KEY REQUIREMENTS



• U.S. Citizen or National (American Samoa or Swains Island)
• Suitable for Federal Employment, determined by Background Investigation
• NRCS utilizes e-Verify to identify and determine employment eligibility
• Positive Education required with specialized experience-see Qualifications
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered with Selective Service
• Valid Motor Vehicle Operators License

MAJOR DUTIES:

• Serves as District Conservationist in the Saipan Field Office directing the operation of the office and supervising the NRCS staff.
• Analyzes workloads, develops annual plan of operation, and establishes goals.
• Works with landowners and operators individually and in groups, to develop conservation plans according to established policies and procedures, and in accordance with landowner’s decisions, using agronomy and engineering practices.
• Provides all technical assistance required in placing conservation practices on the ground (as in inventory & evaluation; survey; design; and check out).
• Assists landowners with the application of planned resource management systems in compliance with agency standards and specifications.
• Administers conservation contracts with program participants and ensures that program guidelines and quality objectives are met per agency policy.
• Performs necessary follow-up to ensure plans are being adhered to.
• Assists the local soil and water conservation districts with technical guidance.
• Participates in district meetings, serving as the agency representative, as assigned.
• Other duties as assigned.

This position has a positive education requirement. You must submit a legible copy of your college transcripts in order to be considered. Your transcript(s), which may be an unofficial copies, must include credit hours, degree and major(s). Education cannot be waived; if you do not meet the educational requirement you will not be given consideration beyond the initial review.

To meet the Basic Requirements for this position, you must have:

Combination of education and experience -- at least 30 semester hours in one or more of the disciplines as shown in (1) above, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science.

Note: Partial credit for courses cannot be given.

If you have course work which you feel helps you meet the educational qualifications that is not clearly evident from the course titling on your transcript, you must include a course description photocopied from your catalog so we can understand the course. If we cannot determine, from the materials submitted, that a class meets the requirements listed above, we will not credit that class and you may be rated as ineligible for this position.

If you wish to have education acquired outside or the United States credited for the education requirements of this position, you must prove that it has been evaluated as equivalent to the education gained in accredited United States colleges and universities. Submit documentation of your education from a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials for a determination. The Council on Post Secondary Accreditation may be of assistance in providing information on these organizations: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. The processing of the job opportunity announcement will not be delayed pending receipt of your evaluation materials.

To be eligible for the GS-12 level, in addition to the basic requirements, you must have:

On year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level of Federal service.  Specialized experience is defined as skill in managing a natural resource managment program; planning and applying complex conservation practicies; knowledge and experience applying laws, regulations and policies affecting natural resource managment; and skill and experience in oral and written communication.

Credit will be given for appropriate qualifying experience (paid/unpaid) or volunteer work. To receive proper credit for experience or volunteer work, you must fully describe your responsibilities and show the actual time, dates and hours per week spent in such activities (i.e. 3/1/2002 through 5/9/2006, 40 hours per week). If we cannot determine, from the materials submitted, that you have the full amount of qualifying experience, you may be rated as ineligible for this position. 

Additional Qualifications/Requirements:

• You will be required to travel, 1-7 nights per month.
• You will be required to serve a probationary period and/or a Managerial/Supervisory Probationary period (each probationary period is for 1 year), if you haven't already completed one. 
• Status Applicants must meet 12 months/52 weeks of service equivalent to the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the position to be filled.
• You must possess a valid Passport (prior to your appointment), if relocating to Saipan, Commonwealth of Northern Marianas.
• You will be required to file a Confidential Financial Disclosure statement, Form 450, within 30 days of your entry on duty and annually thereafter.

You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

As part of the application process, applicants will be required to complete and submit an occupational questionnaire. To preview the questions and determine if your experience matches the skills required for this position, click the following link: View Assessment Questions.

