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Forester

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

Summary

This position is located with Bureau of Indian Affairs, Deputy Director, Trust Services in Billings, MT. The incumbents will assist in providing protection and overall enhancement of forested lands.

This position is being advertised concurrently with ST-22-11617439-CBXH-RH. Applicants who wish to be considered for both vacancies need to submit a separate application for each announcement.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
08/25/2022 to 09/09/2022
Salary
$36,118 to - $71,146 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 9
Location
Billings, MT
5 vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
75% or less - Travel may be required up to 10 or more nights per month.
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
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
DE-22-11617411-CBXH-RH
Control number
673155600

Duties

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  • Plan, schedule, direct, supervise, and/or 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/or conduct forest-wide timber cruises for Realty transactions and proposed utilization harvest timber sales.
  • Act as 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; report findings; evaluate results; and makes recommendations.
  • Evaluate current forest conditions, identify desired future conditions, calculate the maximum amount of timber which can be harvested annual, 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

  • TELEWORK: Indian Affairs has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
  • U.S. Citizenship Required
  • Indian Preference applies
  • 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.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

  1. 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
  1. 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 Requirement:

GS-05:
Applicants must meet the Basic Requirement.

GS-07:
In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, applicants must have one (1) year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 in the Federal Service (obtained in either the public or private sector). Specialized experience includes work involving timber sale preparation: delineation of stand boundaries and harvest operability; designation of timber for harvest; stand examination and timber cruising; assist in the preparation of documents relating to timber sale packages and other forestry matters.

OR

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, applicants must have Superior Academic Achievement which included one of the following:
1) Class standing-applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class, based on completed courses; or
2) Grade-Point Average-applicant 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.

OR

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, applicants must have successfully completed one full year of appropriate graduate level education (18 semester hours, 27 quarter hours or equivalent), in an accredited college or university, that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform the work of this position.

OR

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, Applicants must have a combination of progressively higher level related graduate education and appropriate specialized experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.

GS-09:
In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, applicants must have at least one (1) year of full-time, specialized experience equivalent to least the GS-7 in the Federal Service (obtained in either the public or private sector). Specialized experience includes delineation of stand boundaries and harvest operability; designation of timer for harvest; stand examination and timber cruising; administer the sale of timber through contract procedures and the professional application of forest management principles; training of forestry technicians and tribal employees in the technical and professional application of various techniques and procedures in Forestry.

OR

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, applicants have successfully completed at least two (2) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree, in an accredited college or university, that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform the work of this position.

OR

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, applicants must have a combination of specialized experience as described in A and progressive graduate study as described in B beyond the first year, that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.


All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See applicable 2021 Salary Tables here.

The full performance level of this position is GS-09. Identification of 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.

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 .

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.

Current appointees: 1) must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited appointment with a land management agency; 2) must have served under one or more time limited appointment(s) by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years; AND 3) must have performed at an acceptable level during each period of service.

Former appointees: 1) must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited appointment with a land management agency; 2) must have served under one or more time limited appointment(s) by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years; 3) must have separated for reasons other than misconduct or performance; AND 4) must have performed at an acceptable level through the service period.

If you are unable to apply online, require reasonable accommodation in the application process if you are an applicant with a disability, or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume will be evaluated after the closing date to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position described above. Qualified candidates will then be further evaluated to assess the quality, depth, and complexity of your accomplishments, experience, and education in relation to the competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the position as demonstrated by your responses to the assessment questions. 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 your responses to the assessment questions cannot be supported by your resume, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your experience. Qualified applicants will be evaluated, rated and referred to the selecting official under category rating procedures, and placed in one of the following categories:

BEST QUALIFIED: Applicants possess all of the job related competencies identified above.

WELL QUALIFIED: Applicants possess a majority of the job related competencies.

QUALIFIED: Applicants meet the basic eligibility and minimum qualification requirements but do not meet the definition of Best Qualified or Well Qualified.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

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/11617411. Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

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