Summary
The USBG is a leading public garden and museum that inspires people to appreciate, study, and conserve plants to enrich society locally and globally. Comprised of four divisions, the USBG provides educational experiences to 1 million visitors annually, presents horticultural displays and exhibits, strives to break down barriers to inclusion, and advances the exchange of ideas and information through national and global partnerships and initiatives. Learn more: U.S. Botanic Garden.
Clarification from the agency
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen.
Duties
The incumbent serves as an Education Specialist with emphasis on urban agriculture and leads educational programs that fulfill the USBG's mission. The incumbent is responsible for developing partnerships and educational programs and conducting outreach in urban agriculture.
Partnerships
Identifies, develops, and oversees urban agriculture partnerships between the AOC/USBG and public gardens and other institutions nationwide.
Works with USBG colleagues to identify potential partners and develop new collaborative programs aimed at providing educational and job training experiences in urban agriculture, food production and preparation, and related areas in urban communities.
Works with partnerships program coordinator to provide management and oversight of programs and partnerships, including jointly developing work plans, budgets and deliverables, and tracking program progress.
Educational Programs
Develops, writes, facilitates, and evaluates educational programs that fulfill the mission of the USBG, focusing on agriculture production and sustainable food systems to improve access to healthy foods and strengthen urban resilience.
Provides farm-based learning programs and training in best gardening and food crop growing practices.
Develops and offers formal and informal educational programs and hands-on activities for classroom, greenhouses, and outdoor gardens, through a range of formats, including workshops, classes, discovery carts and festivals.
Assists with volunteer training, creates content for interpretive signs and coordinates materials preparation and classroom set-up.
External Relations
Works to advance urban agriculture by developing relationships and new engagement opportunities.
Identifies and builds relationships with a diversity of relevant stakeholders in agriculture and food systems locally.
Engages with other public gardens and institutions nationwide that have or are developing urban agriculture programs.
Plant Cultivation
As part of an educational program, assists with design and installation of agricultural and horticultural demonstrations in an urban setting and provides for their maintenance and upkeep through activities like planting, weeding, watering, fertilizing and related tasks.
Performs complex plant cultivation tasks and may utilize a variety of equipment including but not limited to hand and power-operated garden tools, such as spreaders, edgers, hedge trimmers, pruning shears, and sprayers.
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. Citizen.
- You must be able to pass a drug test.
- Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.
- You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
- A citizen of the United States;
- A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B);
- A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible;
- A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or
- You must be able to pass a drug test and background check.
- Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.
- You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
Qualifications
You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.
Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.
Candidates for the GS-09 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal Service.
Specialized experience for this position includes:
(1) Propagating and cultivating a wide variety of plants with a particular emphasis on vegetable and fruit production;
(2) Developing and offering formal and informal educational programs and hands-on activities for classroom, greenhouses and outdoor gardens, through a range of formats;
(3) Developing partnerships, conducting outreach and promoting engagement and participation in urban agriculture;
(4) Engaging community organizations in sustainable agriculture practices and other related activities; and
(5) Providing management of programs and partnerships, including jointly developing work plans, monitoring expenditures and tracking deliverables and outcomes.
Qualifying on Education:
You may substitute education for experience for this position. Your education must consist of two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master’s degree or equivalent graduate degree. Must be related to the duties of the position.
Candidates for the GS-11 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service.
Specialized experience for this position includes:
(1) Propagating and cultivating a wide variety of plants with a particular emphasis on vegetable and fruit production;
(2) Independently developing and offering formal and informal educational programs and hands-on activities for classroom, greenhouses and outdoor gardens, through a range of formats;
(3) Identifying, evaluating and developing partnerships, conducting outreach and promoting engagement and participation in urban agriculture;
(4) Developing strategies to engage community organizations in sustainable agriculture practices and other activities that address poor diet, nutritional illiteracy and food insecurity; and
(5) Providing management and oversight of programs and partnerships, including jointly developing work plans, monitoring expenditures and tracking deliverables and outcomes.
Qualifying on Education:
You may substitute education for experience for this position. Your education must consist of a three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree. Must be related to the duties of the position.
Education
Degree: that included or was supplemented by major study in education or in a field appropriate to the position.
or
Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in education, or in a field appropriate to the position, plus appropriate experience or additional course work that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study described above.
Benefits
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.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Review your resume and responses carefully. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions.
Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for this position, possession of any specialized experience, and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement. The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies:
Ability to propagate and successfully cultivate a wide variety of plants with a particular emphasis on vegetable and fruit production.
Ability in designing, developing and implementing educational programs for diverse audiences.
Knowledge of agriculture and food production in urban settings.
Skill in working with diverse populations, such as children, youth, adults, underserved communities, veterans and individuals with disabilities and demonstrate customer service ability.
Ability to exhibit a positive and professional attitude and approach toward the work, co-workers, stakeholders, supervisors and the public.
Your responses to the self-assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions. Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. Your resume must support your answers to the self-assessment questions. Falsifying your background, education and/or experience is cause for non-selection or disqualification from further consideration.
Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application). You may preview questions for this vacancy.
The Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) job application process is designed to ensure you only provide information necessary to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility for the position vacancy.
To apply for this position, you only need to submit: a) your resume and b) answers to the online vacancy assessment questionnaire. The online questionnaire contains eligibility and screening questions and other relevant information. No additional documentation or attachments are required at the time of application.
Your resume should list your education, training and work experience including job titles, employment dates, duties and accomplishments.
Nothing further is required until it is requested by AOC’s Human Capital Management Division. If additional documentation is required for the position, you will be asked to provide it during the interview or selection process. At that time, you may be asked to submit documentation to support statements made in your resume.
For example, you may be asked to provide a copy of your diploma, college transcripts, or proof of Federal employment status. If the position requires licensure or certification, you will be asked to provide proof at the time of selection.
If Veterans’ preference is claimed, you will be asked to submit proof (DD-214, and, if claiming a 10-point preference, a SF-15 and the proof required by that form).
Failure to provide the required documents will end further consideration and/or result in the withdrawal of any tentative job offers.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
You MUST apply online. FORMS RECEIVED BY FAX, EMAIL OR U.S. POSTAL SERVICE DELIVERY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
If you are a new user to the USAJOBS Site and have never registered for an account; you will first need to create an account profile with your basic contact information and a resume to begin applying. You must be a registered USAJOBS user AND you must be signed-in to your account in order to apply for this position. For help with setting up an account or for general assistance in using USAJOBS, go to USAJOBS Help Page.
NEED HELP?
If you experience any difficulties with the application site, help is available! If you have problems completing your on-line application, contact the Monster Hiring Management Help Desk at 1-866-656-6831 or by e-mail at MGSHELP@monster.com. The help desk is available Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You may call and leave a voice mail message at all other times.
All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJOBS “Saved Documents” feature.
If you are unable to apply on-line, you may visit our Employment Center for technical assistance in entering your application. The Employment Center is located at 441 Second & D Streets S.W., Washington, D.C., Room H2-178, and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You may call (202) 226-7000 for directions.
Next steps
You will receive a notice generated by the USAJOBS System when you have successfully submitted your application. We will review your application and transcript(s) (if you are qualifying based on education) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements.
You can check the status of your application by logging into http://www.usajobs.gov. You may also sign up to receive automatic emails anytime the status of your application has changed by logging into your USAJOBS Account, editing your profile and changing the ‘Notification Settings’ to indicate that you want to be notified by email when the status changes. Information regarding the status of your application should be updated in the system within two (2) weeks after the closing date of this job announcement.
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