This position provides assistance to the Soil and Water Conservation District assigned to the field office within the assigned Natural Resources area; and to work with landowners to apply and maintain a number of conservation practices and review of financial assistance requests under the provision of federal, state, and local agriculture programs. Direct Hire Authority: This position is being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Direct Hire Authority for this occupation.

Duties

Gather and compile planning data on rural and/or urban sites, including physical features such as soil limitations, erosion, surface drainage, and sedimentation. Prepare basic natural resources conservation plans where soil survey information is available. Assist with public information activities providing Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) guidance and policy. Presents material on practice application and specifications at community or contractor meetings. Reviews and makes simple adjustments when necessary to practices according to NRCS Practice Standards and specification. Provides information to farmers, ranchers and other rural residents on the kinds of assistance available from NRCS and other United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies.

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.

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. NOTE TO APPLICANTS: The GS-0458 Soil Conservation Technician series is a technical position. Education is not a requirement for this position, however, this series does allows individuals without experience in this field to substitute education in lieu of experience. General and/or Specialized Experience for the GS-04 Level: Six months of general experience (1) in any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with installing and maintaining soil and water conservation measures on public or privately owned land including parks, farms, ranches, agricultural land; or general experience working and advising on conservation methods, animal, and/or crop care as a farm/ranch hand; AND six months of specialized experience which includes experience with soil erosion, conservation, and agriculture. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-03). OR Education: Successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of education by 60. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) Specialized Experience to qualify for the GS-05 level: To qualify for the GS-05 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level or higher in Federal service which includes: Installing and maintaining agricultural land soil and water conservation measures on farms and ranches; Participating in efforts to implement conservation practices in conjunction with cropping, irrigation, and grazing systems and wildlife habitat management; Participating with an NRCS co-op organization such as a Conservation District, State Conservation Agency or Conservation Non-Governmental Organization. OR Education: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (a) with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position, or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 6 semester hours in mathematics is creditable. (Must submit transcripts as proof of any claimed education.) OR Combination of experience and education: You must have a combination of education and experience as listed above which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of education beyond two years (total semester hours minus 60) by 60. Add the two percentages. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5. (Must provide transcripts) Specialized Experience to qualify for the GS-06 level: To qualify for the GS-06 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or higher in Federal service which includes: Advising landowners on the use of one or more conservation practices such as terraces, grassed waterways, diversions, underground outlets, irrigation system improvements, cropping systems, fencing, livestock water development, or nutrient management etc. to address individual resource concerns including soil erosion, water quality degradation, or declining range health; Installing and maintaining agricultural land soil and water conservation measures on farms and ranches; Performing engineering surveys, processing survey data, preparing engineering designs, and conducting construction inspection activities for various soil erosion stabilization and water diversion practices; Providing advice on integrating multiple conservation practices using established client objectives. OR Education: A half year (i.e., 9 semester hours) of graduate level education in a field directly related to the work of the position, such as: forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 9. Add the two percentages. Specialized Experience to qualify for the GS-07 level: To qualify for the GS-07 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level or higher in Federal service which includes: Designing, installing and maintaining a variety of complex and/or nonroutine conservation measures on public and privately owned land including farms, ranches, parks, shoreline, dams and reservoir areas, forests, and/or wildlife habitats; advising property holders, land managers, and partners on the effectiveness of applying soil and water conservation practices; Conducting basic inventory and evaluation activities in support of conservation planning efforts; Performing complex engineering surveys, processing survey data, preparing engineering designs, approving engineering designs, and conducting construction inspection activities for various soil erosion stabilization, water diversion practices, wildlife habitat development, streambank stabilization, and grade stabilization practices; Providing advice on the function of comprehensive conservation systems to treat multiple resource problems/concerns using established client objectives; Developing and maintaining constructive relationships with clients, partners, practice installation vendors, construction contractors, and Conservation Districts OR Education: One full year of graduate education from an accredited college or university leading to a master's degree with a major course of study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0400/soil-conservation-technician-series-0458/

Education

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.

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: Talent Acquisition Branch
• Email: [email protected]