This position is located on one of eight Teams throughout Arizona. The incumbent performs duties which assist the Team Leader in developing and carrying out a natural resources conservation program tailored to customers needs and meeting USDA and NRCS requirements. Provides technical assistance to local government bodies, tribal entities, individual farmers and ranchers, and general public in the development, application, and maintenance of coordinated natural resources conservation programs.

Duties

Works with farmers and other landowners to develop conservation plans (on rangeland and other land uses) addressing resources concerns. Provides assistance to landowners in nutrient and pest management for water quality. Assists and provides leadership for developing area-wide/watershed plans to address natural resource issues. Provides technical assistance to farmers and ranchers about Farm Bill conservation programs and applies applicable NRCS and Farm Bill programs to address resource concerns. Conducts quality assurance to ensure that all Agency conservation planning, application, and program implementation and delivery activities are conducted according to Agency policies, procedures, and guidelines. Performs tasks, which enhance the planned grazing systems, brush management, where appropriate, provides information relative to various types of species of plants, and their respective role and response in the grazing system.

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.
• The incumbent is required to obtain Conservation Planning Certification in accordance with the guidelines in General Manual 180, Part 409.3. State specific supplement requirements, if issued, will apply.

Qualifications

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 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). Time-in-grade requirements also apply to VEOA applicants having held a GS position in the past year. See addition information. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. Basic Education Requirement for the 0454 series: A. Degree: Applicants must have a bachelor's or higher degree in 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 B. Combination of education and experience: Must have 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. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation. (Must submit transcripts and be reflected in resume.) In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience for the respective grade level in which you are applying. GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service that included: Developing resource management plans with ranch operators and other land and resource decision makers; Studying trends in range conditions to assist landowners in keeping grazing management plans in balance with forage resources; Assisting with long and short term rangeland management plans by collecting cost/return data on range practices and rang conservation plans; and Analyzing ranch resources to make recommendations on rangeland management plans. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: Must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Rangeland Management or other directly related field. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: Must have combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as described above that totals 100 percent when combined. Only graduate education in excess of two years (i.e., 36 semester hours) may be combined with experience under this standard. When combining education with experience, first determine the qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for this grade level; then determine the experience as a percentage of the experience required for this grade level; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent. (Must submit transcripts and be reflected in resume.) IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). 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. 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

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.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Contacts

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