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Forestry Technician (Wilderness/Trails)

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This announcement is to fill three vacancies on the Chugach National Forest in Cordova, Girdwood, and Moose Pass, Alaska.

The incumbent will serve as a trail crew leader for both trail maintenance and trail construction projects, under the supervision of the District Trails Program Supervisor.

These positions are permanent seasonal positions having a guaranteed 13 pay periods of employment with up to 13 pay periods in non-pay status. A pay period is considered 80 hours.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
12/11/2020 to 12/17/2020
Salary
$39,048 - $56,585 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 6
Locations
Cordova, AK
1 vacancy
Girdwood, AK
1 vacancy
Moose Pass, AK
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
75% or less - Travel will be required for overnight fieldwork and occasional meetings and trainings.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
6
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
21-R10-10981696-G-ER
Control number
586866200

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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  • Duties listed below are at the full performance level, GS-6.
  • Provide field leadership for a trail crew working in both backcountry and frontcountry settings, with up to 6 crew members at a time.
  • Ensure crew safety by leading tailgate safety sessions, discussing Job Hazard Analyses, providing formal and informal training in the safe handling of tools, and ensuring appropriate personal protective equipment is worn for the task at hand.
  • Maintain communication with Forest Dispatch and Trails Program Supervisor via radio and satellite phone.
  • Assist Trails Program Supervisor in project development, including trail layout and making recommendations to solve trail problems.
  • Coordinate logistics necessary for field projects and backcountry camps.
  • Take primary responsibility for the maintenance, inventory, and organization of all trails program tools and supplies.
  • Delegate field work to trail crew members as appropriate, recognizing individuals? strengths while providing for skill development.
  • Perform trail maintenance and construction tasks including but not limited to: brushing, logout, drainage cleaning and installation, turnpike and puncheon installation, rock work, gravel surfacing, and new tread construction.
  • Serve as district heavy equipment operator, operating equipment such as loaders, mini-excavators, and skid steers.
  • For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Will Brennan at william.brennan@usda.gov or 907-754-2351.

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
  • This is a Test Designated Position. You will be tested for illegal drugs prior to appointment and randomly thereafter. Appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results.
  • This position requires initial and continuing qualifications in the use of firearms as outlined in the Gun Control Act of 1968, amended by the Lautenberg Amendment of 1996.
  • This is a bargaining unit position represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW.
  • Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.
  • Government Housing may be available.
  • This position is eligible for telework and other flexible work arrangements; however, this is not a virtual position and incumbent will be expected to report to duty station.

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-05: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: provided information to users of recreational areas or trails on resource management practices, recreation use regulations, opportunities, and restrictions; performed routine support assignments in a forestry specialty area such as recreation or timber; and/or performed crew-based forestry related support work such as experience using chainsaws in trail construction/maintenance tasks, recreation trail or recreation facility construction and/or maintenance projects.

For the GS-06: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: assisting staff in planning and implementing the logistics required for completion of wilderness projects, such as trail maintenance and reconstruction projects, experience using chainsaws in trail construction/maintenance tasks, habitat restoration projects; ensuring recreation/wilderness areas are operated, used, and maintained in accordance with trail and/or wilderness management plans; serving on a crew responsible for assisting with trail maintenance surveys and documenting trail work needs in data management systems; and/or following trail maintenance schedules for the reconstruction and construction of trails and wilderness/recreation sites.

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 GS-6 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

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

The hourly rate of pay for this position ranges between $18.71 and $27.11, dependent upon grade and step.

Salary will be adjusted to include a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA). A gradually reducing COLA will continue to be paid after December 31, 2012. COLA will not be eliminated until 65% of the locality pay equals the frozen COLA rate. See the OPM website at: http://www.opm.gov/oca/cola/index.asp for 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 Delegated Examining (or Demo) Number 21-R10-10981697-DP-ER. 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.

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:

  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Problem Solving
  • Technical Competence


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/10981696

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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