Supervisory Horticulturist Job in Washington DC, DC

Vacancy No. CGA-2025-045 Department Architect of the Capitol
Salary $117,962.00 to $153,354.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 2/4/2025 Close Date 3/6/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington DC, DC


Summary

The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) has leadership position within Office of the Director, Capitol Grounds and Arboretum (CGA); Gardening Division. The Supervisory Horticulturist provides day-to-day and long-term supervision to the Senate, Capitol and House Gardening Sections. CGA has continued to grow as a level 3 internationally accredited arboretum and nationally recognized leader of professional grounds management excellence.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

See Requirements section of this announcement for information on who may apply. Note: Please be advised that federal retired annuitant candidates may only be considered as a temporary employee if the role can be filled in that capacity.

Duties

Supervisory and Managerial Responsibilities

  • Performs administrative and technical supervisory functions for subordinates. Assigns duties and evaluates performance. Manages the organizational unit’s budget and workload. Develops performance requirements for subordinates and ensures a mutual understanding of the performance standards. Resolves complaints and grievances as delegated by higher level supervisors. Provides leadership to ensure support for equal employment opportunity (EEO) goals and requirements. Practices nondiscriminatory and non-retaliatory employment actions and prevents unlawful discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, age or disability. Provides for employee skills enrichment through job related coaching, mentoring and training.
  • Responsible for a familiarization with horticultural related safety rules and regulations to ensure that work progresses in a safe manner and to initiate or take corrective action on unsafe conditions in managed areas. Provides or receives training, either on the job or through classroom training, to ensure that all direct reports know how to use required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). 
  • Provides professional leadership and administrative direction through subordinate supervisors and team leaders. Outlines overall responsibilities, makes assignments, sets priorities, and provides professional, technical and administrative advice and assistance as required.
  • Plans organizational structure and staffing needs, determines types of jobs required, and assigns duties to key subordinate positions. Reviews and approves justifications for personnel requirements, reviews and approves job descriptions, and selects key employees. 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

  • Collaborates in the planning and execution of enhancing CGA customer service and improving the visitor experience.
  • Serves as a Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) for designated contracts. Participates in contract negotiations, recommends changes, additions to or deletions from contracts. Develops Statements of Work for procurement.
  • Plans, estimates, coordinates, designs, and schedules horticultural renovation and installation projects for the workforce. Inspects gardening work; formulates plans for the most efficient use of staff resources; and performs investigations and assessments to determine the scope and nature of required solutions, including the use of contractors.
  • Communicates and plans work and resource requirements with other CGA divisions, sections and specialists.

LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE

  • Serves as a technical expert in horticultural design and public landscape maintenance. Provides input as subject matter expert in sustainable landscape practices, greenroof construction and maintenance and efficient use and maintenance of irrigation systems. 
  • Serves as a jurisdictional expert in campus wide Cultural Landscape Reports (CLR’s) and utilizes the CLR’s to formulate landscape plans, treatments and maintenance. 
  • Ensures landscaped areas are manicured and maintained to professional grounds management standards.
  • Assists in the management of campus wide Integrated Pesticide Management and Grounds Management Community of Practice. Works in tandem with CGA’s technical team to come up with BMPs and timelines for implementation of changes to current practices. Collaborates on product use and timing of applications.
  • Leads snow removal and operations for Capitol Square. Response to emergency events on campus and directs teams to during response.

PLANT DATA MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT

  • Compiles campus wide plant purchasing and tracks installations and removals to keep an updated log of plant collection.
  • Keeps logs of new plant material in current plant collection’s data system and records of design implementation each season.
  • Actively strives to add genetic diversity into plant collection.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Maintains a DC pesticide license in categories III – A, B & C.

**This position is considered "essential". Reporting to work to work during emergencies and inclement weather situations is required.****

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
  • You must meet education requirements at the time of application.
  • Maintains a DC pesticide license in categories III – A, B & C.

To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below:

  • 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
  • A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States.

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 the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, an applicant's one full year of specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

To qualify at the GS-13 level, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-12 level in the federal service. Examples of qualifying experience include the following types of tasks performed on a regular and recurring basis:

  • Comprehensive knowledge of the principles, theories, concepts, methods, and techniques of horticulture;
  • Leading and/or supervising employees in the performance of horticultural work, gardening and/or landscape maintenance activities;
  • Serving as a Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) or equivalent specific to horticultural or plant sciences. 
  • Planning horticultural projects and activities, including horticultural design, grounds management  and plant collections, installation, maintenance and displays.

Education

In addition to meeting the specialized experience requirements, applicants must have the following:

Degree: Horticulture; or a related discipline of basic plant science that included at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, of which at least 16 semester hours were in horticultural subjects such as those dealing with the breeding, care, management, production, and post-harvest handling of horticultural crops.

