Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

BOTANIST

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located on the Nantahala Ranger District in Franklin, NC.

This position is responsible for providing assistance and training to the staff in dealing with sensitive plant species and botany.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Steverson Moffat at (828) 541-3514 or steverson.moffat@usda.gov

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/09/2020 to 11/16/2020
Salary
$52,905 to - $64,009 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
Franklin, NC
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
21-R8SVOCT-0811-741844DP-SB
Control number
583501000

Duties

Help
  • Participates on interdisciplinary teams. Incorporates species and plant community restoration needs in project level proposals.
  • Assists in development and evaluation of project-level management objectives and alternatives; formulates mitigation measures as necessary.
  • Conducts appropriate field surveys of botanical conditions.
  • Reviews, provides analysis, and writes reports for environmental documents that disclose potential effects to proposed, endangered, threatened, sensitive (PETS), forest concern (FC), and/or plant species of conservation concern (SCC).
  • Monitors and recommends policies to manage PETS, FC, and SCC plant species. Develops monitoring programs for appropriate species.
  • Evaluates rare plant communities and develops restoration plans, as appropriate.
  • Maintains plant surveys and monitoring records in appropriate databases. Collects and prepares voucher plant specimens.
  • Prepares and oversees botany-oriented contracts including scope of work and government estimates.
  • Assesses non-native invasive plant species (NNIP) infestations and prioritizes control needs. Maintains NNIP databases.
  • Assesses botanical forest product collections and monitoring, as appropriate.
  • Works with Federal, State, and Tribal governments / agencies and NGOs to understand issues important to external stakeholders and stakeholder organizations.
  • Develops partnerships with government agencies and/or NGOs to increase restoration and monitoring capacity.
  • With other NFSNC botanists, periodically revises the plant SCC list, as appropriate, and prioritizes forest-wide restoration goals.

Requirements

Help

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.

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:
GS-0430: Successfully completed 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: botany; or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany.
OR, a combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in botany or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

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-09 level: Applicants must have at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: participates in the evaluation and monitoring of threatened, endangered and sensitive plant species; locates, surveys, identifies and records threatened, endangered and sensitive plant species information in order to meet environmental assessment requirements; collects and summarizes data on plant species projects; conducts inventories of invasive vegetation and native plant populations and communities.
OR, successfully completed 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.

For the GS-11 level: Applicants must have at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: develops or modifies procedures to record plant survey information to meet environmental assessment requirements; provides documentation to effectively manage invasive species and protect native plant communities; conducts plant inventories of invasive vegetation and native plant populations; develops and implements management plans and partnerships to control invasive plant species.
OR, successfully completed 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (coursework directly related to position being filled).
OR, an appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.).

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.

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.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be offered. Final decision will be made at time of selection.

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 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/10953348

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.