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Forester (Pathways Recent Graduate)

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
This job announcement has closed

Summary

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

We expect to fill many vacancies in many locations using the Recent Graduate training program.

To explore the BLM, visit us at BLM.GOV. Additional positions may be filled if available.

Additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
03/19/2024 to 04/12/2024
Salary
$39,576 to - $63,733 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 7
Locations
Cottonwood, ID
Many vacancies
Location Negotiable After Selection,
Many vacancies
Butte, MT
Many vacancies
Coos Bay, OR
Many vacancies
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
Multiple - Recent Graduates who in the previous 2 years have completed a degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. Veterans precluded by a military service obligation have up to 6 years after completion of degree or certificate to apply.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
11
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
OR/WAPTHWYS-24-12356059
Control number
782436300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens - No previous Federal service is required Recent Graduates who in the previous 2 years have completed a degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. Veterans precluded by a military service obligation have up to 6 years after completion of degree or certificate to apply.

Duties

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  • Investigate and initiate reports of unauthorized use including affected site examination and preliminary determination of the extent of damages.
  • Collect data during field examination of forest stands.
  • Compile data and update inventory records in specified automated systems.
  • Perform layouts and designs for forest development projects.
  • Use established methods for cruise, scale, and appraisal techniques.
  • Draft public and press releases on forestry program activities.
  • Evaluate field examination data and make preliminary treatment recommendations for harvest, post-harvest, and timber stand improvement projects.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required upon conversion.
  • 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 Land.
  • 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.

Qualifications

Recent Graduates Eligibility
This position is for Recent Graduates who have completed a qualifying bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution within the previous 2 years from the date of appointment.

Other applicable period may include: Certain veterans precluded from applying within the timeframe described above due to a military service obligation, shall have a full 2-year period of eligibility upon his/her release or discharge from active duty. However, in no event, may the individual's eligibility period extend beyond 6 years from the date on which the individual completed the requirements of an academic course of study.

This is an excepted service, developmental experience appointment expected to last only 1 year under the BLM Pathways Recent Graduates Program. The BLM will require the selected applicant to complete a Participant Agreement in which it shall document the anticipated start and end dates for this developmental appointment.

The agency may noncompetitively convert a Recent Graduate who is a U. S. citizen to a term or permanent appointment in the competitive service, as long as the Recent Graduate successfully completes the BLM's 1-year developmental program and meets the OPM Qualification Standards for the targeted occupational series.

In order to qualify, you must meet BOTH the Basic and Additional qualification requirements for at least one grade level described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience. If qualifying based on education, a copy of your unofficial transcripts must be provided with your application.

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT for the 0460 series:
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included the following major field of study and specific course requirements as stated below:

A. 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 was in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently diversified to include courses in each of the following areas:

  • Management of Renewable Resources -- 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 -- 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 -- 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
B. 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 QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH GRADE: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level in which you are applying:

GS-05: There is no Specialized Experience Requirement for this series at this grade level. You must meet the Basic Qualification Requirement as stated above. NOTE: Applicants must submit a copy of transcripts.

GS-07: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing most or all of the following in a developmental capacity: (1) assisting with the development or implementation of forest management plans such as timber sale planning, logging system, reforestation, timber stand improvement, or landscape forestry; (2) preparing/analyzing logging and harvest plans, silvicultural treatments, or timber sale contracts to ensure compliance; and (3) interacting with various groups of people to investigate, exchange, or report information related to forest programs.

OR
Education:
Have successfully completed 1 full year of graduate level education. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Applicants must submit a copy of transcripts.

OR
Meet the requirements for Superior Academic Achievement by earning a bachelor's degree with at least one of the following (1) a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher based on a 4.0 scale; (2) a 3.5 GPA or higher for required courses completed in a major field of study during junior and senior year of a 4-year college or university; (3) class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or a major subdivision of the college, such as the College of Liberal Arts, based on completed courses; or (4) membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College Honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies. In order to be creditable under this provision, superior academic achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position being filled. NOTE: Applicants must submit a copy of transcripts.

OR
Combination education and experience:
Successfully completed a combination of education and experience as described above that, when converted to percentages, equal at least 100% of the total requirement. Note: You must submit a copy of your transcripts.
To be creditable, experience must have been equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade of the position to be filled.

You must meet all eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Volunteer Experience: 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 include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your 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.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: 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.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: 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.

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.

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 report IN PERSON to this duty location on a weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

How you will be evaluated

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

Recent Graduates
Once you complete and submit your application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements for the job. Your eligibility and qualification status will be based on a human resources assessment conducted using qualification standards, your responses to the job-related questions, information provided in your resume, and required supporting documents (see the Required Documents section).

  • Veteran's preference applies to the selection for positions in the Pathways Programs. The examination and selection of applicants will be made in accordance with requirements of the 5 CFR Part 302.
A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Occupational Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions may affect your rating.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:
  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
  • Forest Management
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Problem Solving
  • Technical Competence
  • Writing

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