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Land Surveyor

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

Summary

These positions are located in Branch of Cadastral Surveying, in the Division of Lands and Resources.

These positions are concurrently open to Merit Promotion eligibles under Announcement Number BLM-NM-23-11743178-MP-OPM.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/19/2022 to 01/10/2023
Salary
$83,634 to - $108,724 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Albuquerque, NM
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - 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
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
BLM-NM-23-11743177-DE-OPM
Control number
695122000

Duties

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The selectee will plan, direct, document, and guide highly complex surveys and land boundary investigations. The Land Surveyor conducts cadastral surveys and resurveys of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), resurveys of Mineral Surveys (MS) and Homestead Entry Surveys (HES), mineral segregation surveys, Indian allotment surveys, and surveys of riparian or littoral boundaries of federal interest lands in accordance with the Public Land Laws, IBLA decisions, BLM regulations pertaining to Cadastral Survey, and the Manual of Surveying Instructions to insure the protection of public, private, and trust related interests.

DUTIES:

  • Evaluate past and present water boundary characteristics to determine whether water boundary locations are the result of accretion, avulsion, erosion, or relictions.
  • Use field-to-finish software and hardware, including but not limited to, GPS, CMM, GMM, CEFB, AutoCAD enhancements.
  • Participate in land boundary and ownership meetings with Government and tribal employees as well as members of the general public, congressional staffs, and other interested parties.
  • Prepare professional legal reports documenting circumstances that support unusual survey decisions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • May be required to complete background investigation and drug screening.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males
  • Must provide resume and supporting documents (See required documents).
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license, nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
  • Selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this Land Surveyor GS-1373-12 position, you must meet BOTH the Basic and Additional qualification requirements described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience. If qualifying based on education, a copy of your unofficial transcripts must be provided with your application.

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT for the 1373 series:
A. Successfully completed a 4-year bachelor's degree or higher in land surveying; or civil engineering with a surveying option/emphasis. The civil engineering major must have included at least 6 semester hours of surveying, 3 semester hours of land law, and 21 additional semester hours in any combination of the following: surveying, photogrammetry, geodetic surveying, geodesy, route surveying, remote sensing, cartography, survey astronomy, land information systems, computer-aided mapping, aerial photo interpretation, and survey analysis and adjustments. (Note: You must submit a complete, legible copy of your transcript to verify college courses).

-OR-
B. Possess a combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in land surveying or civil engineering as described in paragraph A, plus appropriate experience or additional education that furnished a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional land surveying. (Note: You must submit a complete, legible copy of your transcripts to verify college courses and your resume must support specialized experience).

-OR-
C. Possess a current registration as a land surveyor in a State, territory, or the District of Columbia obtained by written examination. Such registration must have been obtained under conditions outlined in the National Council of Engineering Examiners (NCEE) Unified Model Law for Registration of Surveyors. Applicants wishing to be considered under this provision must show evidence of registration based on successful completion of the written examinations. Registrations granted prior to adoption of a registration law with qualification requirements equivalent to the NCEE Model Law by the State, territory, or District of Columbia are not acceptable under this option. To be considered equivalent to the NCEE Model law, registration laws must include the four options listed within the NCEE Unified Model Law in the section specifying "General Requirements for Registration" as a Professional Land Surveyor. (Note: You must submit proof of your registration based on successful completion of the written examinations).

-AND-
ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:


Specialized Experience GS-12: Applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing 3 of the 4 following duties: (1) applying land surveying disciplines (e.g. gathering information through observations, measurements in the field, or research of legal instruments, and data analysis in the support of establishing property boundaries); (2) utilizing Federal and State laws and regulations relative to land conveyances, land surveying and case law; (3) employing Federal and State land survey procedures to re-establish cadastral surveys and land boundaries based on documents of record and historical evidence, as well as certifying boundary surveys; (4) operating electronic survey systems (e.g. GPS Surveying Systems, Geographic Coordinate Data Base (GCDM), and AutoCAD).

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Volunteer Experience: 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 include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement.

Additional information

  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the Bureau of Land Management uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 10 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
Physical Demands: The work is performed both in field and office settings. The office work is sedentary. The employee may walk, stand, bend and carry light items. The field work is very physically demanding. Field crews work 10-hour days and are required to walk and climb while carrying heavy objects such as survey instruments, tripods, chain saws, digging equipment etc. The incumbent is required to operate dangerous cutting tools and perform strenuous activities such as digging holes and carrying rocks. These field situations require continuous attention to ensure personal safety as well as the safety of the crew.

Working Conditions: Office work is performed in well lighted, air conditioned or heated rooms. Field work is usually in areas where the terrain varies from nearly level land to mountainous terrain and extreme temperature variables. These locations are often remote with limited vehicular access and wilderness settings. The incumbent must adhere to all safety rules and regulations as prescribed in manuals/supplements or by the designated Safety Officer and take all precautionary steps to ensure the safety and well-being of his or her survey crew.

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

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) or Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible see http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ctap_guideline.pdf. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 90 or above on the rating criteria for this position.

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 Alternate Application

How you will be evaluated

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

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Occupational Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions may affect your rating.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessments, including a subject matter expert resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed below that are required to successfully perform the job.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
  • Database Administration
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Surveying
  • Technical Competence

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