This position provides professional services in the planning and application of soil, water, and resource conservation and development activities on ranches and farms. Direct Hire Authority: This position is being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Direct Hire Authority for this occupation.

Duties

Serves as rangeland consultant and advisor to numerous ranchers and farmers in the assigned area of responsibility. Provides individual landowners' evaluations of their resources, identifies problems, and proposes short and/or long term land Improvement alternatives. Develops rangeland management plans. Provides guidance, assistance, and training to field and/or area office personnel to ensure that conservation plans on cooperating farms and ranches provide for the application of technically accurate and adequate practices and measures. Determines need for assistance from other technical experts and makes recommendations to supervisor in terms of type and extent or assistance to be scheduled. Assembles, evaluates, and interprets data relating to forage yields, composition changes, and predictions of performance by various forage sources common to the area.

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 instruction 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.
• Incumbent is required to obtain Conservation Planning Level certification.

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 Education Requirement: 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 comparable to a 4-year degree. Applicants who meet the Basic Requirement above qualify for the GS-05 level. In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered for the respective grade levels listed below: Specialized Experience to qualify for the GS-07 level: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level or higher, or comparable experience not gained through federal service. For this position, examples of specialized experience include: (1) Assisting in the development of grazing management systems on grazing lands (i.e. rangelands, pasturelands); (2) Assisting with forage inventories; (3) Assisting in the implementation of vegetative management practices; 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: Possess one year of graduate level education in range management or a directly related discipline; 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 to qualify for the GS-09 level: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level or higher, or comparable experience not gained through federal service. For this position, examples of specialized experience include: (1) Developing and implementing grazing management systems on grazing lands (i.e. rangelands, pasturelands); (2) Independently conducting forage inventories; (3) Planning vegetative management practices; (4) Experience working with livestock operations. OR Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-09 level: Possess 2 year(s) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in soil conservation or a related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as range management or a directly related discipline; 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: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-PROF 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 have not yet conferred your degree or certificate but expect to do so within 120 days of the closing date of this announcement, you are still eligible to apply to this opportunity. The transcript you supply (may be unofficial) should include any remaining course work that will be taken prior to graduation. HR must be able to review all qualifying coursework that will be credited toward your degree. All application information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration.

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

You must submit a copy of your transcripts to include course number, title, completion and grade. 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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. 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.

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.

Failure to provide all of the required documents/information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Contacts

• Address Natural Resources Conservation Service 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Sanderson Jones
• Email: [email protected]