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Rangeland Management Specialist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located on a Forest Service unit, where the incumbent serves as the unit's specialist in all areas of the vegetation and rangeland management programs.

For additional information about the duties of the positions, please contact the following:
For position(s) located at White Bird, ID. Contact Jeffery Shin at jshinn@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Ennis, MT. Contact Dale Olson at dolson07@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Ashland, MT.  Contact Ronald Hecker at rhecker@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Fort Collins, CO. Contact Katie Donahue kdonahue@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Wall, SD. Contact Ryan Stokes at ryanlstokes@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Camp Verde, AZ. Contact Todd Willard at twillard@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Bayfiled, CO. Contact Jared Whitmer at jwhitmer@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Dubois, ID. Contact Bill Davis at bdavis@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Duncan, AZ. Contact Ed Holloway Jr. at eholloway@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Heber City, UT. Contact Daniel Jaurequi at djauregui@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at Burley, ID. Contact Loren Poppert at lpoppert@fs.fed.us
For position(s) located at one of the following locations: Butte, MT., Dillon, MT., Ennis, MT., Philipsburg, MT. or Wisdom, MT. Contact Scot Shuler at swshuler@fs.fed.us

GS-11 and below are eligible for VRA.

Positions may be filled as career ladders or could be filled at the full performance level dependent upon the individual units needs. Example: The selecting official may select at any grade to include the full performance level of the position. However, not all positions will be filled at the highest grade level.

Salary range as shown is the locality pay area of Rest of U.S. (RUS). Pay rates vary depending on location and may be higher or lower than the amount shown. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management’s website for additional information on pay rates.

Overview

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Open & closing dates
01/26/2018 to 01/29/2018
Salary
$50,598 - $95,388 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 09 - 12
Locations
Camp Verde, AZ
1 vacancy
Duncan, AZ
1 vacancy
Bayfield, CO
1 vacancy
Fort Collins, CO
1 vacancy
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel will be dependent on selected position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Entitlements for payment of basic moving expenses, as required and to the extent allowed by the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) 302-3.101, are authorized for eligible applicants changing duty station when the change meets the distance tests as provided in FTR 302-1.1 and 302-2.6. Other relocation benefits may be negotiated with selectee.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Announcement number
18-GVQ1-0454-09-12-FS3391-G
Control number
489526300

This job is open to

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Duties

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Duties listed are at the full performance level.

Responsible for the development of the overall Forest Rangeland and Weeds Manage-ment Program, including formulation of policy objectives, correlation and integration of the various activities, and the establishment of priorities. Provides technical advice, often involving new and unique approaches, to Districts on the design and use of graz-ing systems, pesticides, equipment, and range related structures. Evaluates the Forest Rangeland Management Program effectiveness and balance of activities through continuous monitoring and periodic field reviews. The reviews in-clude assessments of compliance with approved policies, regulations, and management practices and authorizations, as well as conditions of range and improvements, adequa-cy of permittee instructions, and compliance with permit. Initiates action to correct deficiencies found during reviews.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Successful completion of a one-year probationary or trial period.
  • Satisfactory background investigation and/or fingerprint check.

Additional Information: 


Duty Location Relocation/Incentive Bargaining Unit Eligible Travel required Full Performance Level Telework Government Housing
Whitebird, ID Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-11 Yes Ad hoc Yes
Ennis, MT Transfer of Station is authorized No Occasional travel up to 2 or 3 times a year for training or conferences. GS-11 Yes Ad hoc No
Ashland, MT Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-11 No No
Fort Collins, CO Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-11 Yes No
Wall, SD Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-11 No No
Camp Verde, AZ Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-11 Yes No
Bayfield, CO No No No GS-09 No No
Dubois, ID Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-11 Yes Yes
Duncan, AZ Transfer of Station is authorized, a recruitment or relocation incentice is authorized No Occasional one or two times a year for training or conferences. GS-11 No No
Heber City, UT Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-11 Yes Ad hoc No
Burley, ID Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-11 Yes Ad hoc No
Butte, MT Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-12 No No
Dillon, MT Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-12 No No
Ennis, MT Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-12 No No
Philipsburg, MT Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-12 No No
Wisdom, MT Transfer of Station is authorized No May be required GS-12 No No

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements as defined below. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Your resume must clearly show that you possess the appropriate specialized experience requirements. 

To receive consideration for this position, you must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement. The following link provides more information on the qualifications for this positon: Professional and Scientific Positions

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.

