This position is located in a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service state, area, or field office in Pennsylvania. The incumbent provides engineering assistance working with landowners, groups, and units of government to apply and maintain a variety of conservation practices in their area of assigned responsibility.

Duties

Makes site evaluations to assess the need for engineering measures. Maintains construction inspection records according to current policy. Ensures procedures and products conform to current service policy and standards. Performs design computations and estimates for quantities and costs. Determines the type, scope, and intensity of field investigations and surveys based on field evaluations.

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.
• Physical Demands: Field work requires physical exertion (e.g. long periods of standing, recurring bending and stooping, lifting and carrying equipment and samples that weigh up to 50 pounds, etc.).
• Work Environment: During field work, the employee is frequently exposed to adverse weather conditions. Protective gear and clothing (e.g. hard hat, boots and gloves) may be necessary during field visits and in the area of moving machinery.
• Work Environment continued: Exposure to noise levels common to construction sites with large earthmoving equipment can be expected. There will be exposure to disease carrying insects and irritating plants.
• Work Environment continued: Field work is performed on a regular and recurring basis.

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. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Please note that this job opportunity announcement is only open to current Career/Career-Conditional employees of the USDA. If you do not possess this status, you will not receive consideration. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-06 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-07 level. One year at the GS-07 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-08 level. One year at the GS-08 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-09 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). 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: GS-07 Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Making site evaluations to assess the need for engineering measures; Determining the type, scope, and intensity of field investigations and surveys needed; and Designing engineering practices and structures involved. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: One full year of graduate level education in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in an engineering field of study. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: Combination of the education and experience as described above that totals 100% when combined. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate level education may be combined with experience. (Must submit transcripts.) GS-08 Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Making site evaluations to assess the need for complex engineering measures; Inspecting or supervising the inspection of construction for quality control; and Determining engineering training needs for personnel. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in engineering. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: Combination of the education and experience as described above that totals 100% when combined. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify an applicant for that grade level. (Must submit transcripts.) GS-09 Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-08 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Providing onsite technical assistance and training to personnel in the installation of conservation practices; Determining the type, scope, and intensity of field investigations and surveys needed; Designing and supervising the design of engineering practices and structures; and Coordinating with engineering specialists in performing quality reviews of conservation practices. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in engineering. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: Combination of the education and experience as described above that totals 100% when combined. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education beyond the first year (18 semester hours) may be used when combining education and experience for this option. (Must submit transcripts.) 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. 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. Please check out the following link for more information Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov)

Contacts

• Address Natural Resources Conservation Service 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Staff Acquisition
• Phone: 8164265706
• Email: [email protected]