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Natural Resource Specialist

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Reclamation
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Summary

Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as a Natural Resource Specialist. Make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment.

Duty Location: Austin, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

For living conditions go to: https://www.usbr.gov/gp/employment/living_conditions.pdf

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
01/08/2025 to 01/21/2025
Salary
$40,332 to - $64,952 per year

This salary is based on the Rest of the US pay table and could vary based on duty location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 7
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Oklahoma City, OK
Austin, TX
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
BOR-MB-25-DE-12656827-SL
Control number
827291600

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Duties

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-Assists with professional and scientific work in the conservation and management of fish and wildlife resources, or in the determination, establishment, and publication of facts, principles, methods, techniques, and procedures necessary for the conservation and management of fish and wildlife resources.
-Assists with preparing technical reports or provides technical assistance to multidisciplinary government or contracting personnel involved in preparing such reports and/or permits.
- Assists in reviews of operating Reclamation projects and works with professionals and specialists responsible for Reclamation program activities, such as soil and moisture conservation, rehabilitation and betterment, drainage and minor construction, water service and repayment contracts, safety-of-dams, reservoir operations, recreation, universal accessibility, fish and wildlife management, operation and maintenance, and land use agreements and contracts in order to conserve and enhance land resources.
-Collaborates with Engineers, geologists, hydrologists, soil scientists, economists, and other professionals and specialists to mitigate or minimize adverse impacts identified.
-Establishes good working relationships with state, local and other Federal agencies, special interest groups, users of lands, and the public.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
You must be suitable for federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
You must submit a resume and supporting documentation (see Required Documents).
You must submit eligibility documents for veterans consideration (see Required Documents).
You must meet any minimum education and/or experience requirements (see Qualifications).
You must submit transcript(s) to verify education requirements (see Qualifications/Education).
You must maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times as the position requires operation of government vehicles on government and public roads. Failure to maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times will result in removal from the position

Qualifications

To be eligible for consideration, you must first meet the Basic Education Requirement for this position, having a:

A. Degree: A 4-year degree from an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in the biologicalsciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry or related disciplines appropriate to this position.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience oradditional education.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must also meet the qualifications below:.
GS-05
Applicants who meet the Basic Education Requirement are fully qualified for the GS-05 level.

GS-07
Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-05 level in federal service or non-federal equivalent which included experience assisting with projects related to the conservation and management of fish and wildlife resources; assisting with environmental compliance, recreation, or land resource management activities; and drafting technical documentation.
OR
Education:
One full year of graduate level education. The education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.
OR
SAA:
Must meet one of the following: Upper 1/3 of graduating class based on completed courses; 3.0 or higher out of possible 4.0 based on four years of education or based on final two years of curriculum; 3.5 out of a possible 4.0 based on average of required major courses or required major courses in final two years of curriculum; Member of national scholastic honor society which meets requirements of Association of College Honor Societies
OR
Combination
of graduate education and specialized experience as described above.

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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors if applicable, by 01/21/2025.

Education

This vacancy announcement allows substituting education for experience at the GS-05/07 grade levels. You must submit a copy of college transcript(s) (unofficial copy is acceptable) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include the name of the college or university and date the degree was conferred. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not-qualified for the position.

This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of college transcript(s) (unofficial copy is acceptable) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include the name of the college or university and date the degree was conferred. Non-submission will result in being rated not-qualified for the position.

You will be required to provide official college transcripts to verify educational qualifications, if selected. An official transcript must be sent directly from the University's Registrar's office and must be provided from the institution awarding the degree. Academic transcripts certified by notary publics are NOT official. Official transcripts must be submitted prior to reporting to work as a condition of employment. Failure to submit official transcripts may be grounds for dismissal or rescission of the job offer.

Accreditation: Only education from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education is acceptable to meet education requirements or to substitute for experience, if applicable. For additional info, refer to the Office of Personnel Management and U.S. Department of Education.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For additional info, refer to the U.S. Network for Education Information.

Additional information

The full performance of this position is GS-11. Progression to this grade is neither guaranteed nor automatic. Advancement is dependent upon supervisory approval, progression of higher-level duties, your successful performance in the position, and satisfaction of time-in-grade and qualification requirements.

You may be required to serve an initial probationary period. Current, permanent Federal employees who are selected from this announcement may be required to serve a probationary period.

Reclamation has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and you may be allowed to telework with supervisory approval.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information, visit: Relocation Incentive.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS) expenses are authorized with the exception of the Guaranteed Home Sale Provision or first-post-of-duty relocation expenses are authorized, as applicable. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law December 2017, suspends the moving expense deduction and the exclusion from income of qualified employer reimbursements of moving expenses that was allowed under previous tax laws. Employer reimbursements for moving costs are now generally taxed at the same rate as ordinary income.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may request consideration for a Superior Qualifications Appointment. For information, visit: OPM Fact Sheet.

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including applicant rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/

This position is designated as a LOW RISK position. It requires a fully completed and favorably adjudicated SF85 Background Investigation (T1 or equivalent) that is current (within the last 5 years). This is a condition of employment.

Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must certify registration with the Selective Service System or that the applicant is exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Go to: https://www.sss.gov

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Category rating and selection procedures will be used to evaluate applications from this announcement. If an applicant meets the basic qualification requirements, his/her on-line responses to the vacancy assessment questionnaire will be used to determine the quality and extent of his/her experience, education, training, etc., for placement in one of the following categories: 1) Best Qualified, and 2) Qualified. Qualified candidates will be assigned a numerical score on a scale of 70-100. The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three" but protects the rights of Veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category. Veterans' preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent will be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-09 level or higher). The assessment questionnaire will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide to the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competence
  • Writing

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a SME Resume Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

The application questionnaire can be previewed here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12656827

Resumes for minimally qualified applicants will be reviewed by a panel of Subject Matter Experts and scored based on the competencies or job elements listed above. Best qualified applicants will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration.

Your answers will be verified against information provided in your resume. Your resume must clearly support the responses to all the questions by addressing experience, education, and/or training relevant to this position. You must make a fair and accurate assessment of your qualifications. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than what is apparent in the description of your experience, competencies, skills, and/or education/training (or that your resume/application is incomplete), you could be rated ineligible or your score could be lowered.

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies with the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s). Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. You may choose to opt in of having your information shared with other agencies when applying for this position. If an agency requests a copy of a certificate you are on, you will be notified.

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