Summary This position is located in a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service state, area, or field office within a designated state. The incumbent will provide assistance to the Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) assigned to the field office within the assigned Natural Resources area. You will work directly with landowners to apply & maintain a number of conservation practices & to review financial assistance requests Responsibilities Gathers and compiles planning data on rural and/or urban sites, including physical features such as soil limitations, erosion, surface drainage, and sedimentation. Prepares basic natural resources conservation plans where soil survey information is available and precedent planning information is applicable. Compiles resource information, prepares maps, and interprets soil survey data for use in conservation planning. Schedules follow up with landowners or operators to check progress of conservation practices that are under construction. Aids with the implementation, checkout and certification of conservation practices, and assists in planning, designing, and layout. Checks feasibility and makes preliminary engineering surveys gathering design data for structures requiring engineering application. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. 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-05 Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Providing information to the public regarding conservation practices at events; Assisting landowners with completing conservation applications; and Collecting data to be used for developing conservation plans. OR Education: Must have completed a four-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position, or 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 (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: You must have a percentage of the education and experience which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. 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 1 year of specialized experience. Determine total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required. Then determine education as a percentage of the education required. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5. (You must submit transcripts.) GS-06 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 preliminary engineering surveys by gathering design data for structures that require engineering applications; Providing information about conservation programs with rural landowners to inform them about the nature of the program; Meeting with landowners to review complete conservation plans; and Compiling data for conservation plans such as soil erosion, surface drainage, and sedimentation. OR Education: Must have completed at least one full year of graduate level education in a field of study directly related to soil and water conservation. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: You must have a percentage of the education and experience which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (You must submit transcripts.) 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: Assisting with tentative design plans by recording field notes and using standard designs for first drafts; Making presentations to external stakeholders on practice application to promote conservation plans; Meeting with landowners to review complete conservation plans; and Assisting staff to develop natural resource conservation plans by compiling data for physical features such as soil erosion, surface drainage, and sedimentation. OR Education: Must have completed at least one full year of graduate level education in a field of study directly related to soil and water conservation. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: You must have a percentage of the education and experience which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (You 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. 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov) Additional Information Current or former Federal employees or other eligible applicants may apply to both announcements to expand all possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information. 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. This position may be eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor. PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following: If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted. If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized; Management may authorize superior qualifications & enhanced annual leave for applicants who are deemed to be highly qualified. Relocation expenses may be authorized as allowable by Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) and USDA policy. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp#ictap The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the USDA with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp#ctap