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Land Surveyor

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Northern Region, East-Side Lands and Boundary Management Zone (ESLBZ).

The incumbent performs land surveys and related work in a zoned organization which services the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Custer Gallatin, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forests, and the Dakota Prairie National Grasslands.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Mark Aughtman, Supervisory Land Surveyor, at (701)-227-7835 or mark.aughtman@usda.gov.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
07/07/2020 to 07/20/2020
Salary
$34,916 to - $68,777 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Dickinson, ND
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - This zoned position requires a considerable amount of travel throughout Montana, North Dakota, and northwest South Dakota, with overnight stays.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation expenses may be reimbursed at the discretion of management in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
20-R1SVCOA-10855312-G-HH
Control number
572785400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current permanent federal employees with competitive status, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP and VEOA eligibles, Farm Service Agency permanent county employees, 30 percent or More Disabled Veterans, Certain Former Overseas and Foreign Service Employees, Military Spouses, Interchange Agreement and Other Miscellaneous Authorities, People with Disabilities, Peace Corps and VISTA, Reinstatement, Public Land Corps, Resource Assistant Program, and VRA eligible candidates.

Duties

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  • The duties listed are at the full performance grade level (GS-09).
  • Plans and conducts cadastral surveying projects of a complex nature, usually involving conflicting title data or fragmentary corner evidence requiring research and evaluation and the proper application of pertinent State and Federal laws.
  • Prepares preliminary and final survey plats, drawings, reports, legal records, and title descriptions for review and approval by a registered land surveyor.
  • Serves as a contract inspector ensuring compliance with contract specifications on survey projects contracted with private surveying firms.
  • Provides technical guidance and training to Forest survey personnel performing cadastral, geodetic, rights-of-way, and engineering surveys.
  • Performs maintenance, calibration, and adjustment of precision surveying instruments and related equipment.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered 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.gov

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.

Basic Requirement for the Land Surveying Series, GS-1373:

A. 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 land surveying; or civil engineering with a surveying option/emphasis. The civil engineering major must have included at least 6 semester hours of surveying, 3 semester hours of land law, and 21 additional semester hours in any combination of the following: surveying, photogrammetry, geodetic surveying, geodesy, route surveying, remote sensing, cartography, survey astronomy, land information systems, computer-aided mapping, aerial photo interpretation, and survey analysis and adjustments.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in land surveying or civil engineering as described above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

OR

C. Current registration as a land surveyor in a State, territory, or the District of Columbia obtained by written examination. Such registration must have been obtained under conditions outlined in the National Council of Engineering Examiners (NCEE) Unified Model Law for Registration of Surveyors. Applicants wishing to be considered under this provision must show evidence of registration based on successful completion of the written examinations. Registrations granted prior to adoption of a registration law with qualification requirements equivalent to the NCEE Model Law by the State, territory, or District of Columbia are not acceptable under this option. To be considered equivalent to the NCEE Model law, registration laws must include the four options listed within the NCEE Unified Model Law in the section specifying "General Requirements for Registration" as a Professional Land Surveyor.

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

Specialized Experience Requirement:

For the GS-05 level: Meeting the Basic Requirements identified above satisfies requirements for the GS-05 grade level.

For the GS-07 level: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 in the Federal service; OR one full year of graduate level education; OR an appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience; OR Superior Academic Achievement (to determine if you are eligible, go to: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp). 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 for the GS-07 level could include: Checked and compiled field survey data; made appropriate mathematical computations for traverse closures. Under supervision of higher grade employees, conducted routine analysis, and prepared routine legal descriptions, plats, and/or survey reports. Received training and experience in the practical application of basic land surveying principles, theories, methods, techniques and practices. Worked closely with higher grade professionals and technicians to acquire the experience necessary to plan, organize, and execute field surveying projects.
For the GS-9 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service; OR a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related; 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 for the GS-09 level could include: Worked as an advanced trainee performing duties of limited scope and complexity in all aspects of land surveying activities. Directed field surveying projects of sufficient scope to promote the continued growth and development in cadastral surveying as well as application of State and Federal land laws. Studied routine cases requiring historical searches of property ownership; previous surveys of the area; and the pattern of political, geographic, and economic influences that surround the property involved. Conducted limited record searches; evaluated the information obtained; and performed the necessary survey work associated with the initial location or re-identification of property lines, section corners, and surveying monuments.
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.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT (for positions at the GS-06 level and above): If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

See above for information on qualifying education.

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 candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status such as leave without pay is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website

This position is being concurrently announced under Demo Announcement Number 20-R1SVCOA-10857326-DP-HH. This announcement is open to all qualified candidates. Applying to both announcements may expand the possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information.

PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 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 or guaranteed.

Selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. Questions should be directed to the Travel help Desk, 877-372-7248, Option 1, or email SM.FS.asc_tos@usda.gov

Bargaining Unit Status: Eligible - Coverage is dependent upon unit location.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government Housing may be available.

This position is eligible for telework and other flexible work arrangements.
We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

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 based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the competencies listed below:

  • Project Management
  • Surveying
  • Technical Competence
  • Written Communication


Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.

If you meet the qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified, you will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities must meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. 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.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10855312

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