Natural Resource Specialist / Physical Scientist

DutiesInterfaces closely with discipline leaders at NRCS National Headquarters as well as other Federal agencies and agricultural advocacy groups, cooperating State entities, state universities, and consultant organizations.Integrates the latest climate science, including strategies for adaptation to climate changes and mitigation of the causes of climate effects, to develop, coordinate, and implement NRCS new or revised policies.Works with discipline leaders across NRCS and USDA to integrate climate science resiliency, mitigation, and adaptation into conservation practices and technical guidance as appropriate.Develops planning criteria, assessment procedures, and key considerations for determining climate adaptation and mitigation-related resource concerns and components.Serve as a technical clearing house for climate adaptation and mitigation information to ensure advances in technology or process refinements and best practices are reflected in the technical assistance and training provided.Provides leadership for greenhouse gas quantification efforts in support of agency activities.Requirements Conditions of EmploymentYou must be a US Citizen or US National.Males born after 12 / 31 / 1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and / or fingerprint check. If selected you will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.Subject to one-year supervisory / managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.Direct Deposit 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 at https : / / www.e-verify.gov / . Qualifications This recruitment is for a TEMPORARY PROMOTION not to exceed 1 year. Please see Additional Information section for more details.Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and / or education, as defined below.AREA OF CONSIDERATION : Please note that this job opportunity announcement is only open to current Career / Career-Conditional employees of the NRCS. If you do not possess this status, you will not receive consideration.TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS : Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted).One year at the GS-13 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-14 level.One year at the GS-14 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-15 level.Basic Education Requirement : General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Series 0401Degree : bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position (Note : You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)ORCombination of Education and Experience : Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and 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. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation. (You must submit transcripts.General Physical Science Series, 1301Degree : bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in physical science, engineering, or mathematics which included 24 semester hours in physical science and / or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. (Note : You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)ORCombination of Education and Experience : Courses equivalent to one of the majors, as shown in A above, that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and / or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and 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. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation. (You must submit transcripts.)In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered : MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS : To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and / or education for the respective grade level in which you are applying : GS-14Specialized Experience : You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service that included : Developing conservation planning criteria, assessment procedures, and key considerations for determining climate adaptation and mitigation-related resource concerns;Participating in the integration of climate science into state, regional, or national strategies and policies;Partnering with other Agencies, States, and organizations to create awareness of or formulate strategies to advance climate issues;Providing input for training strategies to address high priority issues, such as climate adaptation and mitigation; ANDProviding input and / or was on a Team drafting state, regional and / or national policy.GS-15Specialized Experience : You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service that included : Working with water and climate national experts to create quality control standards for a department, organization, or Agency;Leading or supervising a team performing climate data and analyses to conduct drought monitoring and associated hydrologic information for the United States;Issuing guidance or creating policy for water and climate national experts on data acquisition and data quality control program; ANDProving oversight and approval on human resource functions related to employee performance and personnel actions.(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience)There is no substitution of education at the GS-12 or higher grade level.IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.The OPM Qualification Standards for this position can be found at : Education You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and / or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and / or detailed course description from the university / college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents / documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration.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. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and / or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. Important : If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Please check out this link for more information Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov)Additional informationThis recruitment is for a temporary promotion not to exceed (NTE) 1 year. Temporary promotions may be terminated at any time. A temporary promotion made under competitive procedures may be extended up to five years if it meets the needs of the organization. At the end of a temporary promotion, the employee will be returned to his / her original position or to a position of the same pay / grade and in the same geographic location as his / her original position. This temporary promotion will NOT be made permanent without further competition.Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL) : Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP / RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP 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 applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.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 nor guaranteed.This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8 hour work day, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and / or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor.Physical Demands : The work is largely sedentary, although some physical activity is required when making appraisal and review trips to field locations.Work Environment : The work is primarily performed in an office setting, with some travel to review field operations.PLEASE NOTE : In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following : If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted.If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline.Recruitment and / or relocation incentives may be authorized; Management may authorize superior qualifications & enhanced annual leave for applicants who are deemed to be highly qualified. Help 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 benefitsEligibility 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 EvaluatedYou will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies listed below : Interpersonal SkillsPlanning and EvaluatingStrategic ThinkingYour application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred.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.Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.To view the application form, visit :