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Natural Resources Specialist

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Twin Falls District, Division of Fire and Aviation. The Duty Station maybe within the local commuting area of Twin Falls, Shoshone, Jarbidge, or Burley, Idaho.  Information about the surrounding area may be found here Twin Falls.

For additional information about the BLM, please visit our website.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open date: 09/30/2019
Closed date: 10/15/2019
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$62,236 - $80,912 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Promotion potential
11
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-Time
Travel Required
50% or less - Frequent travel may be required (0-14 days per month).
Appointment type
Permanent
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Announcement number
ID-Merit-2019-0079
Control number
547299700

Duties

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- This position serves as a Natural Resource Specialist (Ecology/Botany/Monitoring) in the Twin Falls District with the requirement to develop, implement, and maintain an integrated and scientific inventory and studies program to measure progress toward a variety of ecosystem objectives affecting all land uses within the field office.

- Develops the special status species (SSS) plant program and vegetation management as it relates to the weed management, hazardous fuels management, stream restoration and special designation area programs.

- Interprets national, state and local program policy to provide guidance and program materials for plant management of upland and riparian and threatened and special status species.

- Advises on ecology, botany, and monitoring management as it relates to other multiple land uses such as range, wildlife, forestry, recreation, lands, wildland fire, and cultural.

- Communicates interpretations of Special Status Species (SSS) plant programs and vegetation management to assure inter-resource area understanding and uniform application.

- Provides in person and written responses for ecology, plant and monitoring issues as related to the planning and environmental analysis process. 

- Provides ecology, plant and monitoring input to other discipline documents in a timely manner to meet various deadlines and resource needs.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required
  • Be sure to read the "How to Apply" and "Required Documents" Sections
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license; nor can you
  • have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Land
  • Direct Deposit Required
  • Background Investigation Required

Physical Demands:  Job requires varying proportions of office and field oriented duties. Office duties will often require long periods of time at a duty station inputting, organizing, and interpreting data. Office duties also require significant amounts of time coordinating and planning program factors with staff, outside interest groups, and other agencies. Field duties may involve long hours of driving, hiking, climbing, and other forms of outdoor physical activities. Field trips may vary from one day to two weeks in duration. The incumbent is expected to operate a four-wheel drive vehicle in remote areas.

Work Environment: The work environment varies from an office setting where the incumbent is in contact with work associates at all times to a field setting where the incumbent is working alone for extended periods of time in extremely remote situations. The topography in the work area varies from flat rolling sagebrush sites to rugged mountains. Temperatures can vary from -30 degrees F to 110 degrees F between winter and summer seasons. Incumbent will adhere to all safety rules and regulations as prescribed in manuals/supplements or by the designated Safety Officer.

We expect to fill one vacancy at this time; however, more than one position may be filled from this announcement.

You must possess a valid state driver's license by the closing date of the announcement and at all times during your appointment in this position.

Responses to the online job-specific questions must be supported in your resume.

Qualifications

Basic Education Requirement: 

1. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

or

2. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in 1 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Specialized Experience Requirements:

In addition to the basic education requirement, in order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement - please be sure to include this information in your resume.

For GS-11: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-09 in the federal service.  Examples of specialized experience at this level include, but are not limited to: serving as a subject matter expert in matters relating to natural resource management or other biological sciences, monitoring and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); leading interdisciplinary teams in environmental analysis; providing technical advice to supervisory staff; serving as the technical expert for the SSS plant and natural plant community programs ensuring compliance with policy and law.

Substitution of Education for the Specialized Experience Requirement:

- For the GS-11, successful completion of 3 years (54 semester credits) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

Education and experience may be combined to meet the specialized experience requirement.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement. Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

Additional information

May require completion of a 1 year probationary period.

Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid by the Department of the Interior. Any travel, transportation and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the responsibility of the selected employee.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP):  CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. Information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility is available from OPM's Career Transition Resources website at CTAP or ICTAP.  If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration or that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) This vacancy is within your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility; 2) You apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) You are found well qualified for this vacancy. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, or a copy of your separation personnel action form.

CTAP and ICTAP eligibles will be considered well qualified if they receive a minimum score of 90 based on the rating criteria used for this position.

Reemployment Priority List (RPL): The RPL is the mechanism agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by a RIF or who have fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than one year.  If you are currently on a Reemployment Priority List, you may be given priority consideration.

BLM may use certain incentives, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract high quality applicants. The incentives that may be offered include Student Loan Repayments, Relocation Incentives and/or Recruitment Incentives.

This position is not eligible for Telework.

SELECTIVE SERVICE:  Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must certify that they have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law.  To register or verify your registration go to the Selective Service System website.

Government facilities are required to provide a smoke free environment for their employees. Smoking will be permitted only in designated areas.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Upon receipt of your complete application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your rating will be based on your responses to the Job Specific Questionnaire and the information stated in your resume. If qualified, your score may range from 70-100 points.   In the event that an applicant’s response on the questionnaire cannot be verified within the application materials ( e.g., resume, cover letter, education/training), the HR Office has the authority to lower the score of the candidate on that item to the response level supported by their application materials.  In addition, interviews may be conducted for this position. The interviews may be conducted on a pass/fail basis or may be scored.  The job specific questions relate to the following knowledge, skills and abilities required to do the work of this position.

KSA 1: Knowledge of ecological principles, ecosystem management, and the interrelationship between biological and physical components within an ecosystem.      

KSA 2: Knowledge of data collection procedures, resource monitoring and inventory methods, and skill in designing and implementing various studies to monitor the accomplishment of management objectives.

KSA 3: Knowledge of the theories, principles, and terminology of plant taxonomy and the identification of plants, and the ability to apply this knowledge as necessary to manage the Special Status Species (SSS) plant and natural plant community programs.

KSA 4: Knowledge of the laws and regulations applicable to this program, particularly the Endangered Species Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Must have a thorough knowledge of current Bureau manuals, policies and program developments.

KSA 5: The ability to write clear and concise reports, plan and organize field methodology, research current literature sources, and interpret analytical data.  Must have the ability to develop and apply new techniques, methodologies and strategies to solve difficult problems.


To preview questions please click here.

Bureau of Land Management

BLM is seeking a dynamic and energetic individual to join the team as a Natural Resources Specialist!

The BLM manages more land - 245 million surface acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The BLM, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our greatest natural resource.

Agency contact information

Human Resources Office
Phone
208-373-3921
Fax
208-373-3919
Email
BLM_ID_HR_Vacancies@blm.gov
Address
Bureau of Land Management
BLM Idaho State Office
ID-953
1387 South Vinnell Way
Boise, Idaho 83709-3904
United States

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