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Information Assistant

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located within a National Forest. The primary purpose of this position is to perform technical and substantive clerical duties in support of the public information program.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/27/2024 to 07/10/2024
Salary
$21.14 to - $21.14 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 6
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Macdoel, CA
Yreka, CA
Location Negotiable After Selection
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
25-TEMP1-R5-5007-6DT-EW
Control number
797380000

Videos

Duties

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  • Implements the public information program and makes recommendations to be used in development of work plans and schedules.
  • Assists writers, reporters, and photographers of State and national media with assignments concerning plans, actions, policies, existing management practices, and facilities.
  • Assistance includes gathering requested information, arranging interviews, arranging travel and tours, etc.
  • Produces and lays out brochures, promotional materials, and management plan and study newsletters for photo offset or other reproduction. Recommends format, pictures, and graphics to be used.
  • Prepares the newsletter for distribution to all employees by writing articles, editing articles from technical staff, and occasionally soliciting material.
  • Responds to inquiries from visitors, telephone callers, and correspondents requesting information about facilities and program activities, when requests exceed the knowledge of the information receptionists.
  • Questions requiring technical expertise are referred to the appropriate staff specialists. Maintains, distributes, and updates the key contact computer mailing list. Routinely verifies information with key contacts and many other sources.
  • Develops slide talks as requested to fill needs of public affairs. Guidelines are provided to meet specific objectives.
  • Operates video camera and recording equipment to produce video to document Forest Service activities for internal training and media distribution.
  • Assists educators in their environmental education programs, and encourages school officials to include Forest Service conservation concepts and information in their programs and classes.
  • Researches story ideas about activities on the unit for internal and external use. Drafts news releases, feature stories, and informational leaflets and fact sheets, as assigned. Assists in disseminating information on land management planning.
  • Serves as unit collection officer and is responsible for accounting, balancing, reconciling, and accurate record keeping of the donation funds.
  • Reviews cash processing transactions, completes audits, and prepares various reports on the status of funds. Responsible for inventory and control of various merchandise that is located in the gift shop.
  • Establishes and maintains electronic and other files, ensuring that they contain sufficient quality and quantity of representative examples of activities, locations, management problems, and scenic views.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Direct Deposit Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choosing.
  • Must be 18 years of age.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-Verify.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

GS-06: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 grade level.

GS-06: There is no substitution of education for this position.

Examples of specialized experience include: Served as a unit collections officer responsible for accounting, balancing, reconciling, and ensuring accurate record keeping of funds; reviewed cash processing transactions, and prepared various reports on the status of funds; verified inventory and control of various assigned property (such as ATB passes, maps, etc.) prepared recurring reports on items tracked on a regular basis; may have produced graphics, made presentations and provided information to groups such as public schools or social groups on community-related topics such as safety, environmental awareness, recreation activities, or litter prevention; performed routine, repetitive daily activities for visitor center operations; or greeted visitors and replied to inquiries requesting general information about organizational activities, programs and policies.

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 receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE: This vacancy is being used to fill positions for FY2025 Temporary Employment Hiring season. The expected start date for this position will be between October 20, 2024 to December 29, 2024.

By selecting the "Location Negotiable" option during the application process, implies your willingness to be considered for any official duty location listed on this announcement and/or those duty locations not listed for this Regional announcement. Pay rates vary depending on location. The salary shown is for the Rest of the U.S. See OPM.gov for additional information on pay rates.

This position is temporary, has a Not-to-Exceed date and will be filled for up to 6 months or as a not to exceed (NTE) 1 year, however an extension of the appointment may be possible without further competition. The appointment may also end early due to lack of work or lack of funds.

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other groups within the Region who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in any of the geographic location(s) listed on the announcement. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.

The duty station for this position will be at one of the duty locations listed in this announcement. Salary range as shown is the locality pay Rest of U.S. (RUS). Pay rates vary by location. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management's website for additional information on pay rates.

The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligible must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

If you are retired from the Federal Government and are selected for this vacancy, your retirement annuity may be offset from your pay.

This position is not eligible for telework.

Availability of government housing and federal day care facilities will vary by location.

Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.

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 in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. Eligible applicants will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Applicants with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.

Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be referred to the selecting official.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

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