Basic Requirements

Degree: range management; or a related discipline that included at least 42 semester hours in a combination of the plant, animal, and soil sciences, and natural resources management, as follows:  

Range Management -- At least 18 semester hours of course work in range management, including courses in such areas as basic principles of range management, range plants, range ecology, range inventories and studies, range improvements, and ranch or rangeland planning.   

Directly Related Plant, Animal, and Soil Sciences -- At least 15 semester hours of directly related courses in the plant, animal, and soil sciences, including at least one course in each of these three scientific areas, i.e., plant, animal, and soil sciences. Courses in such areas as plant taxonomy, plant physiology, plant ecology, animal nutrition, livestock production, and soil morphology or soil classification are acceptable.    
    
Related Resource Management Studies -- At least 9 semester hours of course work in related resource management subjects, including courses in such areas as wildlife management, watershed management, natural resource or agricultural economics, forestry, agronomy, forages, and outdoor recreation management.  

OR

2. Combination of education and experience: at least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil sciences and natural resources management shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional education and/or experience are required for the grade(s) specified. 

For the GS-9 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level; 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.

Specialized experience is defined as expereince assisting senior specialists in performing scientific and technical analysis and/or providing technical advice concerning rangeland management topics and/or issues; Assisting in performing recurring, well-defined, and moderately difficult range improvement projects such as preparing allotment management plans, locating, designing, and placing fences, signs, cattle guards, determining stocking and rotation schemes and similar projects; and/or Assisting in preparing segments of conventional range use plans under multiple-use sustained yield concepts or developing simple activity plans.

For the GS-11 level:
 Applicants must have 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.).

Specialized experience is defined as expereince analyzing environmental data and advising on conventional rangeland management issues and projects; exercising independent judgment to perform recurring, well-defined, and moderately difficult range improvement projects such as preparing segments of land use plans under multiple-use sustained yield concepts, designing and implementing plant community changes, developing and implementing prescribed burns, or other initiatives of comparable scope and complexity; and/or preparing segments of conventional rangeland use plans under multiple-use sustained yield concepts or assisting in the development of activity plans that included range and watershed improvement. 

For the GS-12 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level.

Specialized experience is defined as experience preparing long and short-range plans based on rangeland resource needs/health/capability, available work force, equipment and budget, and public demands for rangeland resource uses; advising landowners and land lessees on principles of rangeland management and the laws, regulations, and policies governing management of range resources; conducting inventories and annual monitoring of rangeland resource and activities to document degree of impacts occurring, plant community changes and trend of ecological status or diversity that results; and preparing and reviewing ecological assessments for inclusion in the environmental documentation record as a basis for rangeland project decisions.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT
: 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.

Additional information

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION AND FINGERPRINT CHECK: Selection and retention in this position is contingent on a successfully adjudicated FBI National Criminal History Check (fingerprint check) and a background investigation.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

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.

Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choosing.

E-Verify: Federal law requires agencies to use the E-Verify system to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires. If you are selected as a newly hired employee, the documentation you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 on your entry-on-duty date will be verified through the DHS E-VERIFY system. Under the system, the new hire is required to resolve any identified discrepancies as a condition of continued employment.

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.

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.

For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran’s Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses and Schedule A Disabled may be found on the USAJOBS website.

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.

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 knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies listed below:

  • Ability to develop, plan and manage rangeland management and/or natural resource management programs.
  • Knowledge of rangeland management policies, procedures, and regulations.
  • Ability to analyze and interpret rangeland management program data.
  • Ability to communicate effectively in writing
  • Ability to provide technical rangeland management advice and guidance.
  • Ability to Supervise.
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. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need to meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have 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 disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply Online" button to the right.


To view the application form, visit: https://fs.usda.ntis.gov/cp/?event=jobs.previewApplication&jobid=B110C0AF-CCEF-457B-A157-A85D011755B3

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.

USDA is a great place to start or continue your career. USDA is ranked as one of the top 10 "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government" by the Partnership for Public Service. Rankings are based on employee feedback regarding satisfaction with their work experience.

This Job Opportunity Announcement has been cancelled and will be re-advertised under Announcement Number 18-GVQ1-454-9-12-FS3391-GA , USAJOBS Control Number: 489878800

Agency contact information

HRM Contact Center
Phone
877-372-7248, option 2
TDD
800-877-8339
Fax
866-339-2695
Email
fsjobs@fs.fed.us
Address
USDA Forest Service
Do not mail in applications, see instructions under the How to Apply tab.
Albuquerque, NM, 87109
United States

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