Natural Resources Specialist Job

Vacancy No. NV-DEU-24-12388423-KK Department Bureau of Land Management
Salary $39,576.00 to $96,263.00 Grade 5 to 7
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 4/18/2024 Close Date 5/6/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Battle Mountain, NVTonopah, NV


Job Description (Please follow all instructions carefully)

Summary

Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our most precious resource.

These positions are located in Ely and Tonopah, NV. Information about Ely and the surrounding area can be found at White Pine Chamber of Commerce; for Tonopah, Tonopah Chamber of Commerce.

We expect to fill two (2) vacancies at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

This position is authorized a 20% incentive - see Additional Information.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

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

Duties

  • Assists other specialists in efforts to plan, carry out, and report on field inventories to evaluate the health of biological resources.
  • Setup and implement new procedures for recurring well precedented natural resource improvement projects in coordination with senior resource specialists and/or the supervisor.
  • Learns to serve on an interdisciplinary team addressing local office natural resource issues; work with other government/external representatives of private/public institutions/public land groups, and others on natural resources issues.
  • Assist with the analysis inventory data to identify any impacts or concerns; collects, enters, and maintains natural resources monitoring data according to BLM and program standards.
  • Documents, evaluates, and reports changes in natural resources status. Assists more senior resources specialists in the development, implementation, and maintenance of resource management plans.

Requirements

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.
  • An applicant appointed to this position must possess (or obtain within 30 days of entrance on duty) and maintain a valid state driver's license while employed in this position.
  • 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.

Basic Education Requirements:
- I have a Degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position; OR
- I have a combination of education and experience - have completed courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

GS-05:
- Meet the Basic Education requirements.

GS-07:
- Meet the basic requirements AND I have one (1) year of professional natural resource management experience equivalent to GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience may include: experience in assisting with development of natural resources management plans including monitoring studies, allotment evaluations and inspections, and working and coordinating with partners and the public; OR
-
meet the basic requirement AND 1 (one) full year (18 semester hours) of graduate-level education leading to a Master's degree in biological sciences or a directly related field; OR
-
graduated from a four-year college with Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) See OPM Quals Standard-General Policies E(4)(f), I will provide a copy of my college transcripts; OR
-meet the basic requirement AND possess an equivalent combination of the type and level of experience and education described above.

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.

Battle Mountain salary range: $39,576 - $94,317
Tonopah salary range: $40,393 - $92,263

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 requires the incumbent to spend time performing both office and field work. The office work is primarily sedentary and may require walking, standing, and carrying light items, such as books, small instruments or samples, and other similar materials. While at the field office, the incumbent may occasionally lift materials such as fence posts, barbed wire, and seed bags, etc., requiring lifting of loads up to 50 pounds.

Field duties involve long hours of driving, hiking, climbing, and other forms of outdoor physical activities in remote locations. Occasional project construction work may be physically demanding, such as building or removing fences, constructing wildlife guzzlers, developing springs, etc. The incumbent is expected to operate a four-wheel drive vehicle in remote areas in complicated terrain. Other modes of transportation such as off highway vehicles may occasionally be used.

Work Environment: The work environment varies from an office setting where the incumbent has regular contact with work associates to a field setting where the incumbent is working alone for extended periods of time in remote situations. Field work will involve outdoor exposure, including some discomfort in extremes of temperature or inclement weather. The incumbent may be subjected to hostile wildlife and physical hazards.

Education

This position falls under the General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Series, 0401 Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) which requires that you have a degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, or a combination of education and experience---courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

This position has a positive education requirement (see qualification section for education requirements). You MUST submit a copy of ALL your college transcripts or a list of ALL college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. Upon selection, official transcripts must be received prior to appointment. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

All selections and tentative offers of selection are contingent upon submission and verification of 'official' transcripts upon selection.

Additional information

This position is offering a Relocation/Recruitment Incentive, 20% of the annual salary. To be eligible for a Relocation Incentive, you must be a current Federal Employee and the selectee must be employed with the Federal Government and the selectees current duty location is more than 50 miles from the duty location of this position. To be eligible for a Recruitment Incentive, selectee must not be employed by the Federal Government.

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.

This announcement is being advertised concurrently under number NV-Merit-24-12388424-KK, for status candidates and special hiring authority eligible. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

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.

