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Botanist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located on the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego, CA.

The incumbent has responsibility for providing professional, scientific assistance to the staff pertaining to a variety of botanical and sensitive plant species duties in support of Forest activities.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Kirsten Winter at 858-674-2956 or email at

kirsten.winter@usda.gov



Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/23/2019 to 09/30/2019
Salary
$57,279 to - $57,279 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
San Diego, CA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel for training, meetings and project related work.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
19-0502-10571271-DT-NT
Control number
546554900

Duties

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  • Utilize knowledge of the basic botanical methods, techniques, and procedures necessary to identify vegetation communities and conduct vegetation inventories.
  • Assist or train other assigned field personnel to recognize, identify, and locate plant species of concern.
  • Identify plants encountered during surveys.
  • Develop and implement management plans and partnerships for the control of invasive plant species and establishment of native vegetation
  • Manage invasive species and native plant community restoration projects, including evaluating, developing, implementing, and monitoring projects.
  • Participate on interdisciplinary teams to provide the documentation and coordination necessary for the effective management of threatened, endangered and sensitive plant species
  • Prepare informational responses to internal directives or agency, public group, and individual inquiries.
  • Provide analytical data and information necessary to complete consultation with project partners
  • Communicate with partners on current or proposed management activities that affect plant species and related resource activities.
  • Document and maintain invasive and native plant surveys, inventories, and monitoring records in appropriate data base and GIS files.
  • Develop and modify established procedures for recording plant survey information in order to meet environmental assessment requirements
  • Perform field survey work which includes conducting inventories of invasive vegetation and native plant populations and communities in compliance with selected protocols to contribute to the baseline data for invasive plant and botanical resources
  • Assist personnel or contract personnel in conducting botanical research and studies.
  • Prepare and administer contracts and agreements for the treatment of invasive plants and/or restoration of native plant communities.
  • Assist in preparing assessments and management plans for the protection and enhancement of habitat for special status plants.

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 Federal Wage System Qualifications 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-0430:

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Degree: botany; or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany.
OR
Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in botany or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

For positions dealing with the study of fungi, or with basic mycological relationships, the course work in botany must have included at least 6 semester hours in mycology.

Evaluation of Education: Courses in basic botany, plant anatomy or morphology, cytology, histology, genetics, taxonomy or systematics, algology, mycology, ethnobotany, and those dealing with specific problems of a botanical nature or with specific groups of plants are qualifying. The courses required for mycologists are specific and must have been in mycology.


Specialized Experience Requirement:

For the GS-09: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: As an advanced trainee, participating in the evaluation and monitoring of the threatened, endangered and sensitive plant species and plant community and vegetation management programs. Locating, surveying, identifying, and recording threatened, endangered and sensitive plant species information in order to meet environmental assessment requirements. Collecting and summarizing data and administering plant species projects.
OR
Two (2) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Master's degree or a Master's or equivalent graduate degree is a plant related program of study from an accredited institution.
OR
The successful combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond 18 semester hours) that together meets the qualification requirements for this position.

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

Please see Qualifications section

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 eligible for telework.

This is a term, time-limited appointment with an initial duration no less than 13 months and can be extended up to a total of 4 years.

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/10571271

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