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Forester

Department of the Interior
Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs
Central Office
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located with Central Office, Office of Trust Services, Division of Forestry & Wildland Fire Management.
ONE POSITION TO BE FILLED IN ONE OF THE 11 LOCATIONS IDENTIFIED ABOVE.
NOTE:YOU WILL ONLY BE ALLOWED TO SELECT YOUR TOP TWO CHOICES OF THE DUTY LOCATION DESIRED.


NOTE:
TRAVEL AND RELOCATION EXPENSES WILL NOT BE AUTHORIZED. ANY RELOCATION EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH REPORTING FOR DUTY WILL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SELECTED EMPLOYEE.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
02/14/2020 to 02/28/2020
Salary
$107,807 to - $140,146 per year

Salary will be set in accordance with pay scale of finalized location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Phoenix, AZ
Sacramento, CA
Denver, CO
Boise, ID
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
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Q Access Authorization
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CO-20-20
Control number
559934800

Duties

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  • Serve as staff specialist and expert consultant regarding the forestry projects program.
  • Develop national policies, standard guides and instructions covering all phase of work involved in the management of Indian and Alaska Native forest resources.
  • Provide technical direction for the formulation of national policies and procedures for program administration of forest development, woodlands management, THI and youth development.
  • Prepare proposed legislation for the appropriate Congressional Committees on all matters associated with Indian forest resources management and recommends alternative wording on proposals generated outside the agency.
  • Plans work for subordinate, establishes priorities and prepares schedules for its competition.
  • Responsible, within framework of existing Indian preference laws, for insuring equal opportunity for all employees under their supervision.
  • Formulate and direct plans and efforts designed to enhance and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all trust resources/programs.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship Required
  • Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act of 1934 (title 25, USC Section 472). Form BIA -4432 must be submitted with the application if claiming Indian Preference.
  • You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit
  • You may be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
  • A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
  • Incumbent is required to operate a government motor vehicle, must possess a valid driver's license, and have a safe driving record within the 3 year period immediately preceding submittal of GSA Form 3607.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions and Individual Occupational Requirements for Forestry Series, GS-0460).

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL GRADES:

A. Degree: forestry; or a related subject-matter field that included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours of course work were in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently diversified to include courses in each of the following areas:

  • Management of Renewable Resources -- study of the science and art of managing renewable resources to attain desired results. Examples of creditable courses in this area include silviculture, forest management operations, timber management, wildland fire science or fire management, utilization of forest resources, forest regulation, recreational land management, watershed management, and wildlife or range habitat management.
  • Forest Biology -- study of the classification, distribution, characteristics, and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of living organisms to the forest environment. Examples of creditable courses in this area include dendrology, forest ecology, silvics, forest genetics, wood structure and properties, forest soils, forest entomology, and forest pathology.
  • Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory -- sampling, inventory, measurement, and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources. Examples of creditable courses include forest biometrics, forest mensuration, forest valuation, statistical analysis of forest resource data, renewable natural resources inventories and analysis, and photogrammetry or remote sensing.
-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in forestry, or at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours in forestry are the same as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: In addition to meeting the basic entry level qualification requirements, applicants must have the following:

GS-14: In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, I have at least 1 year of specialized experience or the equivalent, comparable to at least the GS-13 in the Federal Service (obtained in either the public or private sector). Specialized experience includes providing advisory expertise at the national level for coordination and policy development and guidance for the forestry projects program, to the Office of the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (ASIA), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) installations, tribal governments and other Federal Agencies; managing the forestry projects program; review and prepare narrative budget justifications, furnish statistical and other reports in support of the program, and oversee revision of contract and other forms necessary to accomplish forestry activities; review and recommend responses to legislative proposals relating to the management of Indian forest resources.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Merit Promotion candidates must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the announcement closing date.

Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act of 1934 (title 25, USC Section 472).

Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur in the same location within 90 days from the closing date.

Education

If you are qualifying based on your education, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

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.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows the 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. For further information, visit: FOREIGN EDUCATION

Additional information

All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2020 Salary Tables here and select the duty station from the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Anadarko, Oklahoma, Billings, Montana, Boise, Idaho, Denver, Colorado, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Nashville, Tennessee, Phoenix, Arizona, Portland, Oregon, and Sacramento, California to choose the appropriate pay chart. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart.

The full performance level of this position is GS-14.

TELEWORK: Indian Affairs has determined that the duties of the position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

You will be required to operate a government-owned or leased motor vehicle in the performance of duties, therefore, a valid driver's license is required. Incumbent must have a safe driving record within the three-year period immediately preceding submittal of GSA Form 3607 and be able to meet the safe driving requirements of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp .

Certain candidates may be eligible to apply under a special hiring authority including those for disabled individuals, Peace Corps employees, Foreign Service employees, veterans, etc. For more information, visit the following OPM websites: USAJOBS Information Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/; Vets Info Guide: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/.

Former Federal Employees are required to indicate whether they received a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) buyout in their previous employment with the Federal government, and are required to submit a copy of the applicable Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) regarding the VSIP. Most individuals who accept reemployment with the Federal government within 5 years of receiving the VSIP amount, must repay the gross amount of the separation pay prior to reemployment.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application package will be evaluated against the minimum qualification requirements specified above. In order to qualify, your resume must specifically describe your work history and the duties you performed in each position. Your resume will be evaluated after the closing date of 02/28/2020 to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position. Competencies measured include:

  • Forest Management
  • Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
  • Manages Human Resources
  • Planning and Evaluating

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If the information in your resume does not support your responses to the assessment questions, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your qualifications.

Qualified Indian preference candidates will be referred to the hiring manager in order of veterans' preference.

You may preview the assessment questions here in the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10726897.

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