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Natural Resource Specialist

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
High Plains District; Buffalo Field Office
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our most precious resource.

This position is located in Buffalo, WY.

We expect to fill one vacancy at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
03/01/2024 to 03/22/2024
Salary
$59,966 to - $94,317 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Buffalo, WY
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
WYMP-24-12330512-JP
Control number
779585000

Duties

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  • Processes application for permit to drill in accordance with regulations and policies (including 43 CFR 3171). This also includes NEPA analysis and subsequent requests or sundries.
  • Completes surface use and environmental inspections as assigned, to ensure compliance with approved plans in APDs, Sundry Notices, SRAs and FANs, applicable Conditions of Approval (COAs), applicable laws and other surface-use standards/requirements.
  • The specialist issues Written Orders and Notices of Non-compliance to operators where environmental issues or violations associated with failure to follow Federal regulations and/or approved operating plans are observed.
  • Follows up to ensure that corrective action is completed in the time frame specified by the Authorized Officer.
  • Reviews and/or develops surface reclamation plans associated with the final abandonment of federal oil and gas wells and associated assess roads and infrastructure.
  • Collects, enters, and maintains natural resources monitoring data according to BLM and program standards. Learns to ensure data quality and integrity by adherence to quality control standards and procedures.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Be sure to read the 'How to Apply' and 'Required Documents' Sections.
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
  • Direct Deposit Required.
  • Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
  • Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
  • If selected for this position, you will be required to annually complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 within 30 days of reporting to duty.
  • May require a one-year probationary period.
  • An applicant appointed to this position must possess (or obtain within 30 days of entrance on duty) and maintain a valid state driver's license while employed in this position.

Qualifications

Selective Placement Factors: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor(s) will be rated not qualified:

  • A valid state driver's license and gaining a US Government Motor Vehicle Operator's Identification Card are required.
In addition to meeting the IOR in order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the qualification requirements - please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

FOR GS-09: In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-07 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples:
  1. Knowledge of laws, rules, and regulations and policies in the administration of fluid minerals.
  2. Ability to apply a wide range of resource concepts, principles and practices concerning mineral development.
  3. Experience with standard operating procedures as they relate to geophysical exploration, oil and gas drilling, oil and gas production facilities, and abandonment operations.
-OR-

Education: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.

-OR-

Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

FOR GS-11: In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-09 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples:
  1. Demonstrated experience with laws, rules, regulations and policies in the administration of fluid minerals to apply a wide range of resource concepts concerning mineral development including NEPA analysis.
  2. Knowledge of reclamation practices; erosion control measures, slope stability, soil and vegetation relationships.
  3. Ability to assess potential impacts upon the environment resulting from oil and gas operations and recognize deficiencies.
  4. Ability to communicate effectively with a variety of resource specialist and industry groups.
-OR-

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: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

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.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level.

Physical Demands: The work requires the incumbent to spend time performing both office and field work. The office work is primarily sedentary and lay require walking, standing, and carrying light items, such as books, small instruments or samples, and other similar materials. While at the field office, the
incumbent may occasionally lift materials such as fence posts, barbed wire, and seed bags, etc., requiring lifting of loads up to 50 pounds.
Field duties involve long hours of driving, hiking, climbing, and other forms of outdoor physical activities in remote locations. Occasional project construction work may be physically demanding, such as building or removing fences, constructing wildlife guzzlers, developing springs, etc. The incumbent is expected to operate a four-wheel drive vehicle in remote areas in complicated terrain. Other modes of transportation such as off highway vehicles may occasionally be used.

Work Environment: The work environment varies from an office setting where the incumbent has regular contact with work associates to a field setting where the incumbent is working alone for extended periods of time in remote situations. Field work will involve outdoor exposure, including some discomfort in extremes of temperature or inclement weather. The incumbent may be subjected to hostile wildlife and physical hazards.

Education

This position has an individual occupational requirement. In order to qualify, you must meet one of the below:

  • Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
-OR-
  • Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
You must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. See Required Documents section for more information.

Additional information

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): 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, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 90 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service

Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid by the Department of the Interior. Any travel, transportation and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the responsibility of the selected employee.

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.

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 questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be contacted for an interview.

Your answers to the online questionnaire will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

  • Compliance
  • Compliance Inspection
  • Data Interpretation
  • Strategic Thinking


In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals. Applicants must have a performance rating of at least the equivalent of fully successful to be eligible for promotion or placement. Applicants may provide a copy of a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months. If the applicant is unable to provide a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months, the applicant may provide a written explanation as to why.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the following additional assessment: Subject Matter Expert Resume Panel Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

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