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FORESTRY TECHNICIAN (TIMBER SALE PREP)

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. This type of announcement provides the Forest Service with a readily available source of applicants when vacancies occur. Eligibility and qualifications will be verified when there is a vacancy for the location and grade for which you applied.

Information on specific locations where jobs are being filled and the dates when applications are due for these locations may be found at Forest Service website.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/01/2020 to 11/30/2020
Salary
$34,916 to - $34,916 per year

Salary wage as shown is for Rest of the U.S. For more information, refer to the Office of Personnel Management, Salary and Wages web page.

Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 7
Locations
FEW vacancies in the following locations:
Andalusia, AL
Brent, AL
Double Springs, AL
Heflin, AL
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
7
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
20-R8OCR-462-TSP-5-6-7DP
Control number
564079200

Duties

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  • The responsibilities listed below are at the full performance level.
  • Lay out timber sale boundaries in accordance with environmental assessments.
  • Mark or designate harvestable timber for appraisal of timber.
  • Draft timber cruise plans and sample surveys to estimate quality and quantity of timber.
  • Interpret silvicultural prescriptions and marking guides to designate harvestable timber.
  • Perform timber cruising duties including estimating volume, defect and quality timber using standard cruising methods such as 3P and fixed variable plot, tree measurement, species identification, and traversing.
  • Inform responsible individual of situations where prescriptions do not fit ground conditions for consistency with prescription.
  • Provide instruction to apprentice cruisers on measuring timber and cruise methods and techniques for appraisals.
  • Provide technical assistance to specialists in the development of logging plans and preliminary road location.
  • Write reports describing timber sale, resource, topographic features, and compliance of timber marking.
  • Draft cruise plans for use by higher level specialists.
  • Draft sale area maps.

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 General Schedule Qualification 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.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

For the GS-5 level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level in Federal service; OR successful completion of a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position; OR successful completion of a 4-year course of study that included at least 24 semester hours in forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science (no more than 6 credit hours in mathematics is creditable); OR combination of education and specialized experience that together meets the requirements of the position being filled. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Examples of specialized experience are: Performed crew based forestry related support work such as selecting and marking individual trees for harvest using well defined marking guidelines, silviculture prescriptions, and specific instruction and/or assisted in the measurement of limiting distances, tree diameter, tree height, estimation of defect and quality, and related fundamental timber cruising procedures.

For the GS-6 level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in Federal service; OR one full year (18 semester hours) of successfully completed graduate level coursework that is directly related to the work of the position (such as forestry, range management, agriculture); OR combination of graduate level education and specialized experience that together meets the requirements of the position being filled. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Examples of specialized experience are: Provided support with tree measurements, map reading and compass use, species identification, defect recognition and determination, quality determination, traversing, use of aerial photos, and use of timber cruising tools and techniques; Interpreted silvicultural prescriptions and timber marking guides to designate harvest timber; Measured amount and quantity of timber in designated timber sale areas; Applied instructions issued in a cruise plan.

For the GS-7 level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level in Federal service; OR one full year (18 semester hours) of successfully completed graduate level coursework that is directly related to the work of the position(such as forestry, range management, agriculture); OR combination of graduate level education and specialized experience that together meets the requirements of the position being filled. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Examples of specialized experience are: Used computer programs required for data collection, cruise processing, traversing, and Global Positioning Systems (GPS); experience in the fundamentals of timber cruising including: tree measurements, map reading and compass use, species identification, defect recognition and determination, quality determination, traversing, use of aerial photos, and use of timber cruising tools and instruments; use of sampling systems such as 3P, fixed area, point, and sample tree to determine statistically sound cruise samples.

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

See above education requirements in lieu of specialized experience.

Additional information

The primary purpose of this position is to perform timber sale preparation duties including, timber marking, timber cruising, and sale layout as part of the timber organization.

Information on specific locations where jobs are being filled and the dates when applications are due for these locations may be found at Forest Service website.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. 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.

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).

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.
Information on special hiring authorities may be found on the USAJOBS website.

This position is being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number 20-R8OCR-462-TSP-5-6-7G. Current or former Federal employees or other eligible applicants may apply to both announcements to expand all possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information.

This position may be eligible for telework and other flexible work arrangements.

This position may be represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW.

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

Government housing may be available.

This announcement may be used to fill positions with a full-time work schedule or a seasonal work schedule where full-time work is guaranteed for 13 pay periods or 18 pay periods per year and when not working, you will be placed in non-pay/non-duty status. The work schedule will be based on the location where the position is filled.

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/10749572

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