--OR--

Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in horticulture or a related discipline of basic plant science that included course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Courses in botany, plant physiology, plant taxonomy, plant pathology, genetics, agronomy, horticulture, and similar courses may be used to meet the 30-semester-hour requirement in basic plant sciences.

The 16-semester-hour requirement in horticulture includes course work in basic horticulture and course work related to any of the recognized subject-matter fields of horticulture, i.e., fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, nursery work, seed production, or course work in related areas of science, such as micro-biology, entomology, plant pathology, plant physiology, or genetics that is directly related to horticultural work.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: 

Education completed outside of the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment.

Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part of foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree.

You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing if selected.

Additional information

Welcome Veterans. The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) gives veterans' preference rights in the legislative branch to certain veterans as applied by the Congressional Accountability Act. Veterans' preference is applied on this vacancy announcement. If you are a veteran and have been separated under honorable conditions, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility; SF-15, if applicable; and Department of Veterans Affairs documentation of disability, if applicable. For more information, please visit OPM vet guide

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System.  If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

DRUG TESTING: The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is a Drug Free Workplace. As part of the AOC’s suitability assessment, a candidate tentatively selected for a position is required to submit to screening for illegal drug use. Satisfactory completion of a drug test is a condition of employment with the Agency. A candidate must test negative prior to being eligible for appointment into a position. We will schedule, provide, and cover the cost for the drug test.
 
The selectee(s) under the vacancy announcement for this position is subject to a criminal record check by the U.S. Capitol Police and satisfactory adjudication to be eligible for employment at the Architect of the Capitol.
 
The Architect of the Capitol is an E-VERIFY Participant. E-VERIFY is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment authorization in the United States. If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the DHS Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" electronic system. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm

The Architect of the Capitol is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, genetic information and/or disability.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.
 
Moving expenses are not authorized.
 
Relocation expenses are not authorized.
 
Probationary Period- Selectee(s) is subject to the completion of a one-year trial/probationary period, regardless of whether or not a trial/probationary period has been completed previously with the Architect of the Capitol or another Federal agency.

This vacancy announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies in any of the jurisdictions of the Architect of the Capitol.

All application materials become the property of the Architect of the Capitol.

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.

A variety of health insurance plans; retirement system with investment options; paid holidays; paid sick and annual (vacation) leave; life insurance; incentive systems; subsidized transportation; training and development opportunities, etc.

Selected applicant(s) may be eligible to earn a higher annual leave accrual rate credit towards annual leave accrual based on prior non-Federal or uniformed service work experience. The amount of service credit will be based on specialized experience or qualifying experience that is provided on the applicant profile submitted. As such, if you are a new employee to the Federal Government or a rehire, it is important that you provide a work history that lists all directly related positions held, and it must include the dates of employment (month/day/year).

The Architect of the Capitol offers eligible employees opportunity to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program.

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.

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:

Horticultural Sciences - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and practices of plant collections, characteristics, and nomenclature.

Contracting Management - Knowledge of various types of contracts, techniques, or requirements for contract negotiation and administration.

Landscape Management - Knowledge of the concepts, theories, and practices used in the planning, designing, construction, and adaptation of outdoor features, recreation planning, requirements, aesthetic value, and compatibility with other plant developments and resources.

Ability to organize and direct horticultural projects, set priorities and deadlines to meet established goals and objectives.

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 not hiring you or disqualification for 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.

Required Documents

The Architect of the Capitol's job application process is designed to ensure that we only ask you for the information that is absolutely needed to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility for the position.

To apply for this position, you only need to submit online the following: a) your resume and 2) answer the online vacancy assessment questionnaire. The online questionnaire contains eligibility and screening questions and other relevant supplemental information. No additional documentation or attachment is required at the time of application. 

We ask that you prepare and submit a resume that best describes fully your background experience, skills, abilities, education, training and other relevant credentials. The resume should include dates of employment.

Nothing further is required until it is requested by the staff of the Human Capital Management Division. If additional documentation is required for a position, you will be asked to provide it during the selection process or upon selection. At that point, we may ask you to submit documentation to support statements made in your resume.

For example, we may ask you to provide documents such as college transcripts, copy of diploma or proof of Federal employment status. If the position requires a license or certification, we will ask candidate(s) to provide proof at the time of selection.

If you are claiming veterans' preference, we may ask you to submit proof of Veterans preference (DD-214, and, if claiming 10-point preference, the SF-15 plus proof required by that form).

If you fail to provide the required documents, we will withdraw a tentative job offer made and/or remove you from further consideration.

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

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 setting up an account or for general help 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.

Agency contact information

Clarissa Anderson
Phone
202-215-4316
Fax
202-226-9755
Email
clarissa.anderson@aoc.gov
Address
Architect of the Capitol
2nd and D Street, S.W.
Washington, District of Columbia 20515
United States

Next steps

You will receive a notice generated by the USAJobs System when you have successfully submitted your application. After all application packages have been received, 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.


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


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