Job opening: Land Law Examiner (Minerals)
Salary: $39 576 - 77 955 per year
Published at: Aug 23 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
These positions are located in Division of Minerals, Farmington Field Office, New Mexico.
These positions are concurrently open to Merit Promotion eligibles under Announcement Number BLM- NM-24-12506021-MP-OPM
Salary Range:
GS-05 $39,576 to $ 51,446
GS-07 $49,025 to $63,733
GS-09 $59,966 to $77,955
Duties
This position is under the supervision of the Assistant Field Manager for Minerals. This position is responsible for providing adjudication assistance to the Division for processing oil and gas drilling applications and authorizations. The purpose of this position is to provide Farmington adjudicative expertise for the oil and gas case work that is handled in the field office. The primary responsibilities include application of public land and mineral law, regulations, departmental decisions, manuals and other internal guidance in adjudication of those cases.
Duties will be developmental if selected below the full performance level of GS-09.
Collects basic data on lands, oil and gas, mining or minerals cases.
Determines the accuracy and proper execution of applications or claims and the qualifications of applicants for legal rights as requested.
Adjudicates routine applications or transactions in lands, mining, or mineral materials disposal, mining, or mineral leasing applications or notices.
Prepares routine correspondence, including decisions, to process cases.
Drafts simple adjudication decisions on assigned cases.
Utilizes data, systems and applications to collect, enter, manipulate, update and maintain data according to prescribed Bureau and program standards.
Requirements
- U.S. Citizenship required
- May be required to complete background investigation and drug screening.
- Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males
- Must provide resume and supporting documents (See required documents).
- You cannot hold an active real estate license, nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
- If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
- Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
- You will be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
- You will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 on an annual basis.
- You will be required to obtain and maintain a valid state driver's license.
- Selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience. If qualifying based on education, a copy of your unofficial transcripts must be provided with your application.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level in which you are applying:
General Experience GS-05: Three (3) years of general experience, one (1) year of which was equivalent to at least the GS-4 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) that provided a familiarity with real property laws and legal land descriptions, land titles, tract maps, and legal documents, or other experience that involved explanation, application, or interpretation of laws, regulations, policies, etc. Such experience may have been gained in positions such as law clerk, claims examiner, contact representative, or other work dealing with laws, rules, regulations, procedures, etc.
OR,
Education GS-05: Successfully completed at least a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree in any field of study from an accredited college or university.
OR,
Combination Education and Experience GS-05: Have an equivalent combination of experience and education described above, when combined, equals 100% of the total requirement.
Specialized Experience GS-07: One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing the following: (1) determining the accuracy and proper execution of applications or claims and the qualifications of applicants for legal rights as requested; (2) adjudicating routine lands, mining, or mineral leasing applications; (3) preparing routine correspondence.
OR,
Education GS-07: Successfully completed at least one year of graduate level education from an accredited college or university in a field directly related to the work of the position (including law school) that included or was supplemented by 12 semester hours of course work related to the administration of land laws. Examples include course work in land surveying, cartography, land use law, real estate law, land appraising, land use planning, water rights, mining laws, or legal instrument review and interpretation. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.
OR,
Combination Education and Experience GS-07: Have an equivalent combination of specialized experience and graduate level education described above, when combined, equals 100% of the total requirement. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.
OR,
Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) GS-07: Successfully completed all of the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for this position as described above from an accredited college or university, and meets one of the requirements for Superior Academic Achievement based on the following: (1) class standing (upper third standing in the graduating class of a college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses); (2) grade-point average (3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0) as recorded on the official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or (3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; (3) election to membership in a national scholastic honor society (Note: You must submit transcripts that have a confer/completion date and any additional documentation to verify that you meet this requirement)
Specialized Experience GS-09: One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing the following:(1) processing mineral leasing and mining law adjudicative cases; (2) adjudicating applications and agreements; (3) processing designation and resignation of unit cases.
OR,
Education GS-09: Successfully completed at least two years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college or university in a field directly related to the work of the position (including law school) that included or was supplemented by 12 semester hours of course work related to the administration of land laws. Examples include course work in land surveying, cartography, land use law, real estate law, land appraising, land use planning, water rights, mining laws, or legal instrument review and interpretation, from an accredited college or university in a field directly related to the work of the position. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.
OR,
Combination of Education/Experience GS-09: Have an equivalent combination of specialized experience and graduate level education described above, when combined, equals 100% of the total requirement. Please note only graduate education in excess of one year (18 semester hours) may be used to qualify under this option. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.
Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
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).
Volunteer Experience: 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.
You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".
Education
To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an
accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
If you are using
education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your 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.
PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.
GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.
Contacts
- Address BLM New Mexico State Office
BLM New Mexico, NM-951
301 Dinosaur Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87508
US
- Name: San Antonio Services Branch
- Phone: 816-541-8101
- Email: [email protected]
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