Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Forestry Technician (Timber Stand Improvement)

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The duty location for positions filled through this announcement are not remote and will be located at a Forest Service office. Final determination of the duty location will be made at the time of the job offer. To see where these Forest Service offices are located and where each position is being filled, click here. Click here to view each region or national office staff name to see the different locations within the Forest Service.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
03/11/2022 to 03/28/2022
Salary
$40,262 to - $71,146 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 6 - 9
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Location Negotiable After Selection, United States
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for site visits, meetings, and/or trainings.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - or Permanent Seasonal (18/8 or 13/13) based on location.
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9 - Full performance level (target grade) will vary based on location of position.
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
22-NHE-0462-6789-FS3336-G
Control number
642241700

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

Current permanent federal employees with competitive status, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP and VEOA eligibles, Farm Service Agency permanent county employees, 30 percent or More Disabled Veterans, Certain Former Overseas and Foreign Service Employees, Military Spouses, Interchange Agreement and Other Miscellaneous Authorities, People with Disabilities, Peace Corps and VISTA, Reinstatement, Public Land Corps, Resource Assistant Program, and VRA eligible candidates.

Duties

Help
  • Identify specific treatment needs for site preparation, regeneration, animal damage, release, and stocking level control in support of silvicultural prescriptions.
  • Conduct reforestation and stocking surveys of recently planted tracts using standard methods and techniques.
  • Inspect silvicultural contract work (e.g., genetic tree improvement, planting, thinning, seeding, site preparation) for compliance with contracts.
  • Conduct on-site observation of timber crews engaged in timber stand improvement or reforestation efforts.
  • Ensure all provisions are enforced and proper measures are taken to protect and enhance resource values.
  • Check for compliance on corrective actions identified during inspections and recommend final acceptance of contracts upon completion.
  • Inspect silvicultural contract work (e.g., genetic tree improvement, planting, thinning, seeding, site preparation) for compliance with contract.
  • Correct minor problems in direct contact with COR.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered 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.gov

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-06: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 federal grade level. Examples of specialize experience include: Assisted in planning timber stand improvement projects that were without clear precedents or guides; Gathered field data, prepared reports, diagrams, charts, and graphs for timber management programs or projects; Reviewed applicability of standard contract clauses for reforestation, timber thinning, fertilizing, stand exams, cone collection, site preparation, and animal damage control; Performed timber stand improvement (TSI) surveys to determine stand condition and the need for TSI treatments.

For the GS-07: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 federal grade level. Examples of specialize experience include: Performed reforestation and stocking surveys to determine reforestation and Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) needs; Collected basic silvicultural data; Assisted in preparation of the technical specifications for TSI, site preparation, tree planting, or silvicultural contracts; Performed reconnaissance to locate timber sale area boundaries to develop logging plans and preliminary road location.

For the GS-08: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 federal grade level. Examples of specialize experience include: Conducted field surveys, made recommendations for treatment needs, such as non-commercial thinning, site preparation, and reforestation; Monitored and inspected timber stand improvement operations having conventional contract requirements and conditions; Inspected timber stand improvement areas for compliance with contract clauses and prepared written reports of site inspections and made follow-ups on deficiencies.

For the GS-09: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-08 federal grade level. Examples of specialize experience include: Assisted with field evaluations, providing information for site treatment needs, site preparation, natural and artificial regeneration, and stocking level control; Maintained/updated silvicultural electronic folders, electronic activity databases and associated Geographical Information System(GIS) layer(s); Conducted vegetative examinations of designated areas at the polygon level to evaluate existing conditions; Served as Contracting Officer Representative on specific timber contracts.

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.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

See Qualifications section for educational requirements.

Continued from Additional Information:
*This announcement may be used to fill positions with a seasonal work schedule where full-time work is guaranteed for 18 pay periods (18/8 Seasonal) or 13 pay periods (13/13 Seasonal) and when not working, you will be placed in non-pay/non-duty status.

*This position is being concurrently announced under 22-NHE-0462-6789-FS3336-DP to all qualified candidates. Applying to both announcements may expand the possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement.

Forest Service daycare may be available.

Government Housing may be available.

Additional information

PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 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 neither implied or guaranteed.

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 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).

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status such as leave without pay is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website.


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/

Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.

*Additional Information continued in the Education Section.

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 based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the competencies listed below:

  • Contracting/Procurement
  • Forest Management
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Technical Competence


Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.

If you meet the qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified, you will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities must meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. 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.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11417953

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.