US Citizens and Nationals; no prior Federal experience is required. Permanent Full-Time USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps America’s farmers and ranchers conserve the Nation’s soil, water, air and other natural resources. We need people who want to apply their education and experience to make sure we all enjoy the benefits of productive soil, clean water, clean air, and abundant wildlife that come from a healthy environment. “Helping People Help the Land”. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ This position is located on the NRCS Soil Survey Office staff in Tuskegee, Alabama. The supervisor is the Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) Soil Survey Leader. The incumbent works with the Soil Survey Office staff collecting accessory resource data on National Cooperative Soil Survey projects and developing coordinated ecological sites. US Citizenship is required. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. A 1-year probationary period may be required.
* Collects, analyzes, interprets and coordinates information related to the inventory and classification of ecological sites.
* Collects, enters, and edits, ecological site data using establishing data collection procedures.
* Uses analytical tools and methods to correlate and coordinate Ecological Site information with soil information.
* Works with other specialists in the Soil Survey Office, NRCS State, Area, Field Offices, other agencies, universities, and interested groups to develop concepts for individual Ecological Sites; collects, analyses, interprets, and coordinates information related to the inventory and classification of Ecological Sites.
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). 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 at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly.
*** 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 this link for more information.
* Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license.
* Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. The position may be subject to a background investigation at the time of appointment, and may be subject to reinvestigation every five years thereafter. A favorable adjudication of the clearance or background investigation at the time of appointment and on reinvestigations is a condition of employment.
* If you are newly hired, the documentation you present for purposes of completing the Department Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 on your entry-on-duty date will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" system. Federal law requires the use of E-VERIFY to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires. Under this system, the new hire is required to resolve any identified discrepancies as a condition of continued employment.
* Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer. The category rating procedure is used to rank and select eligible candidates. Under category rating, applicants who meet basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position and whose job related competencies have been assessed are ranked by being placed in one of the following categories: **Best Qualified**, **Well Qualified**, and** Qualified.** Preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. The definitions of the categories are as follows:
**Best Qualified:** Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a superior level of the evaluation criteria.
**Well Qualified**: Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a satisfactory level of the evaluation criteria.
**Qualified:** Applicants possessing the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities.
You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the education, experience, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Occupational Questionnaire. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g. Peace Corp, 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. Applicants will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience they possess relevant to the duties of the position and the extent applicants possess the following knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies listed below:
* Accountability, Customer Service, Interpersonal Skills, Oral Communication
* Organizing & Prioritizing Work, Written Communication, Teamwork
* Conservation Planning-Data Collection and Analysis, Initiative
* Geomorphology & Hydrology, Soil Attribute Database Management
* Soil-Vegetation Relationship Identification, Natural Resources Technology
* Creativity & Innovation, Problem Solving
We will review your application, including the online Occupational Questionnaire, to ensure you meet the job requirements and assess your ability to perform this job. Before any certificate can be issued to the selecting official, the resume and supporting documents are reviewed by an HR Specialist to ensure that (a) minimum qualification requirements are met and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your answers will be verified against information provided in your online resume and application. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.
If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score can/will be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you.
To view the application form, visit: https://nrcs.usda.ntis.gov/cp/?event=jobs.previewApplication&jobid;=ed6568b8-50e1-4e00-8394-a47c00985916 **All applicants must meet all qualifications such as the education requirement and the specialized experience requirements listed below by the closing date of the announcement.**
**Basic Education** **Requirements:**
Degree in biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at lease 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences.
***NOTE:** In addition to meeting the individual occupational requirements (i.e., basic requirements) listed above, applicants must also meet the specialized experience requirements for this position.
A) **Specialized Experience Requirement for the GS-11 grade level:**
To qualify for the GS-11 level: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level in the federal service (or private sector equivalent). Specialized experience is defined as experience assisting active soil survey areas in the development of soil and ecological site mapping concepts, spatial distribution of ecological sites based on soil/climate/landscape features, with an understanding of, and the ability to describe the plant community dynamics that occur on each ecological site. Examples of such specialized experience must/may include:
* Experience in applying policies of State and Transition Models of all Ecological Site Description (ESD) development.
* Experience identifying plants and conducting resource inventories on rangeland or forestland in order to describe ecological site(s).
* Experience assembling resource inventory data, professional scientific literature, and data form for cooperating agencies/organizations.
