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Forestry Technician (Hazard Tree Management)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Mount Rainier National Park
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is a Forestry Technician (Hazard Tree Management) located in Mount Rainier National Park, in the Cultural and Natural Resources Division.

This position is concurrently open to current Federal employees under Announcement Number PW-1545-MORA-20-10721468-MP

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
02/18/2020 to 03/02/2020
Salary
$57,955 to - $75,343 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Longmire, WA
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
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent - Career Seasonal, subject to Non-Pay Status
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PW-1545-MORA-20-10722723-DE
Control number
559830900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens; CTAP and ICTAP eligibles

Duties

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A permanent career-seasonal position includes all the benefits of permanent employment, but does not provide employment on a full year-round basis. As such, selectee will be in a non-pay/non-duty status for at least 2 weeks to 6 months per year based on project requirements or weather conditions. Selectee is guaranteed to work at least 6 months per year but not more than 50 weeks per year, with the work schedule to be determined upon appointment. The typical season for Mount Rainier National Park is February through November, but can be variable during these months due to project requirements or weather conditions.

The incumbent is responsible for planning, carrying out, and supervising implementation of the hazard tree management program including: inventory and monitoring of forest trees, pests, and pathogens; hazard tree surveillance and evaluation; field data collection, including mapping (geographic information system tools); data management and reporting; administrative work; and supervisory duties.

Work will be conducted independently and will require the appointee to be self-directed and motivated. The incumbent is under the direct supervision of the park Plant Ecologist and will supervise seasonal employees in technical assessments and hazard tree control. The employee will be expected to work in a team atmosphere, be responsible for creating a safe and inclusive environment, and to communicate professionally and respectfully with staff of this and other parks, agencies and partners. The position organizationally is located within the Division of Natural and Cultural Resources at Mount Rainier National Park.

Responsibilities include:

  • Conducts surveys to evaluate hazard tree potential using current methodologies and techniques.
  • Performs forest health assessments and studies using knowledge of tree and forest health issues, including tree species, tree pests and pathogens.
  • Tracks hazard trees through coordinated, regular monitoring of status or mitigation using standardized data collection methods in a geodatabase.
  • Proposes appropriate treatments and mitigations of hazard trees to ensure public and employee safety.
  • Participates in tree treatment and follow-up evaluations.
  • Coordinates complex work planning with other divisions and contractors, including overseeing tree mitigations.
  • Prepares technical reports summarizing hazard tree program actions.
  • Provides expert comments on compliance matters related to forest management.
  • Develops annual work plans for the hazard tree management program in keeping with program goals and emergent needs.
  • Manages project budgets.
  • Inventories and maintains equipment needed for hazard tree assessment and mitigation.
  • Acts as supervisor and provides leadership and training to seasonal field crews, including interns and staff from other divisions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • Preferred: Current or previous certification in chainsaw use for tree treatments and felling (e.g. NPS Chainsaw Safety Program for Non-Wildland Fire Operators (NCSP) at the level of a working faller)
  • Ability to obtain qualifications in USFS Region 6 Hazard Tree Assessment within 1 year of EOD (training arranged by supervisor)
  • Preferred: Current or previous Qualification in Hazard Tree Assessment using standard methodologies.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
  • You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1-5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-03/02/2020-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying 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.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position. 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. If a part-time work schedule is reflected, the hours must be annotated to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-08 level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector; measuring forest stands or individual trees, including diagnosing defects or health issues or identifying hazardous trees, to make recommendations in forest or urban tree management decisions. Examples of qualifying experience include, but are not limited to: inventorying, studying, or implementing studies of forest stands, including forest vegetation documentation and/or pests and pathogen presence and effects; recommending and/or implementing tree mitigations; using geodatabase or database software to document high quality field data; coordinating forest management efforts from field surveys to tree removal; providing leadership, training and supervision to forest field crews; summarizing forest management efforts, verbally and in writing.


-OR-

Successful completion of at least 2 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or master's or equivalent graduate degree related to the occupation, such as, but not limited to, forestry, forest stewardship, forest or plant pathology, forest or plant entomology, plant biology or ecology, fire sciences, conservation or environmental sciences, natural resource management.

-OR-

Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of completed graduate education beyond the first year by 18 (or 27 for quarter hours). Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.

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.

Additional information

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. The employee may need to hike long distance carrying a heavy load and work in steep and unstable terrain at elevations from 2000 to 7000ft. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings and in all weather. Employee will handle sharp tools and technical implements and perform physical labor as a regular part of their duties. Planning, administrative duties, data management, and report writing are sedentary, and entail the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Assignments may be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, volcanoes, firelines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

ICTAP/CTAP Clearance: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information,
https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information

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

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:
  • Forest Management
  • Leadership
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application

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