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Ecologist/Forester

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions support the Northern Research Station, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Work Unit.

The FIA program is charged with conducting a nationally-consistent strategic annual forest inventory of the United States and its territories.

For more information about this position, please contact Michael Effinger at 304-285-1593 or michael.effinger@usda.gov

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/23/2020 to 01/29/2020
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$54,762 - $54,762 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Delaware, OH
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
76% or greater - The nature of position requires extensive travel from the duty station and may require on occasion overnight camping. The research plots may be in remote areas that require hiking over rough, uneven terrain in all types of weather. Completing data collection plot work is often done solo.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
20-RES-10701552-DP-IC
Control number
557302100

Duties

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  • Performs project planning activities including scheduling, organizing, and executing field and laboratory projects related to forestry and ecological research problems, i.e., interactions between plants, animals, and the environment.
  • Follows and helps develop a project work plan which includes selecting the methods for collection, identification, evaluation, and pilot testing.
  • Leads, and directs crews in collecting field data and samples for analyses, establishing tests and control plots, as necessary; other assignments include compiling, summarizing and analyzing data; and managing datasets.
  • Maintains purchase card authority and conducts purchases for needed supplies and services within a budget approved by the supervisor.
  • Organizes, verifies, and refines the data collected. Studies and evaluates the data and writes up methods, findings, recommendations and other conclusions for approval.
  • Resolves administrative and safety concerns related to the project and trains and supervises lower grade employees assigned to the project.

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.
  • You will be required to complete training, obtain, and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.

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.

This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series/position titles listed below. In addition to the specialized experience requirements, you must submit transcripts that show you meet the educational requirements for at least one of the series described in this announcement. Applicants may only be appointed to job series/position titles for which they meet all experience and educational requirements.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, go to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-PROF

Basic Requirement:

Basic Requirement for Forestry series, GS-0460:
Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in forestry; or a related subject-matter field that included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours of course work were in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently diversified to include courses in each of the following areas:

Management of Renewable Resources -- study of the science and art of managing renewable resources to attain desired results. Examples of creditable courses in this area include silviculture, forest management operations, timber management, wildland fire science or fire management, utilization of forest resources, forest regulation, recreational land management, watershed management, and wildlife or range habitat management.

Forest Biology -- study of the classification, distribution, characteristics, and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of living organisms to the forest environment. Examples of creditable courses in this area include dendrology, forest ecology, silvics, forest genetics, wood structure and properties, forest soils, forest entomology, and forest pathology.

Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory -- sampling, inventory, measurement, and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources. Examples of creditable courses include forest biometrics, forest mensuration, forest valuation, statistical analysis of forest resource data, renewable natural resources inventories and analysis, and photogrammetry or remote sensing.
--OR--
Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in forestry, or at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours in forestry are the same as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Basic Requirement for Ecology series, GS-0408:
Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 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.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

For the GS-09: You must have at least one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service. To qualify at this level, your resume must reflect all of the the following:

--Planning field and laboratory data collection projects related to forest ecology and forestry;
--Leading forest ecology/forestry related data collection crews and completing quality control
and
--Compiling, summarizing and analyzing forest ecology datasets.

--OR--

2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. Coursework must include the following: Dendrology, Forest Ecology, Mensuration, Silviculture, Entomology and Pathology.

--OR--

An appropriate combination of specialized experience and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Examples of specialized experience are: Planning field and laboratory data collection projects related to forest ecology and forestry; Leading forest ecology/forestry related data collection crews and completing quality control; and Compiling, summarizing and analyzing forest ecology datasets.

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.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government Housing is not available

Daycare facilities are not available

This position is eligible for telework and other flexible work arrangements.

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/10701552

Forest Service

A career with the Forest Service will challenge you to manage and care for more than 193 million acres of our nation's most magnificent lands, conduct research through a network of forest and range experiment stations and the Forest Products Laboratory, and provide assistance to State and private forestry agencies.

It's an awesome responsibility - but the rewards are as limitless as the views.

Agency contact information

HRM Contact Center
Phone
1-877-372-7248 X2
Email
SM.FS.FSJobs@usda.gov
Address
USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center
DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
Albuquerque, NM 87109
US

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