Once the application process is complete and the job announcement closes, your application will be evaluated based on your responses to the on-line questions, specialized experience documented in your on-line resume, and college transcripts. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. If materials are not received, your application will be evaluated solely on the information available and you may not receive full consideration or may not be considered eligible. All the information you provide may be verified by a review of your application, by checking references and through other means, such as the interview process. Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempts to conceal information may be grounds for lowering your rating, not hiring you, or for removal after employment begins.

Working for NRCS offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Additionally NRCS offers FlexiWork, Telework, Transportation Subsidies and a family friendly work environment. The following Web address is provided for your reference to explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees. To find out more click here http://www.usajobs.gov/EI/benefits.asp.

OTHER INFORMATION:

In addition to salary, compensation will include a 17.23% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA). COLA is not subject to federal income tax and is not calculated as salary for retirement purposes.  In addition to salary and COLA, eligible employees may also receive up to 20% Non Foreign Post Differential.  Post differential pay is subject to Federal income tax and is not calculated as salary for retirement purposes.

If you are a current career or career-conditional NRCS employee who has a designated place of residence in the lower 48 continental United States or the District of Columbia (CONUS):

The initial tour of duty in Saipan, CNMI is for 3 years. An employee may elect to serve an additional 2-year tour with the approval of the Director, Pacific Islands Area. At the completion of the tour(s), the employee has guaranteed return rights to a position of grade and pay equivalent to the employee's current position, whether or not such position is the product of one or more competitive promotions earned during the tour or tours. Guaranteed return rights are forfeited once management accepts an employee's request to extend his/her tour beyond the 5-year period. From this point on, if an employee decides to transfer back to the CONUS, the employee is responsible for locating a position through normal merit promotion procedures.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) / Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) or Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) 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/CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP/CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well-qualified your application must rate at or above 85. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP/CTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Information about ICTAP/CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/ctap/index.asp.

If you are a current career or career-conditional Federal employee or former Federal employee who has reinstatement eligibility, you must submit a copy of your latest SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" and/or a copy of the SF-50 that reflects your competitive status, career or career-conditional tenure and your most recent performance appraisal (dated within the last 15 months), or your will not be considered under the merit promotion process.

If you are a veteran with preference/special hiring eligibility you must attach a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility. Applicants eligible as 30% or more disabled veterans must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15 and Letter from the Veteran's Affairs office establishing a disability rating to receive special hiring consideration.

You can apply for a non-competitive appointment if you meet the basic eligibility requirements and you are eligible for special appointments such as those authorized for the severely disabled; certain Vietnam era and disabled veterans; returned volunteers from the Peace Corps or VISTA, etc. Please indicate the type of special appointment you are seeking, if any, on your application and follow all other instructions for applying shown in this announcement.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

Background Investigation: A background investigation will be required for all new appointments. Your continued employment will be subject to your successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.

E-Verify: Employer participates in E-Verify to verify employment eligibility.

Probationary Period: If appointed on first competitive appointment or appointment in new line of work selectee is subjected to 12-month probationary period and can be removed for performance, budget, suitability, background review or other reasons. In addition, a 12-month Managerial/Supervisory Probationary Period is required for this position, if you have not previously served a Managerial/Supervisory Probationary Period.

Reference Checks may be conducted prior to any interviews being conducted. By applying for this announcement you are giving consent for these reference checks. Checks may include current supervisor, prior supervisor or others in line of sight within previously held positions.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Your Resume (maximum of 10 pages)
2. A complete Occupational Questionnaire
3. Copy of your college education transcript(s)
4. Additional Required Documents (see Required Documents section below)

The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Wednesday, November 30, 2011.

Please note: You are allowed 10 pages for your resume. Any resume pages in excess of the 10 pages will not be included in your application package. Please ensure that your resume contains your full name, address, phone number and at least your last four digits of your social security number. Unsolicited materials, such as copies of position descriptions and publications will not be considered in the review process.

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process.

