Employee supports Forest Service data acquisition for Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA)). FIA is a nationwide program which collects, analyzes, and publishes comprehensive information on forests and renewable resources. Data are used by industrial leaders, forest managers and government agencies in making policy decisions.
State Contacts
Brittany Benjamin brittany.benjamin@usda.gov (LA)
Michelle Gerdes michelle.a.gerdes@usda.gov (CA)
Maryfaith Snyder maryfaith.snyder@usda.gov (ID, MT, WY, NM)
Summary
Employee supports Forest Service data acquisition for Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA)). FIA is a nationwide program which collects, analyzes, and publishes comprehensive information on forests and renewable resources. Data are used by industrial leaders, forest managers and government agencies in making policy decisions.
State Contacts
Brittany Benjamin brittany.benjamin@usda.gov (LA)
Michelle Gerdes michelle.a.gerdes@usda.gov (CA)
Maryfaith Snyder maryfaith.snyder@usda.gov (ID, MT, WY, NM)
75% or less - Travel will be required 40-80% of the time for the purpose of site visits, training, and field work. Overnight travel and camping will be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Positions may be career seasonal and subject to periods of non-pay depending on location. See Additional Information for guaranteed work by location.
Schedules, organizes, and executes field data collection projects related to natural resource inventory.
Collects data needed to carry out biological science investigations
Develops work plans that include time and cost estimates, and the materials, supplies, and equipment
Organizes, verifies, and refines the data collected.
Studies and evaluates the data and writes up methods, findings, recommendations, and other conclusions for approval
Locates remote field sites using aerial photographs, topographic maps, compass and GPS
Uses botanical keys to identify plants encountered and assists in the collection and preservation of specimens
Records all measurements utilizing a personal data recorder, uploads, and edits data, and completes accurate and concise plot summaries of all field visits.
Works independently and makes technical interpretations of field guide procedures for application under unusual conditions with consultation with supervisor.
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
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.gov
Must possess and be able to maintain a valid state driver's license.
Your resume must clearly document the following for each block of work experience; the beginning day, month and year the work assignment started and ended; the hours worked per week; position title, and series and grade if applicable; and description of duties performed. This information must be provided for each permanent, temporary or seasonal appointment, work assignment, or volunteer work and should be clearly documented as a separate block of time. Incomplete, inaccurate or conflicting work history may not be credited for qualifications purposes. This can result in an applicant not being considered for the position.
Basic Requirement: GS-0401:
Degree: 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 a major field of study in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major field of study that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Related course work generally refers to courses that may be accepted as part of the program major. OR
Combination of education and experience that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, AND experience sufficient to demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation that is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field needed to perform the work of the occupation.
In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.
Minimum Qualifications Requirements: For the GS-05: No specialized experience required. Applicants who meet the basic requirements described in the basic requirements are fully qualified for the GS-5 level.
For the GS-07: At least one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as all of the following:
--Assisting with the management of ecological monitoring projects (including building schedules, logistical planning, and execution of work);
--Collecting forestry, botanical, and geographic measurements, obtaining data on tree growth, forest type, stand size and stand age;
--Producing routine reports and summaries of field visits, interpreting standard procedures, and ensuring that data collection is accurate, repeatable and in compliance with established protocol. OR
One full year of graduate level education directly related to the work of the position. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work in fields such as forestry, forest ecology, botany, biology, ecology. OR
An appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as defined above OR
Superior Academic Achievement: Go to this site to determine if you are eligible: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.
For the GS-09: At least one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as having 3 out of 4 of the following:
--Managing forest inventory or resource monitoring projects (including, development of flexible work plans that include anticipated workforce needs, time and cost estimates);
--Analyzing forest inventory monitoring data for accuracy and compliance with established protocol; utilizing field observations, aerial imagery, and historical site information for land use classification;
--Serving as subject matter expert in forest inventory field data collection to answer questions about methods and findings and to train others; and communicating with state, federal, tribal, and/or private organizations to enlist cooperation and support in research activities;
--Experience overseeing employees includes: establishing expectations; making recommendations for performance standards and measures; and identifying/providing developmental training as necessary. OR
A 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., if related. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work in fields such as forestry, forest ecology, botany, biology, ecology. OR
An appropriate combination of specialized experience and education and education described above. Only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify for this grade level. Your education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.
NOTICE OF WORKING CONDITIONS: The work is performed primarily in a field environment that may include steep slopes, thick brush, swamp environment, and remote locations. Field work often requires moderate to strenuous physical exertion, including walking, bending, wading or walking in water, and climbing, in rugged terrain, under adverse conditions, for long periods of time while carrying moderate loads of 45 pounds or more. On and off trail hiking, driving, and navigating are required. Boating may be required. Work in the forest environment involves considerable risk of falls due to uneven terrain, risk of insect bites, contact with poisonous plants, etc. Temperatures may range from very hot and dry to very cold and extremely wet. Car camping and backpacking will be required.
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.
Education
See Qualifications Section for required and qualifying education.
Additional information
Positions are available at the following duty locations:
Ruston, LA; Hammond, LA; Pineville, LA; Fresno, CA; San Bernardino, CA--Full Time year round employment. Dillon, MT; Lewistown, MT; Afton, WY; Salmon, ID--guaranteed 26 weeks/ year of full time employment. Albuquerque, NM--guaranteed 36 weeks/ year of full time employment.
All positions advertised are permanent positions with varying tours of duty and may include weekend work. Some positions may have irregular and protracted hours of work.
This announcement may be used to fill positions with a seasonal work schedule where full-time work is guaranteed for 26-36 weeks/year depending on location. When not working, you will be placed in non-pay/non-duty status
Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.
Final determination of the duty station(s) will be made by the selecting official at the time of the job offer. Pay rates vary depending on location. Salary wage as shown is for Rest of the U.S. For more information, refer to the Office of Personnel Management,Salary and Wages web page.
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): 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 or guaranteed.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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. You 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. Individuals with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.
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.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes: 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the responsibilities section including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications.
If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
If claiming veteran's preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veteran's preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's preference and your application will be evaluated based on the material(s) submitted.
If claiming 10-point veteran's preference you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), plus the proof of entitlement of this preference as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but is not required. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. For more information on veterans' preference visit FEDSHIREVETS.
Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process.
Read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m. (MST), Monday - Friday. If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be returned to Human Resources no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order for it to be entered into the system prior to the closing date.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, in USAJOBS click "Apply" and follow the instructions to attach your resume and required documents, complete the assessment questionnaire, and submit your application.
NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center
DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
Albuquerque, NM 87109
US
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes: 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the responsibilities section including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications.
If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
If claiming veteran's preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veteran's preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's preference and your application will be evaluated based on the material(s) submitted.
If claiming 10-point veteran's preference you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), plus the proof of entitlement of this preference as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but is not required. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. For more information on veterans' preference visit FEDSHIREVETS.
Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process.
Read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m. (MST), Monday - Friday. If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be returned to Human Resources no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order for it to be entered into the system prior to the closing date.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, in USAJOBS click "Apply" and follow the instructions to attach your resume and required documents, complete the assessment questionnaire, and submit your application.
NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center
DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
Albuquerque, NM 87109
US
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
