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Botanist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

There are two (2) positions located in the Pacific Northwest Region, Region 6 at Ochoco and Fremont-Winema National Forests.

For additional information, please contact the following:

  • Ochoco National Forest, Johanna Kovarik, johanna.kovarik@usda.gov, 541-416-6449. One (1) position will be filled at Prineville, Oregon.
  • Fremont-Winema National Forest, Jeannette Wilson, jeannette.wilson@usda.gov, (541) 480-2321. One (1) position will be filled at either Paisley or Silver Lake, Oregon.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
02/25/2022 to 03/03/2022
Salary
$54,727 to - $66,214 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 9 - 11
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Paisley, OR
Prineville, OR
Silver Lake, OR
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel to Supervisor's Office and Ranger Districts on the Forest for training and meetings. Possible overnight travel and camping based on the Forest needs.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
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
22-R6-GVA-11403320-DP-EGK
Control number
639339100

Duties

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  • Duties listed are at the full performance level.
  • Serves as a Botanist providing technical expertise to the Forest on threatened, endangered and sensitive plant species and plant community and vegetation management.
  • Participates on an interdisciplinary team as a Botanical expert in the environmental analysis process.
  • Coordinates restoration project needs, surveying and monitoring sensitive plant species, invasive plant surveys and treatments, seed collection, and data collection.
  • Prepares biological evaluations for project planning purposes.
  • Documents and maintains invasive and native plant surveys, inventories, and monitoring records in appropriate data base.
  • Makes recommendations concerning which plants should be considered sensitive on the Forest.

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.

Basic Requirement: Botany Series, 430
Degree: Successfully completed a full 4-year course in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in: botany; or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience -- courses equivalent to a major in botany or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

For positions dealing with the study of fungi, or with basic mycological relationships, the course work in botany must have included at least 6 semester hours in mycology. Evaluation of Education: Courses in basic botany, plant anatomy or morphology, cytology, histology, genetics, taxonomy or systematics, algology, mycology, ethnobotany, and those dealing with specific problems of a botanical nature or with specific groups of plants are qualifying. The courses required for mycologists are specific and must have been in mycology.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement described above, the following specialized experience and/or directly related education is required for the grade specified.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

For the GS-09: Applicant must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service. Qualifying specialized experience includes meeting one or more of the following: Assisted in the evaluation, development, implementation, and monitoring of invasive species and native plant community restoration projects; Located, surveyed, identified, and recorded threatened, endangered and sensitive plant species information in order to meet environmental assessment requirements; Documented and maintained invasive and native plant surveys, inventories, and monitoring records.
OR
Successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related.
OR
Combination of specialized experience and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

For the GS-11: Applicant must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 in the Federal service. Qualifying specialized experience includes meeting one or more of the following: Developed, evaluated and monitored threatened, endangered and sensitive plant species and plant community and vegetation management programs; Conducted and oversaw vegetation inventories, population, and community monitoring; Assisted in the development and implementation of management plans for the protection and enhancement of habitat for special status plants, and the control of noxious weeds or other invasive species.
OR
Successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related.
OR
Combination of specialized experience and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

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.

Work Experience: Your resume must clearly document the following for each block of work experience; the beginning day, month and year the work assignment started and ended; the hours worked per week; position title, and series and grade if applicable; and description of duties performed. This information must be provided for each permanent, temporary, or seasonal appointment/work assignment or volunteer work and should be clearly documented as a separate block of time. Incomplete, inaccurate, or conflicting work history may not be credited for qualifications purposes. This can result in an applicant not being considered for the position.

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.

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.

This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/

This position performs limited supervisory duties.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

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.

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

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/11403320

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