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Land Law Examiner

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.

This position is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Information about Salt Lake City and the surrounding area can be found here.

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
09/19/2024 to 10/17/2024
Salary
$39,576 to - $63,733 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 7
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - At times, travel for field work, meetings and/or training may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
UTDE-24-12546908-BG
Control number
810342100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens - No previous Federal Service is required. CTAP and ICTAP candidates in the local commuting area.

Duties

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  • This position serves as a Land Law Examiner for the Division of Lands and Minerals, Branch of Solid Minerals in the Utah State Office.
  • Ensures bond instruments for coal and nonenergy leasables are acceptable in accordance with appropriate regulations with oversight from a senior Land Law Examiner.
  • Adjudicates with assistance bond instruments to ensure bond amount (amount covers existing and proposed disturbances), the signatory has the authority to sign the document, etc.
  • Adjudicates readjustments, lease modifications, and lease by applications for coal actions.
  • Adjudicates prospecting permits, preference rights, fringe acreage, and competitive leases.
  • Maintains existing electronic file system for coal and converts nonenergy leasable files to the electronic records system.
  • Prepares routine written correspondence, reports, decisions, notices, and other documents to effect required actions applying appropriate laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
  • May assist with the adjudication of locatable minerals, including a certificate of locations, annual fillings/maintenance fees, waivers, and affidavits of annual assessment work to ensure they are complete and meet laws and regulatory requirements.
  • Interprets and understands legal land descriptions.
  • Completes the Nonenergy SharePoint site by copying the file structure from coal SharePoint or modifying the structure appropriately and uploading records to the site.
  • Maintains bonds and the Mineral and Land Records System (MLRS).

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.
  • May require a one year probationary period.

Qualifications

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.

To qualify at the GS-05 level you must meet the following:

General Experience: Applicants must possess three (3) years of progressively responsible experience, one (1) year of which was experience at or equivalent to at least the GS-04 level equivalent in difficulty and complexity to perform the duties of a Land Law Examiner. Examples of general experience includes experience that provided a familiarity with real property laws and legal land descriptions, land titles, tract maps, and legal documents, or other experience that involved explanation, application, or interpretation of laws, regulations, policies, etc. Such experience may have been gained in positions such as law clerk, claims examiner, contact representative, or other work dealing with laws, rules, regulations, procedures, etc.

OR Education: To qualify based on education you must have four (4) years (120 semester hours) of education above high school, leading to a bachelor's degree in any field of study.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of experience and appropriate undergraduate education.

To qualify at the GS-07 level you must meet the following:

Specialized Experience: Applicants must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-05 level equivalent in difficulty and complexity to perform the duties of a Land Law Examiner. Qualifying specialized experience includes: examining applications and claims for the disposal, use of, or title to public lands, issuance of leases, licenses, or permits for land or resources use; reviewing and interpreting legal instruments; and reviewing, interpreting, and/or writing legal land descriptions.

OR Education: To qualify based on education you must have one (1) full year (18 semester hours) of graduate-level education (including law school) in a related field of study. Course work must have included or was supplemented by 12 semester hours of course work related to the administration of land laws. Examples include course work in land surveying, cartography, land use law, real estate law, land appraising, land use planning, water rights, mining laws, or legal instrument review and interpretation.

OR Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A): Superior Academic Achievement (See OPM's General Policies, Application of Qualification Standards Section 4.f.) S.A.A. must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled.

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 difficulty and complexity 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 by the closing date of the announcement.

Physical Demands: The work is predominantly sedentary although there is some walking, stooping, and bending involved when searching for records.

Work Environment: The work is performed in an office environment.

Education

If using education to qualify, 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.

This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GS-11. If selected at a lower grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, and the availability of higher-level work. Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied.

How you will be evaluated

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

After the vacancy closes, a review of your application package will be made to ensure you meet all qualification 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. Qualified applicants will be placed in one of three predefined categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified and Qualified. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Candidates placed in the Best Qualified category 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:

  • Information Management
  • Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence
  • Reading
  • Writing
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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