at Natural Resources Conservation Service in Champaign, Illinois, United States
Job Description
Summary This position is located in a state office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The incumbent serves as a Water Resources Planning Specialist and has delegated authority to coordinate watershed project planning, rehabilitation project planning, and non-program planning within the state. Responsibilities Develops and recommends state policies and procedures to govern watershed planning and rehabilitation planning. Develops state business plan action items related to watershed operations and watershed rehabilitation. Represents NRCS in reconciling diverse and influential interests regarding planning activities. Coordinates the overall functions of a watershed planning team. Provides guidance in the development of authoritative presentations to solve highly controversial issues with state and nationwide implications. Coordinates and manages periodic reviews of total operations in watershed and rehabilitation planning to assure adherence to standards and policies. Provides overall coordination and support for implementation of the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, the Watershed Rehabilitation Program, and Watershed Operations Program. Ensures that NRCS watershed and area-wide planning complies with laws relating to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, other public laws, and executive orders relating to watershed and program neutral planning. Provides training to field, area, and state staff relating to assigned area of responsibility. Identifies training needs. Fulfills Liaison duties with Watershed Divisional staff and leaders to ensure effective and efficient implementation of all watersheds programs and activities. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, and specialized experience as defined below. Time in grade: Current Federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet the time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. (e.g. one year at the GS-09 grade level for consideration for the GS-11 grade level; one year at the GS-11 grade level for consideration for the GS-12 grade level). Basic Education Requirement: Degree: Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position; OR Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to major, as shown above plus appropriate experience or additional education. In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered: Specialized Experience (GS-11 level): To qualify for the GS-11 grade level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-09 or higher in the Federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service that has equipped you with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. For this position, specialized experience is defined as: Participate on teams to plan, develop, and implement water and land management programs and policies; Preparing watershed plans and water rehabilitation plans Preparing conservation or resource management plans and providing financial or implementation assistance; Coordinating water resources planning efforts and developing water resource plans. OR Education Substitution: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering; OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. Specialized Experience (GS-12 level): To qualify for the GS-12 grade level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 or higher in the Federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service that has equipped you with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. For this position, specialized experience is defined as: Preparing watershed plans and water rehabilitation plans; Coordinating water resources planning efforts; Developing water resource plans; Conducting reviews, work management studies, and/or cost analysis related to resource planning of soil, water, air, plants, animals, humans and energy; and Writing and editing technical natural resources planning documents. There is no education substitution for the GS-12 level. 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. Education If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: 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. Click on this link for more information. Additional Information 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
