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Forester

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located on the Inyo National Forest in Mammoth Lakes, CA.

The incumbent performs presale and sale administration duties in the timber management program.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Scott Kusumoto at scott.kusumoto@usda.gov or 760-924-5522 or 760-920-3589.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
08/06/2020 to 08/20/2020
Salary
$43,251 to - $52,905 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Mammoth Lakes, CA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel for training and/or meetings. Also, project related work.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation expenses may be reimbursed at the discretion of management 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
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
20-0504-10880149-DP-GVS
Control number
575541100

Duties

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  • Assembles and reviews the timber sales contract package.
  • Determines, plans and arranges for the resources needed to complete the layout of sales.
  • Identifies and verifies the land status and environmental constraints affecting layout of the proposed project on the ground.
  • Reviews, compiles and analyzes field data. Completes environmental assessment reports and environmental impact statements.
  • Prepares and ensures quality of documentation such as detailed maps, timber sale appraisals, timber sales write up, advertisements, prospectus, and sample contracts for the sale.
  • Arranges for interviews of prospective purchasers and explains contract clauses, road development, and cutting practices.
  • Monitors and oversees cruising and marking of timber and prepares general logging plans and verifies logging system settings.
  • Conducts inspections of logging operations to determine compliance with specific contract provisions.
  • Maintains records of timber cut and ensures collection of payments as required to keep payments ahead of cutting schedules.
  • Develops methods and ensures that required methods are enforced.
  • Ensures that all products removed are accounted for.
  • Develops and maintains liaison with purchaser sales representatives.

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 date the certificate of eligible candidates is issued. 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.

Basic Requirement: Forestry Series, 0460

Degree:
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in 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

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 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

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

Specialized Experience Requirement:

For the GS-7 level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 grade level; OR one full year of graduate level education (18 semester hours); OR an appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience; OR Superior Academic Achievement (to determine if you are eligible, go to: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Examples of specialized experience are: performed assignments, such as collected and recorded data for forest research and/or program requirements; conducted studies of forest resources or studies of timber stand improvement problems, reported observations and recommended solutions to problems; and/or cruised and marked timber, running sale boundary lines, receiving training as a scalar.

For the GS-9 level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level; OR two (2) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or have received a master's or equivalent graduate degree in biological science or directly related coursework. OR an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education (beyond 18 semester hours). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Examples of specialized experience are: assisted with timber sale contracts, ensuring that all contract provisions were enforced in accordance with contract objectives; conducted cruises of timber stands to determine volume of merchantable timber, species composition, accessibility, and environmental constraints; performed related timber sale preparation, timber stand improvement, and reforestation duties; and/or collected timber compartment and stand prescription, or presale information data.

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 for education that may be qualifying for the specific grade level.

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 being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number20-0504-10878388-G-GVS. 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.

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.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government Housing is not available

Daycare facilities are not available.

This position may be eligible for situational telework.

Relocation Incentive is authorized. Final determination will be made at the time of the job offer.

Selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. Questions should be directed to the Travel Help Desk, 877-372-7248, Option 1, or email SM.FS.asc_tos@usda.gov

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/10880149

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