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Geodesist

Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service, National Geodetic Survey, Geodetic Services Division
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the National Ocean Service (NGS), National Geodetic Survey (NGS), Geodetic Services Division (GSD), with one vacancy in Corbin, VA.

This position is also announced under vacancy number NOS-23-12085568-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
08/17/2023 to 08/30/2023
Salary
$72,001 to - $112,190 per year
Pay scale & grade
ZP 3
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Corbin, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Up to 15% of domestic and foreign travel may be required for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
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
NOS-23-12085570-DE
Control number
743694800

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Duties

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As a Geodesist, you will be performing the following duties:

  • Participate as a team member in a variety of geo-spatial measurement activities including the design and conduct of geodetic surveys and studies using classical and non-classical data collection techniques. Conduct geodetic data reduction and analysis to ascertain geodetic survey accuracy and reliability, and develop reports on geodetic survey and study findings.
  • Participate as a team member in the development and delivery of training materials, including providing training to internal and external stakeholders on the development and design of geodetic products and procedures. Serve on a team tasked with the development and design of geodetic procedures and training materials.
  • Participate as a team member in the testing of new and emerging geo-positioning technology systems, to assess their usefulness in meeting agency geo-spatial positioning goals and objectives.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

This position will be filled under the DOC Alternative Personnel Systems (CAPS). This system replace the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band.

The ZP-3 is equivalent to theGS-11/12.

* A one year probationary period may be required.
* Payment of relocation expenses is not authorized.
* This position is not in the bargaining unit.

Key Requirements:
  1. Must be a U.S. Citizen.
  2. Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
  3. Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.
  • A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
  • Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT/PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: This position requires the operation of a Federal motor vehicle. This position has physical requirements. The position requires occasional travel to remote locations to conduct geodetic surveys; field work may include exposure to an outdoor environment involving moderate discomforts such as exposure to rain, cold/hot weather and occasional long, odd hours. To support field geodetic surveys, the incumbent must occasionally set geodetic control marks, requiring the ability to lift and maneuver equipment up to 40 pounds with assistance, and to bend, lift, and stoop. When conducting field geodetic surveys, must be able to stand for extended periods of time and/or walk for long distances of up to 6 miles per day. To perform duties associated with field work, the incumbent must be able to operate a motor vehicle, occasionally towing a utility trailer containing surveying equipment.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements:

EDUCATION:

Degree: geodesy; or 30 semester hours in any combination of geodesy, mathematics, physics, astronomy, engineering science, surveying, geodetic surveying, photogrammetry, or geophysics. The course work must have included differential and integral calculus.

OR

Combination of education and experience: course work as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

AND

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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.

To qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11 level:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

  • Using geodetic survey instrumentation to implement field geodetic surveys;
  • Assisting with field geodetic surveys using classical and modern data-collection techniques; and
  • Preparing and presenting geodetic reports or training materials to internal or external stakeholders.

OR

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

OR

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience as described above. Note: Only graduate education in excess of two full years is qualifying for combination of education and experience

Education

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation.

Additional information

Well-qualified for CTAP and ICTAP eligibility includes those candidates who have been determined to exceed minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85, but otherwise may or may not be among the highly or best-qualified candidates. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

  1. A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice).
  2. A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action", noting current position, grade level, and duty location;
  3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.
ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:
  1. A copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; notice of disability annuity termination; certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement;
  2. A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc;
  3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.
Non-Competitive Reinstatement to a Higher Grade/Band than Previously Held MUST submit the following documents:
1. SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action: you must provide the most current Notification of Personnel Action (Form SF-50) that verifies career/career-conditional status, title, series, and highest grade level held on a permanent basis for your previous position. (do not submit an Award SF-50) AND, the SF-50 that verifies your separation date; AND.
2. Performance Appraisal - most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. Do not submit a performance plan that does not include this information.

NOAA participates in e-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.

The Department of the Commerce (DOC) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

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 above.

We will review your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions) and place you in one of the three pre-defined categories. The categories are "gold", "silver" and "bronze". However, your resume or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Candidates placed in the "gold" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview. The best-qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview. The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

Customer Service (Clerical/Technical), Surveying, and Technical Competence

How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans' preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed. Preference eligible with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category (gold) depending on the position and grade level of the job. For more information on Category Rating, please go to Category Rating.

Category rating will be used in the ranking and selection process for this position. The quality categories are Gold, Silver, and Bronze. You will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you are eligible, your on-line responses to the application questions will determine your placement in the appropriate quality category described above. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.

NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible and/or not qualified.

To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12085570

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