Performs duties which assist in carrying out a coordinated natural resources conservation program tailored to customers' needs. Serves as a Wetland Conservationist in the provision of direct wetland determination assistance to Field Offices and Producers.

Duties

Services Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification requests, quality assurance of wetland determinations Provides assistance to producers and field offices on Wetland Conservation Compliance activities. Serves as an NRCS Wetland Specialist explaining applicable statutes, rules, regulations, policy, and providing guidance to others. Conducts on-site/off site investigations for certified wetland determinations and wetland restoration/mitigation. Serves as agency representative, collects data, assembles the agency record, and prepares draft appeal responses to provide to the State Wetland Specialist for review and issuance by the State Conservationist. Provides accurate and effective training on all aspects of Wetland Conservation Compliance including technical and policy requirements. Ensures that the wetland determination tracking database is accurate and current for work assigned to the position and to staff. Maintains effective working relationships with partners and other agriculture interest groups and higher-level educational institutions, as needed.

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.
• 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. Basic Education Requirement: 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. 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 (GS-07): To qualify for the GS-07 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: Assisting with completing wetland determinations Assisting with field determinations, including observing the digging of observation pits, observing the describing soils, observing the collection of vegetation data and observing the assessment of hydrology indicators; OR Superior Academic Achievement in a bachelor's degree curriculum directly related to the work of the position. To qualify for superior academic achievement, you must have ONE of the following: (1) standing in the upper third of your college class or major subdivision at the time you apply; (2) grade point average of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or its equivalent for all courses completed, either (a) at the time of application or (b) during the last 2 years of your undergraduate curriculum; (3) B+ (3.5 on a 4.0 scale) or its equivalent for all courses completed in a related discipline, either (a) at the time of application or (b) during the last 2 years of your undergraduate curriculum; OR (4) election to membership in one of the national honorary scholastic societies that meets the requirements of the Association of College Honor Society; OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-07 level: one year of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, or directly related field appropriate to the position; OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. Specialized Experience (GS-09): To qualify for the GS-09 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. Examples of specialized experience include: Working independently issuing highly erodible land determinations; Independently completing wetland determinations; Conducting field determinations, including the digging of observation pits, the describing of soils, the collection of vegetation data and the assessment of hydrology indicators; OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-09 level: two years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or master's or equivalent graduate degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, or directly related field appropriate to the position; OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. Specialized Experience (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, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: Servicing Wetland Conservation Certification requests; Performing quality assurance of wetland determination; Assisting producers and field offices on Wetland Conservation Compliance activities; Servicing informal appeals of wetland determinations; OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-11 level: three years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, or directly related field appropriate to the position; OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: Professional and Scientific Positions 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

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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: Taquella Green
• Phone: 919-376-8838
• Email: [email protected]