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Hydrologist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The positions are located in Region 1, on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. There are two positions available, one at the North Fork Ranger District and one at the Forest Supervisor's Office.

The incumbent performs professional hydrology work, responsible for conducting and interpreting hydrologic surveys and analysis, watershed rehabilitation and management planning, and providing technical guidance.

See "CONTACT INFORMATION" below for office specific contact information.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
10/12/2021 to 10/18/2021
Salary
$43,683 to - $53,433 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Grangeville, ID
Kamiah, ID
Kooskia, ID
Orofino, ID
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - Travel will be required for site visits and fieldwork. Travel for meetings/training attendance will be required on an occasional basis.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
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
22-R1GVAPR-1315-9-FS2463-DP
Control number
616796700

Duties

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  • The duties listed below are at the full performance level (GS-09).
  • Assists in the development of land management planning related to hydrological evaluation.
  • Operates, maintains, and collects data from hydrometeorological field instruments; performs field and laboratory measurements on hydrologic characteristics.
  • Responsible for data compilation and quality assurance for hydrometeorological data, including streamflow, temperature, and rainfall data.
  • Prepares and processes sediment samples to determine sediment characteristics using gravimetric methods, as well as miscellaneous other sediment-related analyses.
  • Develops and implements quality control and assurance plans for the laboratory, and analyzes hydrologic data to determine the causes of data anomalies.
  • Evaluates data quality and assembles data bases required to support research studies. Prepares reports of findings for assigned parts of studies.
  • Develops, maintains, and trouble-shoots software used at various stages in sample processing and reporting, as well as software used in processing and documenting other hydrologic data from monitoring sites.

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.
  • Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If selected, must submit proof of vaccination or request a religious or reasonable accommodation.

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 Hydrology, GS-1315 series:Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement as defined below. For more information on the qualifications for this position, go to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/hydrology-series-1315/.

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 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 - A combination of education and experience-- course work as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

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.

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-07 level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in 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 qualifying specialized experience include one or more of the following: Gathered, consolidated, and prepared data for charts, lists of study findings, and statistical tables; Operated technical equipment or instruments to take readings and perform routine testing tasks, under the direction of a supervisor; Assisted in the preparation of technical reports, including assisting in the analysis of data and test findings; Assisted in analysis of environmental effects of earth disturbing or other human activities on hydrologic resources.

For the GS-09 level:You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in 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 qualifying specialized experience include one or more of the following: Assisted senior hydrologists by carrying out routine projects; Assisted in implementing well-established hydrology programs or projects; Helped in assessing the water resource capability/suitability and identifying goals and concerns for water resource management; Conducted water resource inventories and prepared the resulting data for application into the land management planning process; Assisted in water resource inventories following established procedures to assemble databases required to support management programs and planning.

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 above for qualifying education.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For additional information about the duties of the position, please contact:

  • North Fork Ranger District - Orofino, ID. Contact Andrew Skowlund at 208-827-6133 or andrew.skowlund@usda.gov.
  • Forest Supervisor's Office - Final duty station will be determined at the time of selection. Contact Zoanne Anderson at 208-464-2366 or zoanne.anderson@usda.gov.

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 22-R1GVAPR-1315-09-FS2463-G (open 10/08-10/18/21). 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.

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.

The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/

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 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/11245790

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