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Hydrologist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located on the Angeles National Forest in Arcadia, CA.

Serves as an authority preparing reports on a variety of complex studies. Reports involve analysis of data collected and the environment from which it was collected, and plans for corrective actions.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Julie Uyehara at julie.uyehara@usda.gov

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/05/2021 to 05/25/2021
Salary
$73,827 to - $88,488 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Arcadia, CA
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
No
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
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
21-0501-11089254-DP-JS
Control number
600455400

Duties

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  • Develop soils and water program priorities based on data collected through the national watershed condition framework, watershed analyses, hydrologic function, soils inventory and assessment, water quality, and Best Management Practices (BMP?s).
  • Develop partnerships for watershed restoration and water quality through coordination with state and federal agencies, municipalities, and non-government organizations such as watershed councils.
  • Interpret the findings from studies in terms of scientific significance.
  • Develop the out-year and annual budget for program of work priorities.
  • Analyze watershed condition classification indicator data to identify trends to meet organization standards.
  • Interpret policy materials from higher authority or regulatory entities.
  • Prepare replies to congressional or other queries pertaining to watershed projects.
  • Provide quality control oversight to soils and hydrologist staff when analyzing soils and hydrologic impacts of resource activities.

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.

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-1315:
Degree: physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics, aquatic biology, atmospheric science, meteorology, geology, oceanography, or the management or conservation of water resources. The course work must have included at least 6 semester hours in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours in physics. Calculus and physics, as described above, are requirements for all grade levels.
OR
Combination of education and experience -- course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluation of Experience: Acceptable experience must have included performance of scientific functions related to the study of water resources, based on and requiring a professional knowledge of related sciences and the consistent application of basic scientific principles to the solution of theoretical and practical hydrologic problems. The following is illustrative of acceptable experience: field or laboratory work that would require application of hydrologic theory and related sciences such as geology, geo-chemistry, geophysics, or civil engineering to making observations, taking samples, operating instruments, assembling data from source materials, analyzing and interpreting data, and reporting findings orally and in writing. In some cases, professional scientific experience that is not clearly water resource experience may be acceptable if such experience was preceded by appropriate education in hydrology or by professional hydrology experience.

Applicants with related experience in hydrology gained through earlier Federal Government employment might have gained that experience in one or more occupational series. Such series include Soil Conservation, GS-457; Forestry, GS-460; Soil Science, GS-470; Civil Engineering, GS-810; Chemistry, GS-1320; Meteorology, GS-1340; and Geology, GS-1350. Comparable non-Federal experience may be given similar credit.

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-11: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as some of the following: Collected, analyzed, and interpreted watershed data for input to environmental reports or assessment of stream condition; Used data to inform land management decisions or assess effects to all resources, i.e., physical and biological features. Applied conventional methods to analyze water samples and determine the causes of data anomalies; Prepared and carried out water quality monitoring programs, including preparation of plans, collection and analysis of samples, and interpretation of data, and reports.

OR

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 one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level;

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.).

For the GS-12: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as some of the following: Developed and implemented strategies to assess watershed functions; Participated in hydrologic and soil productivity investigations and studies required for planning and design of multi-purpose projects; Compiled information from investigations and studies into long range prescriptions or plans for watershed management and/or water yield improvement; Proposed, implemented, or reviewed watershed restoration projects with defined objectives and success criteria; Participated in the planning or evaluator processes used in the development of environmental assessments, environmental impact statements, or conservation reports; Assisted in responding to environmental interrogatories by coordinating with technical experts in the preparation of responses and technical analyses.

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.

Education

See Qualifications for Educational Requirements

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.

This position is being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number 21-0501-11089254-G-JS Current or former Federal employees or other eligible applicants may apply to both announcements to expand all possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information.

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.

This is a bargaining unit designated position.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government Housing is not available

This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

Recruitment Incentive may be authorized. Final determination will be made at the time of job offer.

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/11089254

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