Duties
Must possess a valid D.C. pesticide applicator’s license in categories 3A, 3B and 3C.
Must possess and maintain a valid state driver’s license.
Arboretum Management - (Duties quoted below are at the GS-13 level.)
Assists in managing the arboretum program for the U.S. Capitol arboretum, including plant records, tree canopy assessment and planning, environmental benefits and impacts, overseeing arboriculture contracts, public outreach and education, and protection of trees during construction and special event activities. Assists with developing the arboretum’s participation in collection accreditation programs.
Tree Care and Risk Management:
- Works with the Arborist Supervisor(s) to schedule, perform and record tree care programs including, but not limited to, tree inventories, tree risk assessments, cable and lightning protection inspections, cyclical routine and preventive tree maintenance. Collaborates with the Arborist Supervisor(s), Gardens and Grounds Manager and Deputy Director to make recommendations for removals, hazard mitigations and plantings, including site, species and production method selection, based on Cultural Landscape Reports and tree and shrub collection accreditation goals.
- Travels to external vendors’ nurseries and production sites to select healthy trees for the planting program at the arboretum.
- Collaborates with the CGA Plant Health Specialist and Arborists to monitor tree health, and recommend cultural, chemical and biological controls as part of an IPM program.
- Works with the Turf Specialist and Tree and Gardening Sections to promote grounds management practices conducive to maintaining and improving soil health, including reducing negative impacts derived from a heavily used urban environment.
- Works with agency representatives to provide protective measures to landscape during planning processes for events and construction projects.
Curation, Records and Database Management:
- Manages and maintains all Geographic Information Systems (GIS) records for woody plant accessions. Creates plant record information in the living collection management system.
- Assists the Gardens and Grounds Manager and the Deputy Director in executing plans to achieve and maintain woody plant collection accreditations, including keeping all data for such programs and communicating with all accrediting organizations.
- Coordinates day-to-day departmental administrative tasks as they relate to assigned plant records.
Research, Reporting and Outreach:
- Prepares and/or facilitates the creation of comprehensive reports on both the technical and administrative aspects of the program for higher management levels. Conducts studies related to the preservation of the historic cultural landscape and urban canopy of the arboretum.
- Develops public outreach and education programs in accordance with the arboretum accreditation.
- Determines and implements a succession plan for memorial, historic and other noteworthy trees of the U.S. Capitol arboretum, as determined by AOC preservation Policy, CGA Living Collections Policy, and Cultural Landscape Reports. Propagates select species to ensure the progeny of the historic trees of the U.S. Capitol arboretum survive for future generations.
Procurement
Manages financial obligations to the arboretum program through development of budget justifications, monitoring spending, and tracking accountable property.
Develops Scopes of Work (SOW), and other contract procurement documents and serves as Contracting Officers Representative (COR) for various arboriculture and arboretum management contracts. Manages contract payment and invoices in IPP. Facilitates AOC security requirements for contractors related to facility access, badging, and screening.
Clearly communicates tree management and arboretum planning needs at all levels of CGA, the AOC, and with congressional stakeholders. This includes management of fiscal obligations and formulation of budgets towards tree management, and coordination of work with the CGA staff, contractors, appropriate AOC offices, the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP), and other congressional stakeholders.
Coordinates with the Arborist Supervisor the work and the use of materials and staff on a quarterly or longer basis; reviews supporting documents and blueprints for alterations, and new construction projects that affect trees and or tree root zones; and prepares estimates for upcoming projects and/or additional material and staffing needs.
Must follow all relevant safety rules, regulations and standard operating procedures. The incumbent must utilize knowledge of and must comply with all OSHA safety rules and regulations to ensure that work progresses in a safe manner. Provides or receives training, either on-the-job or through classroom training, to ensure that all safety practices and equipment are fully utilized. Uses required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Performs other related duties as assigned.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be able to pass a drug test
- Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs
- You must meet the education requirement
- You must possess and maintain a valid, unexpired State driver's license
- Must be able to obtain Tree Risk Assessment (TRAQ) within 6 months of hire.
- Must obtain ACSA Tree & Plant Appraisal Qual(TPAQ) within 1 year of hire.
- must become an ISA certified Arborist within 6 months of hire.
Requirements:
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.
In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must have specialized experience, directly related education OR a combination of experience and education as described below.
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:
- Managing a forestry program to include performing tree care, monitoring tree health and applying state-of-the-art methods and techniques in the care of complex and historic tree species;
- Managing a Geographic Information system (GIS); and
- Performing Contracting Officers Representative (COR) duties.
To qualify at the GS-12 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-11 level in the federal service. Examples of qualifying experience include the following types of tasks performed on a regular and recurring basis:
Education
Basic Education Requirements:
Degree: Forestry; or a related subject-matter field that included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours of course work were in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently diversified to include courses in each of the following areas:
- Management of Renewable Resources-- study of the science and art of managing renewable resources to attain desired results. Examples of creditable courses in this area include silviculture, forest management operations, timber management, wildland fire science or fire management, utilization of forest resources, forest regulation, recreational land management, watershed management, and wildlife or range habitat management.
- Forest Biology-- study of the classification, distribution, characteristics, and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of living organisms to the forest environment. Examples of creditable courses in this area include dendrology, forest ecology, silvics, forest genetics, wood structure and properties, forest soils, forest entomology, and forest pathology.
- Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory-- sampling, inventory, measurement, and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources. Examples of creditable courses include forest biometrics, forest mensuration, forest valuation, statistical analysis of forest resource data, renewable natural resources inventories and analysis, and photogrammetry or remote sensing.
OR
Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in forestry, or at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours in forestry are the same as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
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 provide sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree.
Applicants must possess and maintain a valid and unexpired State driver's license at the time of application.
To apply pesticides in the District of Columbia Applicants must possess a valid and unexpired D.C. Pesticide Applicator’s License or a valid, unexpired State pesticide license with D.C. reciprocity in categories 3A, 3B, 3C.
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.
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:
- Knowledge of and skill in applying concepts, principles, practices and methodology of urban forest management.
- Knowledge of urban forest health and appropriate treatments of pests, fungi, diseases and abiotic conditions and associated treatments.
- Knowledge of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and computer programs relating to work agendas, budget and tree collection management.
- Ability to perform COTR and financial management duties.
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.
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 with setting up an account or for general assistance in using USAJOBS, go to USAJOBS Help Page.
NEED HELP?
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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.