Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

SOIL CONSERVATION TECHNICIAN

Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
NRCS MINNESOTA
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This announcement is location negotiable within the state of Minnesota to the following cities ONLY.

Selecting Officials may consider applicants in locations not listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement (JOA). Available locations are outlined in assessment portion of the application. Applicants interested in locations not specifically listed on the announcement are encouraged to communicate location availability after selection or during interview phase.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/03/2024 to 09/17/2024
Salary
$35,373 to - $69,369 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 4 - 6
Locations
12 vacancies in the following locations:
With State of Minnesota
Location Negotiable After Selection
Alexandria, MN
Bagley, MN
Baudette, MN
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
8
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
NRCS-24-12464039-DE-MN-LK
Control number
807639900

Duties

Help
  • Provides information to farmers, ranchers and other rural residents on the kind of assistance available from NRCS and other USDA agencies.
  • Assists with conducting engineer surveys to design mechanical practices to be utilized in conservation planning.
  • Advises landowners on eligibility prerequisites and conditions that must be satisfied to qualify for program acceptance and payments.
  • Provides technical support to conservation planners in resource planning by utilizing survey tools and planning software.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected you will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  • Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered:

To qualify for the GS-04 level:
Specialized Experience: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-03 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include:

  • Providing information to the public regarding conservation practices at events.
  • Assisting landowners with completing applications.
  • Collecting date to be used for developing conservation plans. OR
Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience: Successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable. OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience, as described above. (Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy.)

To qualify for the GS-05 level:
Specialized Experience: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include:
  • Providing information about conservation programs to landowners.
  • Meeting with landowners to review complete conservation plans.
  • Compiling data for conservation plans such as soil erosion, surface drainage and sedimentation. conservation plans such as soil erosion, surface drainage and sedimentation. OR
Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (a) with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position, or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as those shown above OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience, as described above. (Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy.)

To qualify for the GS-06 level:
Specialized Experience:
You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include:
  • Assist with tentative design plans by recording field notes.
  • Make presentation to external stakeholders to promote conservation plans.
  • Meeting with landowners to review completed conservation plans.
  • Assist staff to develop natural resource conservation plans by compiling date for physical features such as soil erosion, surface drainage and sedimentation.
Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience: Successful completion of a completed a half year (i.e., 9 semester hours) of graduate level education in a field directly related to the work of the position such as agriculture, forestry, range management, or another subject-matter field directly related to the position OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience, as described above. (Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy.)

For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: Soil Conservation Technician Series 0458.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experiences, including volunteer experience.

Education

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
You must submit a copy of your transcripts to include course number, title, completion and grade. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement.

Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information.

Failure to provide all of the required documents/information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Additional information

  • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
  • Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.
  • Physical Demands: The Soil Conservation Technician position requires regular and recurring prolonged walks over field terrain, bending, lifting, and stretching when setting up survey instruments and equipment.
  • Work Environment: The work involves regular and recurring exposure to agricultural and construction type equipment while in operation. There may be exposure to heat, snow, and ice as well as herbicide and chemical spray operations, which require safety precautions.
  • PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following:
    • If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted.
    • If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline.
  • This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8 hour work day, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor.
  • Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applications will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Examining Procedures and USDA policy using category rating. Applicants who meet basic minimum qualifications will be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Category placement will be determined based on applicants' quality of experience and the extent they possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) or competencies:

  • Conservation Planning
  • Data Collection, Analysis and Research
  • Oral Communication
  • Planning and Evaluating


Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Those determined to be in the best qualified category will be referred to the selecting official for consideration.

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.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12464039

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.