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.

Review our 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 based on how your application materials reflect the qualification requirements of this position.

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job 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.

In addition, one or more Subject Matter Experts will conduct a resume review. Candidates placed in the Best Qualified category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be contacted for an interview. The interviews may be conducted on a pass/fail basis or may be scored.

Your answers to the online questionnaire will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

  • Oral Communication
  • Technical Competence
  • Technical Documentation


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.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes:

Resume or Application.At a minimum, your resume MUST contain job title (include job series and grade, if federal), duties, starting and ending dates (month and year). USAJOBS has a template to ensure a complete resume.

Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s). Failure to provide required information will result in loss of eligibility. You are welcome to submit an optional cover letter.

This position has a positive education requirement, see Education Section for document requirements.

Veterans: If you are claiming veterans' preference you must submit a copy of your DD-214, 'Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty,' (Member 4 copy is preferred), showing the dates of active duty, type of discharge, and character of service (must be honorable) OR written documentation from the armed forces that certifies you are expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted.

If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, in addition to the documents specified above, you must submit documentation that supports your claim as shown on the back of the Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference. SF-15.

If you are claiming Sole Survivorship Veterans' Preference (SSP), please provide the documentation you received granting this preference.

Additional information on veterans' preference can be found in the www.fedshirevets.gov/job-seekers/special-hiring-authorities/.

Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) eligibles: Submit documentation verifying your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility - this includes a copy of the agency notice and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level and duty location.

Please note that documents selected for transfer from your USAJOBS profile are NOT automatically added to your application. You need to transfer your document(s) in the 'Documents' step during the application process.

Hard copy paper supplemental documents, submitted without prior Human Resources approval, will be considered as an incomplete application.

Required documentation must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement.

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.

How to Apply

THIS IS AN ONLINE APPLICATION PROCESS THROUGH USAJOBS. Your application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time by 05/06/2024. If you need assistance in applying on-line, please contact the HR Office at kaking@blm.gov, or 775-861-6510. If applying on-line poses a hardship for you (i.e. you do not have access to the Internet) you must contact us prior to the closing date of the announcement for an alternative method of applying.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have access to a public library, State Job Service Office, etc., you should use these resources to apply online. You must follow the steps described below to complete the application process:

YOU MUST HAVE OR CREATE A PROFILE IN USAJOBS. Your profile must contain a current resume for submission. See Required Documents section for what to include in your resume.

INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION COULD RESULT IN AN INELIGIBLE RATING.

The USAJOBS Resume Builder was designed to ensure that your resume includes the standard information needed. The Resume Builder is an available tool when you login to your USAJOBS account.

  1. Review the Appointment Eligibility Criteria: You will ONLY be considered for the appointment eligibilities that you selected. You may choose more than one eligibility in this section. You must provide proof of your eligibility to be considered.
  2. You must submit a resume and also complete the online application and assessment questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.
  3. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package.
  4. To view the assessment questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12388423
FOLLOW UP. Check your application status before the announcement closes. It is your responsibility to ensure that a complete application (including a resume, on-line questionnaire, and applicable supplemental documentation) is received by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on 05/06/2024.

NOTE: Technical problems may take at least 1 business day to resolve; therefore, you are highly encouraged to complete the application process prior to the closing date.

Agency contact information

Kimberly King

Address

BLM Nevada State Office
BLM Nevada State Office
NV-953
1340 Financial Blvd.
Reno, NV 89502
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

You can track the progress of your application package via your USAJobs account. You will receive an acknowledgement email from USAJobs that your submission was successful once we have received your online questionnaire, resume, and any supporting documentation. You will be notified of the status of your application and/or referral to the hiring official via your USAJobs account after the evaluation process is complete. You will be contacted if further evaluation or interviews are required.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (Welcome | Login.gov), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to.

More than one position may be filled from this announcement, at the discretion of Federal hiring officials. Department of the Interior may share the list of eligible candidates with other Federal agencies/departments, authorized to appoint new employees under the same hiring procedures if the position is in the same: job series, grade level, promotion potential, and in the same geographic locations (including the same metro/commuting area) provided herein. You will have the opportunity to "opt-in" to appear on a shared list. "Opt-in" does not guarantee your application will be shared, but you will be contacted in the event your application is shared


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.