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Environmental Protection Specialist

Department of the Interior
Office of the Secretary of the Interior
Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Department of the Interior is devoted to protecting and preserving the natural resources of this great nation, including National Parks, Landmarks, and the well-being of communities, including those of Native American, Alaska Natives and affiliated Islanders.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
10/11/2023 to 10/31/2023
Salary
$91,753 to - $141,836 per year

First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.

Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Lakewood, CO
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for site visits, fieldwork, meetings, training, and conferences.
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
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
OS-6016-23-ETA-211(DEU)
Control number
753826100

Duties

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This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary, Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment in Lakewood, CO.

At the full performance level (GS-13) the major duties of this position include but are not limited to the following:

  1. Provide direct support to Authorized Official and case team efforts, as requested, to assess injuries to natural and cultural resources, and plan, implement, and monitor habitat restoration and conservation activities throughout the United States and internationally.
  2. Serve as a technical expert on natural resource damage assessment case teams, providing support on the restoration needs of injured natural resources throughout the process of damage claim development.
  3. Support natural resource damage practitioners in planning restoration projects, developing and/or reviewing design and construction drawings, writing and submitting permit documents, and performing construction oversight during restoration project implementation.
  4. Develop detailed cost evaluations for restoration projects at various stages of project design.
  5. Support Department economists with restoration scaling and natural resource modeling.
  6. Support data preparation, assessment, integration, and analysis, as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications support.
  7. Write and review various plans and reports that support natural resource damage assessment restoration, including National Environmental Policy Act compliance and habitat restoration monitoring plans.
  8. Provide direction and oversight to outside entities supporting program initiatives, serving as the contracting officer's representative (COR).
  9. Develop policy, guidance, procedures, tools, and practices that enhance the Department's conservation efforts by restoring injured resources and habitats more efficiently and effectively.
  10. Represent the Restoration Support Unit with internal and external partners with the goal of strengthening coordination and partnership with these groups.
The Office of the Secretary has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Salary Information:
GS-12: Step 1: $91,753 - GS, 12 Step 10: $119,280 per annum.
GS-13: Step 1: $109,107 - GS-13, Step 10: $141,836 per annum.

First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the lower salary range of the grade level.

This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.

This vacancy is also announced as OS-6016-23-ETA-212(MP) for those applicants who wish to apply and be considered under Merit Promotion procedures.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  1. You must be a U.S. Citizen.
  2. You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination.
  3. You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.
  4. You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire.
  5. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

To qualify for this position you must meet the Specialized Experience for the grade to which you are applying.


Specialized Experience:
To qualify for the GS-12,
you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

  1. Experience applying the theories, principles, and methods of natural and cultural resource management as it relates to injury assessment, habitat restoration, land management, and fish and wildlife management; and
  2. Experience working with natural resource damage assessment and restoration case teams in assessing injuries to and restoration of natural resources; and
  3. Experience in habitat restoration planning, design, costing, and project implementation; and
  4. Experience monitoring of natural resource restoration projects in a variety of inland and coastal habitat types, including but not limited to, aspects of invasive species management, habitat enhancements for threatened and endangered species and migratory birds, coastal and freshwater wetland restoration, and instream and riparian habitat restoration.
Must meet all.

To qualify for the GS-13,
you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:
  1. Experience applying the theories, principles, and methods of natural and cultural resource management as it relates to injury assessment, habitat restoration, land management, and fish and wildlife management; and
  2. Experience coordinating and leading natural resource damage assessment and restoration case teams in assessing injuries to and restoration of natural resources; and
  3. Experience in habitat restoration planning, design, costing, and project implementation; and
  4. Experience monitoring of natural resource restoration projects in a variety of inland and coastal habitat types, including but not limited to, aspects of invasive species management, habitat enhancements for threatened and endangered species and migratory birds, coastal and freshwater wetland restoration, and instream and riparian habitat restoration; and
  5. Direct experience with environmental policy and law, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, Clean Water Act, and/or Oil Pollution Act as it relates to environmental assessment and natural resource restoration.
Must meet all.

Physical Demands:
Most of the work is carried out in offices and meeting rooms and is mostly sedentary in nature. Occasional travel and site visits will be involved, requiring normal physical stamina. Walking over wet, rough, uneven, or muddy terrain and getting in and out of various types of vehicles, including small boats, airplanes, or helicopters may be required on some site visits.

Work Environment:
Work is primarily performed in an office environment. There may be some commercial travel to field offices and sites, which may be in remote locations or involve exposure to unfavorable conditions, including temperature and weather extremes.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp

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

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

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. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties.

The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.

Important Note: All Department of the Interior (DOI) employees are subject to the conflict of interest restrictions imposed upon all employees of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and may be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report. In addition, DOI employees, GS-15 and above, who work in the Office of the Secretary; along with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) employees (at ALL grade levels), are further restricted concerning their interests in Federal lands and resources administered or controlled by the Department of the Interior. This includes holding stock in energy corporations which lease Federal lands (e.g.: oil, gas, coal, alternative energy resources, etc.). If you have any such investments you should contact the DOI, BOEM or BSEE Ethics Office before accepting employment. DOI employees are held to the highest level of integrity. Employees must be objective and impartial in the performance of their work. All potential issues (e.g.: work-related interactions with friends, family members, or previous employers) must be disclosed at the time of application or during the interview process.

NOTICE: This employer participates in E-Verify and will utilize your Form I-9 information to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.
A preliminary background check must be completed before a new employee can begin work with the U.S. Department of the Interior. The preliminary background check consists of a search of Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense background investigation files and an FBI National Criminal History Fingerprint Check; it may take up to 3 weeks to complete. If selected for this position, you will be extended a tentative offer of employment pending a satisfactory background check. Current Federal employees or individuals with an existing completed background investigation may not be required to undergo another background check; these will be handled on a case-by-case basis in coordination with the Bureau security office.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. You are being evaluated under the Category Rating method, which means, if you are determined to be qualified you will be placed in one of three pre-defined categories. These categories are "Platinum", "Gold", and "Silver". However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Candidates placed in the "Platinum" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.

Your answers to the on-line assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

Scientific Knowledge: Skill in interpreting laws and regulations related to a Natural Resource Program in order to integrate information and data associated with cases and projects.
Technical Competence: Skill in assessing injuries to natural resources, planning, designing, costing, implementation, and monitoring of natural resource restoration projects in a variety of inland and coastal habitat types, including but not limited to aspects of invasive species management, habitat enhancements for threatened and endangered species and migratory birds, coastal and freshwater wetland restoration, and application of hydrogeology, geomorphology, and geospatial principles and techniques.
Analytical: Skill in developing policy, guidance, procedures, and practices that enhance the Department's conservation efforts working documents and correspondence for a variety of uses and audiences.
Oral Communication: Skill in presenting resource restoration issues within the Department, and before other Federal and State agencies, Tribal governments, professional organizations, and private groups.

If you are a status applicant (current career or career-conditional Federal employee or former permanent Federal employee with reinstatement eligibility in the competitive service), or are eligible under a special appointing authority and you are selected under this vacancy, you may be subject to serving a new one-year probationary period.

To preview the assessment questionnaire click: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12148968

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