Note: To check the status of your application or return to a previously saved or incomplete application, you may use the following link: https://applicationmanager.gov/.

If you upload your documents using Application Manager, DO NOT FAX the same documents. To verify uploaded documents have been processed, please wait one hour to ensure they have cleared the virus scan. You can verify that your uploaded documents are attached to your application by checking the Details tab of your Application Manager account https://applicationmanager.gov/ for this vacancy announcement. Your documents will display under the Details tab in the Document area.

To fax supporting documents you are unable to upload, complete this cover page http://staffing.opm.gov/pdf/usascover.pdf using the following Vacancy ID 551893. Fax your documents to 1-478-757-3144.

If you cannot apply online:

1. Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire View Occupational Questionnaire

2. Print this 1203FX form to provide your response to the occupational questionnaire http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/opm1203fx.pdf, and
3. Fax the completed 1203FX form along with any supporting documents to 1-478-757-3144. Your 1203FX will serve as a cover page for your fax transmission.

Faxed documents will take 2-3 business days to process. To fax documents, you MUST use the special cover page. Print the pre-populated cover page on the upload documents screen of Application Manager. Or, you may click this link http://staffing.opm.gov/pdf/usascover.pdf to print a copy of the cover page. When faxing documents, follow the procedures outlined below. Include the 8-character Vacancy Identification Number 551893. Provide your Social Security Number and full name in the spaces provided or we will not be able to associate your document(s) with the rest of your application. You may submit multiple documents for the same vacancy announcement using one cover page. Fax your cover page and documents to 1-478-757-3144.

Faxed documents submitted with missing information will not be processed. The following will prevent your documents from being processed:

• Not using the special cover page mentioned above
• Missing, incomplete, or invalid Vacancy Identification Number
• Missing or incomplete Social Security Number or name

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

The following bold documents are required:

• Resume (maximum of 10 pages)
• Responses to the questionnaire
• Transcripts to support Education requirements, unofficial copies are acceptable (See the Qualifications section for details)
• SF-50, if applicable 
• Veterans Preference documentation, if applicable (DD-214, SF-15, Other Veterans Documents) 
• Other, if applicable (Performance Appraisal, OF 306, other applicable documents)

To submit the documents requested follow the options listed above. Your resume or curriculum vitae to describe your job-related qualifications can be submitted electronically using the document upload process or by fax. Please ensure that your resume contains your full name, address, phone number and at least your last four digits of your social security number.

The required items for all applicants are: resume, responses to the online questionnaire and college transcript(s); plus depending on your situation:

Current Status and Prior-Status Government Employees must submit your last/recent SF-50, Notice of Personnel Action to include your series, grade, competitive status, tenure, etc. information. In addition, all pages of your Performance Appraisal (dated within the last 15 months) must be submitted. If you are a Prior-Status Government Employee and are unable to provide a recent performance appraisal, you must note this on your application materials.

Special Hiring applicants must submit the necessary documents to support your eligibility (see below) and indicate on your application which Special Hiring Authority you wish to be considered under. (See Benefits and Other Information section for details on each of the following)

ICTAP/CTAP applicants must submit applicable documentation, to include 1) a copy of your separation notice or other proof of eligibility for priority selection; 2) a copy of an SF-50 showing your current/previous position, grade promotion potential and duty location; and 3) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.

Military Veteran applicants must submit a DD-214 form or Statement of Service and a Standard Form (SF) 15 and a Veterans Affair's Disability Rating letter, if applying as a Disabled Veteran.

Peace Corps/VISTA applicants must submit a Statement of Service.

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:

Once your Occupational Questionnaire and resume have been received, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. All information provided may be verified by a careful review of your resume, questionnaire responses, reference check, background check, and/or verification of education. After a qualification review of your complete application package, you will be notified of the status of your application. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for consideration. A job offer is typically made within 45 days after the deadline for applications. You can track the progress of your application package in Application Manager at https://ApplicationManager.gov/.