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Botanist

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

Summary

We expect to fill 1 vacancy at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

Travel and relocation expenses will be paid consistent with the Federal Travel Regulation, Chapter 302, and Departmental policy. Selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. See "Other" section for additional information on 2017 Tax Cuts as related to PCS.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/19/2020 to 12/14/2020
Salary
$76,721 to - $99,741 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Cheyenne, WY
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
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
NCS/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
WYMP-20-10969129-ML
Control number
584999500

Duties

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  • Serves as the Plant Conservation and Restoration Program leader for BLM in Wyoming.
  • Serve as primary contact for the BLM with other agencies, state programs, environmental and conservation groups, industry representatives, universities, and others in plant conservation, restoration, and native plant material development.
  • Provides expert and technical advice on botany and plant conservation for both forest and rangeland ecosystems.
  • Provides training and guidance to field units related to the conservation of native, federally listed and sensitive plants.
  • The incumbent provides technical assistance to field units to ensure funding requests are properly prepared for different funding sources available to implement program direction.

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 Lands.
  • Direct Deposit Required.
  • Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
  • Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
  • May require a one year probationary or trial period.

Qualifications

In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the qualification requirements - include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

This position has a positive education requirement.

Basic Education Requirements for Botanist are as follows:

  1. Degree: botany; or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany.

    or

  2. 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 in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluation of Education: Courses in basic botany, plant anatomy or morphology, cytology, histology, genetics, taxonomy or systematics, algology, mycology, ethnobotany, and those dealing with specific problems of a botanical nature or with specific groups of plants are qualifying.

In addition to meeting the education requirement, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples: Experience in plant conservation, coordinating with other state and federal agencies in regards to plant conservation, restoration, and native plant material development. Experience in technical advice on botany and plant conservation for both forest and rangeland ecosystems. Experience in training and guiding field units related to the conservation of sensitive plants. Experience providing technical assistance to field units in regards to funding requests.

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.

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.

Physical Demands: The work combines office duties with occasional field duties. Office duties are largely sedentary. Frequent travel throughout the geographic region to various state and field offices, will be required. Field duties will consist of site visits, some of which will require walking and hiking in irregular terrains and varied climatic conditions. The work does not require any special physical effort.

Work Environment: Work is primarily conducted in office setting, with some office duties conducted in a meeting setting. Periods of varying length of sedentary duty in front of a computer are expected. Extremes of cold and heat could occur during field duties or during travel. Field duties may require hiking and/or vehicle travel into remote locations in all seasons. Incumbent will adhere to all safety rules and regulations as prescribed in manuals/supplements or by the designated safety officer.

Education

Basic Education Requirements for Botanist are as follows:

  1. Degree: botany; or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany.

    or

  2. 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 in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
You must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. If your degree is from a Foreign Institution See Foreign Education.

Additional information

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/e-verify.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency 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.

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 at https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx

Tax Law Impact for PCS: On 22-Dec-2017, Public Law 115-97 - the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 suspended qualified moving expense deductions along with the exclusion for employer reimbursements and payments of moving expenses effective 01-Jan-2018 for tax years 2018 through 2025. The law made taxable certain reimbursements and other payments, including driving mileage, airfare and lodging expenses, en-route travel to the new duty station, and temporary storage of those items. The Federal Travel Regulation Bulletin (FTR) 18-05 issued by General Services Administration (GSA) has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance (WTA) and Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individuals. For additional information on WTA/RITA allowances and eligibilities, please visit:
https://www.gsa.gov/policy-regulations/regulations/federal-travel-regulation-ftr/i1182168#i1180710

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

This is a Bargaining Unit position.

BLM may use certain incentives, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract high quality applicants.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document, you do not have in electronic form; view the following link for information regarding an Alternative Application

How you will be evaluated

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

Resumes must show relevant experience and other information. Your resume must list your education and work experience including the dates (mm/yyyy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week and optional salary information. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. Visit the USAJOBS Help Center for more information on What should I include in my federal resume?

Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s). Failure to provide required information will result in loss of eligibility. You are welcome to submit an optional cover letter.

You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the qualification requirements of this position.

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be contacted for an interview.

Your answers to the online questionnaire will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

  • Botany
  • Oral Communication
  • Organizational Awareness
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Technical Competence


In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals. Applicants must have a performance rating of at least the equivalent of fully successful to be eligible for promotion or placement. Applicants may provide a copy of a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months. If the applicant is unable to provide a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months, the applicant may provide a written explanation as to why.

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.

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