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Forester

Department of the Interior
Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs
Northwest Region
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Superintendent, Yakama Agency, Office of the Superintendent, Forestry in White Swan, Washington.


NOTE:
TRAVEL AND RELOCATION EXPENSES WILL BE AUTHORIZED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATIONS.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
04/30/2020 to 05/21/2020
Salary
$34,916 to - $68,777 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 9
Location
White Swan, WA
2 vacancies
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel may be required for meetings, training or work related activities.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Q Access Authorization
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
NW-20-91
Control number
567143900

Duties

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  • Plan, schedule, direct, supervise and conduct forest-wide field work and data collection for Continuous Forest Inventory and other forest resource surveys and administrative studies.
  • Plan, schedule, direct, supervise and conduct forest-wide timber cruises for Realty transactions and proposed utilization harvest timber sales.
  • Act as a Timber Sale Officer in charge of one or more large complex logging units.
  • Designate timber for cutting through application of technical silvicultural prescriptions, assignments include forest-wide conditions.
  • Assist in the preparation of forest-wide guidelines and training programs.
  • Collect and compile field data for logging statistics, progress reports, inspection reports and special studies.
  • Summarize and analyze data, prepare maps, reports findings, evaluates results and makes recommendations.
  • Evaluate current forest conditions, identify desired future conditions, calculate the maximum amount of timber which can be harvested annually, and develop silvicultural prescriptions and harvest schedules.
  • Prepare contracts and permits for the sale of timber and other forest products. Prepares Forest Officer's Report that contains all pertinent information about the proposed sale.

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.
  • This position is subject to both pre-employment and random drug testing as a condition of employment. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions, Individual Occupation Requirements for Forestry Series GS-0460. And OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions, 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-09: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level in the Federal Service (obtained in either the public or private section). This experience must include timber sale preparation; delineation of stand boundaries and harvest operability; designation of timber for harvest; stand examination and timber cruising; preparation of documents relating to timber sale packages and other forestry matters; administer the sale of timber through contract procedures, professional application of forest management principles; train forestry technicians and tribal employees in the technical and professional application of various techniques and procedures in Forestry.
OR
EDUCATION:
Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree (36 semester hours, 54 quarter hours or equivalent), in a forestry related curriculum.

GS-07: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level in the Federal Service (obtained in either the public or private section). This experience must include work involving timber sale preparation: delineation of stand boundaries and harvest operability; designation of timber for harvest; stand examination and timber cruising; preparation of documents relating to timber sale packages and other forestry matters.
OR
EDUCATION:
1 year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: Graduate education must be related to the occupation and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. S.A.A. is based on (1) Class standing-applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class, based on completed courses; or (2) Grade-Point Average-applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (3) Election to membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society - membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.

GS-05: If you have met the Basic Requirements for this position then you are qualified at the entry grade level of a GS-5.

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).

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 White Swan, Washington 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-9. Promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. A career ladder promotion is at the discretion of management, and in no way guaranteed.

TELEWORK: Indian Affairs has determined that the duties of the position are not suitable for telework under any circumstances.

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 05/21/2020 to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position. Competencies measured include:

  • Cost Benefit Analysis
  • Financial Management
  • Forest Management
  • Soil Science

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/10808696.

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