This position is being concurrently announced under Pathways Recent Graduate program as announcement number 24-NPT-SRM-454-57-RG. Current federal employees may apply to both announcements. This position may be filled at the GS-05 or GS-07 grade level with promotion potential to the GS-09. See Position Information section below for additional details on the positions being filled through this announcement.

Duties

The duties listed are at the highest grade level advertised (GS-07) Assist in rangeland area analysis to determine ecosystem health, diversity, trend, successional stage, site potential, desired plant community grazing capacity of the vegetation. Monitor and evaluate the impact of various rangeland activities on other resource management activities and uses. Participate in and cooperate with research, and State and local game management agencies in range research in demonstration field projects. Recommend stock driveway use routes or methods of moving stock to and from various grazing areas. Make livestock checks or counts to determine that only authorized animals are being grazed on National Forest System lands or other lands under Forest Service control. Recommend grazing strategy, livestock management practices and grazing capacity, for non-Forest lands under Forest Service administration. Coordinate with rangeland users to help solve rangeland problems. Assist in developing unit rangeland area livestock management plans and/or strategies. Plan, establish and complete the unit rangeland vegetation management program progress schedule. Direct unit program for tagging, dye branding or other means of identifying authorized livestock.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or 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.
• 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.gov

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. Basic Requirement for the Rangeland Management Specialist, 0454 series: Degree: range management; or a related discipline that included at least 42 semester hours in a combination of the plant, animal, and soil sciences, and natural resources management, as follows: Range Management -- At least 18 semester hours of course work in range management, including courses in such areas as basic principles of range management, range plants, range ecology, range inventories and studies, range improvements, and ranch or rangeland planning. Directly Related Plant, Animal, and Soil Sciences -- At least 15 semester hours of directly related courses in the plant, animal, and soil sciences, including at least one course in each of these three scientific areas, i.e., plant, animal, and soil sciences. Courses in such areas as plant taxonomy, plant physiology, plant ecology, animal nutrition, livestock production, and soil morphology or soil classification are acceptable. Related Resource Management Studies -- At least 9 semester hours of course work in related resource management subjects, including courses in such areas as wildlife management, watershed management, natural resource or agricultural economics, forestry, agronomy, forages, and outdoor recreation management. OR Combination of education and experience -- at least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil sciences and natural resources management shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional education and/or specialized experience are required for the grade(s) specified. In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional education and/or specialized experience are required for the grade(s) specified. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-05: The basic education requirements above are fully qualifying for the GS-5 grade level. For the GS-07: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as the two or more of the following: Collecting basic data from on the-ground observations to determine rangeland activity suitability, ecological heath, ecological status, trend and grazing capacity of the rangeland resource; gathering basic information for rangeland vegetation programs and monitoring strategies and activity permits for compliance and on-the-ground results; and/or assisting with rangeland improvement projects and maintenance. service OR one full year of graduate level education; OR an appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience; OR Superior Academic Achievement (to determine if you are eligible, go to: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp ). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Please note that Superior Academic Achievement can only be applied if you have graduated or completed (or expect to complete within 9 months) all the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. 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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT GS-07 ONLY: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement, as outlined above under basic qualifications. The term positive education requirement refers to an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) determination that the duties of a scientific, technical, or professional position cannot be performed by an individual that does not have the prescribed minimum education. For additional information on the qualification standards for the 0454 series, visit the OPM Qualifications Standard found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0400/rangeland-management-series-0454/

POSITION INFORMATION:
This announcement is associated with the 2023 Society for Range Management (SRM) recruitment event. The targeted start date for these positions is Summer-Fall 2024.To see where these Forest Service offices are located, click here. Click each region name to see the different locations within the Forest Service.

Please click this link to see the Career Map for these positions.

To see where these Forest Service offices are located, click here. Click each region name to see the different locations within the Forest Service.

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.

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.

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]