* Assisting soil scientists on soil surveys/soil survey updates to provide vegetation support data and aid in the design of soil mapping units. ** OR**
B) **Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-11 grade level:**
Successful completion of three years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in related field.
C) **Specialized Experience Requirement for the GS-12 grade level:**
To qualify for the GS-12 level: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the federal service (or private sector equivalent). Specialized experience is defined as experience conducting active soil survey areas in the development of soil and ecological site mapping concepts, spatial distribution of ecological sites based on soil/climate/landscape features and independently describe the plant community dynamics that occur on each ecological site.
Examples of such specialized experience must/may include:
* Experience in applying policies of State and Transition Models of all Ecological Site Description (ESD) development.
* Experience identifying plants and coordinating resource inventories on rangeland or forestland in order to describe ecological site(s).
* Experience assembling resource inventory data, professional scientific literature, data form for cooperating agencies/organizations, and expertise in writing ecological descriptions.
* Experience working with soil scientists and providing technical guidance on soil surveys/soil survey updates to provide vegetation support data and assist in the design of soil mapping units.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin.
The following instructions outline our application process.
* You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
* We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday). Applying online is highly encouraged. If applying online poses a hardship, please contact our office during business hours well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages with supporting documents must be submitted no later than noon on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
* This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you are requesting this.
**Step 1:** Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not have one) at www.usajobs.gov. It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application.
**Step 2**: Create a resume with USAJOBS or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met. Your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement).
**Step 3:** Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required.
You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application” to continue.
NOTE: Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system. Once in the Agency's staffing system you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded resumes must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX).
The following documents are required for your application to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in mail service, your system failure or downtime, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
* **Resume** must include: 1) personal information; 2) education; 3) work experience including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; and title, series and grade if applicable; 4) supervisor's phone number, e-mail address for each work period listed, and whether or not we may contact them for reference checks; and 5) other qualifications.
* **College Transcripts** if education is required for meeting basic qualifications and/or used as a substitute for specialized experience. An unofficial copy is sufficient; however, if selected, an official transcript will be required prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university. Foreign education must be evaluated by an approved organization. For additional information, refer to the U.S. Department of Education web site at http://www.ed.gov.All transcripts must be in English or include English translation.
You must submit the documents below if you claim any of the following:
* **Veterans**, if claiming preference: DD-214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty showing dates of service and type of discharge. Disabled veterans must include VA letter & SF-15 if claiming 10 pt. preference. Current active duty members must submit certification that they are expected to be discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions no later than 120 days after date the certification is submitted.
* **CTAP/ICTAP**: Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; AND most recent performance evaluation; AND SF-50 demonstrating your separation or the position you will be separated from.
* ** Worker's Compensation Separation:** Agency certification of inability to place employee AND Notification of Separation OR Separation SF-50.
* **Disability Annuity Termination:** Notification from OPM of disability annuity termination AND Separation SF-50 of the last position held. Military Reserve or National Guard Technician Special Disability Retirement Annuity under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456: Certification of special disability retirement annuity from a military department or National Guard Bureau AND Separation SF-50 of the last position held.
**NOTE**: If a document is resubmitted, it replaces the previous submission, which means the previous document is no longer available to the Human Resources Office. If you are adding to, rather than replacing a previous submission, you must upload both the old document and the new document. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded resumes must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX).
If you set up your USAJOBS account to send automatic email notifications, you will receive an email acknowledging: 1) the submission of your online Occupational Questionnaire and resume was successful, 2) if you were referred to the selecting official for consideration, and 3) if you were selected or not selected. If you choose not to set up automatic email notifications, you must check your USAJOBS account for the latest status of your application. Your application may be reviewed to verify that you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements for the position prior to issuing lists to a selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Normally, a final job offer to the selected candidate is made within 30-60 days after the issuance of the certificate. The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. Explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees at: http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/enrollment/new-federal-employee-enrollment/
* The full performance level of this position is GS-12.
* If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.
* Career Transition Assistance Plan(CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): If you are claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, provide proof of eligibility to include your most recent performance appraisal, SF-50, and proof of eligibility such as a RIF separation notice or letter from OPM/your agency. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles will be considered well-qualified if achieving a rating of 85 or above. Information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at .
* This position is eligible for telework and other flexible work arrangements. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor.
* This announcement may be used to fill multiple vacancies.
* It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. See more information at: http://www.chcoc.gov/transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=6465