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Biological Science Technician (Plants)

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located on the Ottawa National Forest, J.W. Toumey Nursery.

The position provides technical assistance to nursery personnel by performing a variety of recurring duties in support of seedling production, including seed and seedling handling, operating large irrigation systems, and operating equipment such as tractors and forklifts.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Lindsay Colegrove at lindsay.colegrove@usda.gov or 906-358-4523 x4014

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
10/30/2019 to 11/05/2019
Salary
$30,344 to - $30,344 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 4
Location
Watersmeet, MI
3 vacancies
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel may be required for meetings and training
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Seasonal - 13/13
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
5
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
20-R9GVSEP-0404-FS4386-DP
Control number
550231800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

The Forest Service is accepting applications from U.S. Citizens. No prior Federal experience is required.

Duties

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  • Responsibilities listed are at the full performance level.
  • Gather and interpret soil and plant moisture data to determine irrigation needs and scheduling.
  • Assist with seed collection and cleaning, and preparing seed for planting into soil or containers.
  • Routinely monitor seedlings to prevent or minimize damage from pests, disease, and nutrient deficiencies.
  • Apply amendments, fertilizers, and chemicals at specified rates to maximize seedling health and growth.
  • Serve as an inspector for contract work in the greenhouse area and bareroot fields for seedling extraction, grading and packing, and weeding.
  • Operate and maintain a variety of specialty greenhouse and nursery equipment, including soil fillers, spreaders, root pruners, seeding machines, chemical injectors, spray booms, and controllers.
  • Operate equipment of various sizes, including large farm tractors with implements, forklifts, pallet jacks, and utility vehicles.
  • Utilize hand tools for basic upkeep of structures and equipment.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • 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.
  • Chemicals (pesticides) may be used and the incumbent will be required to obtain and maintain a State Pesticide Applicator?s License.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

For the GS-4: Applicants must have six months of any type of work that demonstrated the ability to perform the work of the position, or experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation AND six months of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-3 grade level. Specialized experience is defined as one or more of the following: participating in plant-related projects by assisting with measurements, recording observations, and/or assisting with the collection of biological and vegetation specimens.
OR an associate's degree or two years of successfully completed education above high school (90 quarter or 60 semester hours) that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, agriculture, or mathematics and at least 6 hours must be directly related to the position;
OR combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience. The education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.

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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.

This position is being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number 20-R9GVSEP-0404-FS4386-G 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 not guaranteed.

The incumbent will be tasked with the application ofchemicals (pesticides) and will be required to obtain and maintain a State Pesticide Applicator's License.

This is a seasonal work schedule where full-time work is guaranteed for 13 pay periods and when not working, you will be placed in non-pay/non-duty status.

This is a bargaining unit position represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government housing is not available.

This agency offers alternative and flexible work schedules.

This position is not eligible for telework.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. You will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Individuals with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10629209

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