position will be determined at the time of selection.

Selecting the "Location Negotiable after Selection" option in addition to selecting your preferred specific duty locations, implies your willingness to accept positions to alternative duty locations that may or may not have been indicated in this announcement. Final determination of duty station will be made by the selecting official at the time of job offer.

Contacts

• Address USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT. Albuquerque, NM 87109 US
• Name: HRM Contact Center
• Phone: 1-877-372-7248 X2
• Email: [email protected]