Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens and U.S. Nationals

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Serves as Northern California Area Office (NCAO) land management specialist, executing activities related to administering the land management program within the Area Office's jurisdiction. Work activities include completion of a broad variety of realty transactions (permits, licenses, leases, easements, inventory, trespass, acquisition, disposal, and exchange of withdrawn or acquired Federal land) and compliance with Federal Land Policy and Management Act (P.L.94-579).

-Negotiates, prepares, and processes appropriate instruments to allow use of land by other Federal, state, county, city, and private agencies, or individuals on, within, or across Reclamation withdrawn or acquired lands.
-Research regulatory materials for information concerning the processing of these instruments which include agricultural leases, permits for removal of material, various temporary permits, and grants of rights-of-way across public lands and facilities under the jurisdiction of the Area Office.
-Conducts field surveys of area office lands to ensure Federally owned land is being utilized in compliance with land use documents issued, and to determine occurrence of unauthorized use, occupancy, or trespass on Reclamation administered land.
-Evaluates requests for leases, licenses, and permits for rights-of-way or other land uses and makes recommendations concerning compatibility with Area Office features and activities.
-Prepares correspondence associated with negotiations and investigations and in response to correspondence and requests received from various Federal and state agencies, organizations, and individuals regarding Area Office activities, coordinates with the Regional Office, Solicitor's Office, and other entities for the execution of the documents.
-Evaluates and appraises damages to landowners' land, vegetation, crops, irrigation system, etc., for cost analysis and authorize payments for damages.
-Conducts required investigations, negotiates, and processes contract renewals, (leases, licenses, permits, easements, or entry permits), terminations, cancellations, and assignments in accordance with established or approved policies.
-Negotiates terms of agreements and prepares land exchange and sales contracts, warranty or quitclaim deeds for the acquisition or disposal of land.
-Conducts investigations and searches courthouse records (including the Recorder's Office) for relevant realty information and consults with state, county or city officials, other Reclamation representatives, water districts, and landowners to negotiate, modify, or amend contract renewals, terminations, cancellations, and issuances.
-Provides required realty services in support of development of comprehensive management plans for all land and water areas under the jurisdiction of the Area Office.
-Reviews all realty actions and documents to ensure required National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation has been completed and requests the preparation of documents for significant actions.
-Participates in the evaluation and coordination of activities required to meet the conditions of the Comprehensive EnvironmentalResponse Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) for hazardous substances.

Conditions of employment

You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
You must be suitable for federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
You must submit a resume and supporting documentation (see Required Documents).
You must submit eligibility documents for veterans consideration (see Required Documents).
You must meet any minimum education and/or experience requirements (see Qualifications).
You must submit transcript(s) to verify education requirements (see Qualifications/Education).
You must maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times as the position requires operation of government vehicles on government and public roads. Failure to maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times will result in removal from the position.
Travel is required approximately 5-10% of the time.

Qualifications

In order to be rated as qualified for this position, the HR Office must be able to determine that you meet the education and/or specialized experience requirement - this information must be clearly supported in the resume.

To qualify at the GS-07, you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-05 level in federal service having demonstrated experience researching and applying real estate policies and/or guidance to process property transaction documents; reviewing legal descriptions; preparing or assisting in preparing deeds and/or lease instruments; verifying the accuracy of leases; gathering information on real property such as government facilities and land; preparing and administering government contract documents; researching appropriate reference sources to verify applicability; editing technical documents to meet established criteria for content.

OR

Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for this position. Superior Academic Achievement is based on:(1) Class Standing - You must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - You must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on my official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.;(3) Honor Society Membership - You may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/). (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

The superior academic achievement provision is to be used to determine eligibility for applicable GS-07 level positions of persons who have completed (or expect to complete within 9 months) all the requirements for bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a qualifying grade point average (GPA), class standing, or honors society. For more information, visit OPM.

To qualify at the GS-09, you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-07 level in federal service having demonstrated experience evaluating, preparing and processing several types of routine property transactions (such as permits, leases, easements, licenses, transfers, exchanges, acquisition contracts, disposal documents); identifying and reporting instances of unauthorized use of government land or property; negotiating routine or standard property and land-use agreements with landowners, land users, project proponents, or government officials; researching records to obtain vague real estate and property information; analyzing and evaluating the merits of land-use requests; working with community planners and developers to develop land and facility use documents.

OR

Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D. in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

To qualify at the GS-11, you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-09 level in federal service having demonstrated experience performing rights of use or acquisition and disposal activities; or reviewing realty actions to ensure compliance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Federal Land Policy and Management Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Use of Land, Facilities, and Waterbodies.

OR

Education: Possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related to course of study in Public Relations.(Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

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 Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors if applicable, by 07/08/2024.

How you will be evaluated

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

Category rating and selection procedures will be used to evaluate applications from this announcement. If an applicant meets the basic qualification requirements, his/her on-line responses to the vacancy assessment questionnaire will be used to determine the quality and extent of his/her experience, education, training, etc., for placement in one of the following categories: 1) Best Qualified, 2) Well Qualified, and 3) Qualified. Qualified candidates will be assigned a numerical score on a scale of 70-100. The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three" but protects the rights of Veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category. Veterans' preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent will be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-09 level or higher).

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), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Oral Communication
• Reading Comprehension
• Real Estate
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Technical Competence
• Writing

The USA Hire Assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

The application questionnaire can be previewed here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12455838

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies with the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s). Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. You may choose to opt in of having your information shared with other agencies when applying for this position. If an agency requests a copy of a certificate you are on, you will be notified.