Resource Conservationist

ID:ACA-050Location:AlturasProgram:ACE

Wage/Hr:$32.12Hours/Week:32Minimum Age:55

Being Age 55 or Older is Good for The Environment! The Agricultural Conservation Experienced Services (ACES) Program offers unique opportunities in Scientific, Technical, and Agricultural support for individuals aged 55 and over to support the Department of Agriculture?s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through a grant administered program awarded to National Experienced Workforce Solutions (NEW Solutions). This is a unique program where your talents, expertise, and experience will truly be valued. The ACES program provides an opportunity to work side-by-side with NRCS staff that are doing important work every day.Benefits: Paid Health Insurance Premium for positions budgeted at 60 hours per pay period, Accrued Vacation and Sick Leave, Paid Federal Holidays, and optional Vision and Dental Insurance available for positions budgeted at 35 hours per pay period.Positions listed here do not guarantee employment for any definite period. Enrollment in the Experienced Worker Programs administered by NEW Solutions is temporary. The enrollment relationship between NEW Solutions and the Enrollee is an "at-will" relationship. This means that an Enrollee is free to terminate enrollment at any time during the enrollment period, and NEW Solutions and the Agency have the right to terminate the relationship with the Enrollee.PLEASE NOTE: An ?ACES Enrollee? is not a federal employee, nor an employee of NEW Solutions. An ?ACES Enrollee? is a participant in a grant program established through a Cooperative Agreement funded by the USDA-NRCS and administered by NEW Solutions.This opportunity applies to applicants legally eligible to work in the United States.

Qualifications

Minimum of 10 year(s) of experience in Developing and presenting conservation plans or providing professional assistance to landowners. OR AA Degree in Natural Resources, Agriculture, or related field of study

• Valid State Driver's license.
• Experience required with Windows, MS Word, MS Excel
• Conservation Desktop (CD) and Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool (CART).
  
  

Duties

This position provides technical assistance support for delivering NRCS Farm Bill conservation programs at the Alturas Service Center. The Resource Conservationist shall possess practical knowledge of agriculture production, landscape natural resource concerns, the NRCS conservation planning process, and NRCS Farm Bill programs. The Resource Conservationist must be able to initiate and complete these responsibilities with limited supervision. The Resource Conservationist must have knowledge of local land ownership and historical knowledge of NRCS programs in Modoc and surrounding counties.

• ?Under the direction of the NRCS District Conservationist; completes tasks required to implement the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP); which may include resource data collection and analysis, decision support documentation, conservation plan and contract development, status reviews of planned practices, collection and organization of practice/enhancement certification documentation, and case file management. These tasks will be conducted for all land uses ? crop, pasture, forest, farmstead, and wildlife. Some of these tasks will be done for complex projects involving multiple landowners/units of government/NGO?s, and across county and watersheds in support of Program Initiatives. 30%
• Assists in providing training on EQIP and CSP program delivery to NRCS field staff. 40%
• Assists in performing quality assurance reviews of EQIP and CSP program delivery at the Field Office level. 10%
• Additional work will generally consist of assisting others, applying accepted conservation practices, and coordinating and communicating with conservationists, engineers, customers, and other NRCS personnel and partners. Examples of activities for conservation assistance covered by this agreement are as follows: (1) Conservation Planning/Contracting: Assist clients and NRCS staff with the preparation of conservation plans and associated financial assistance contracts (2) Conservation Plan/Contract Application: Prepare guidance to clients for the implementation of conservation practices. Work closely with clients to implement practices on schedule (3) Program Support: Provide technical and administrative support, recommendations, and implementation assistance on Farm Bill programs. This may include, but is not limited to, program application assistance, application ranking, contract evaluation, contract status reviews, processing payment applications, case file management, and general administrative activities. 20%
  
  

Other

• Annual information system security, anti-harassment, and civil rights training.
• As needed for the position.
• Travel Requirements: This will be local travel and a government vehicle should be available for these trips.
  
  

NEW Solutions is committed to promoting equal opportunity and to an environment free from discrimination and harassment in any form administering Experienced Worker Programs under cooperative agreements with federal agencies. It is NEW Solutions' policy to comply with all applicable laws that provide equal opportunity and to prohibit unlawful discrimination in enrolling participants in the federal programs.