This position is located on in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Natural Resources Conservations Service (NRCS), State, Area, Field Office. The incumbent serves as a Wetland Conservationist in the provision of direct wetland determination assistance to Field Offices and Participants.

Duties

Services Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification requests, quality assurance of wetland determinations, review and oversight of consultant. Provides documentation, gathers data, and reviews reports of possible wetland noncompliance. Provides assistance to producers and field offices on Wetland Conservation Compliance activities associated with the Swampbuster provisions of the Food Security Act as amended. Gathers the necessary date and works in the field with producers, producer-contracted consultants, and other NRCS personnel, to conduct on-site/off site investigations for certified wetland determinations and wetland restoration/mitigation. Serves as an NRCS Wetland Specialist explaining applicable statutes, rules, regulations, policy, and providing guidance to NRCS employees and others.

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.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Must have a combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, as 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. NOTE: You must submit transcripts to verify education. 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 and/or education for the respective grade level(s) 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-05 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: - Assisting with field determinations, including observing the describing of soils; - Observing the collection of vegetation data; and - Working with others issuing wetland determinations. OR Education: Have successfully completed one full year of graduate level education in a field such as biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the work of the position. One full year is generally equivalent to 18 semester hours. (You must submit transcripts) OR Combination of Experience and Education: Have a combination of experience and education which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Superior Academic Achievement: Have successfully completed a bachelor's degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the work of the position and one of the following methods: A grade point average of B (3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for your completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; A grade-point average of B+ (3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in the major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university, or major subdivision; or Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Note: If more than 10 percent of your courses were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honorary society. (You must submit transcripts) OR GS-09 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: - Conducting on-site wetland investigations to provide reconsideration of previous technical decisions; - Reviewing plans and/or proposals for environmental conservation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of various products and services; and - Entering research and/or operational data into an automated system. OR Education: Have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field such as biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the work of the position. One full year is generally equivalent to 18 semester hours. (You must submit transcripts) OR Combination of Experience and Education: Have a combination of experience and education as described above which when combined equals at least 100%. (Determine your qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience listed in "A" above; then determine your education as a percentage of the education listed in "B" above; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of one year (i.e., 18 semester hours) may be combined with experience under this standard. (Must submit transcripts). OR GS-11 Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: - Servicing Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation Certification (WC) requests; - Providing assistance to producers and field offices on Wetland Conservation Compliance activities; - Providing training on all aspects of Wetland Conservation Compliance including technical and policy requirements and - Providing guidance to staff regarding applicable statutes, rules, regulations, and policy. OR Education: Have successfully completed three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or possess a Ph.D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the work of the position. (Must submit transcripts). OR Combination of Experience and Education: Have a combination of work experience and education as described above which when combined equals at least 100%. (Determine your qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience listed in "A" above; then determine your education as a percentage of the education listed in "B" above; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of two years (i.e., 36 semester hours) may be combined with experience under this standard. (Must submit transcripts). Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience 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: Staff Acquisition
• Phone: 8164265706
• Email: Kansascity@opm.gov