TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-11 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level. One year at the GS-12 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-13 level. (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).

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This is an interdisciplinary position and applicants must meet one of the followingeducational requirements stated below to meet the Basic Requirements under the series in which they apply for this position to be considered.

Ecology (0408): Bachelor’s or higher degree in Biology or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours include at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences.

Rangeland Management (0454): Bachelor’s or higher degree in range management; or a related discipline that included at least 42 semester hours in a combination of the plant, animal, and soil sciences, and natural resources management, as follows:

• Range Management– At least 18 semester hours of course work in range management, including courses in such areas as basic principles of range management, range plants, range ecology, range inventories and studies, range improvements, and ranch or rangeland planning;
• Directly Related to Plant, Animal, and Soil Sciences– At least 15 semester hours of directly related courses in the plant, animal, and soil sciences, including at least one course in each of these three scientific area, i.e., plant, animal, and soil sciences. Courses in such areas as plan taxonomy, plant physiology, plan ecology, animal nutrition, livestock production, and soil morphology or soil classification are acceptable;
• Related Resources Management Studies– At least 9 semester hours of course work in related resource management subjects, including course in such areas as wildlife management, watershed management, natural resources or agricultural economics, forestry, agronomy, forages, and outdoor recreation management.

OR

Completed a combination of education and experience that included at least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil science and natural resources management shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Soil Conservation (0457): Bachelor’s or higher degree in soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. The study must have included 30 semester hours in a natural resource or agricultural field, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science.

OR

Combination of education and experience that included at least 30 semester hours in one or more of the disciplines as shown above, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science, plus appropriate experience that included the application of techniques, principles, and methods from a variety of agricultural and natural resource fields or additional education. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science.

Forestry (0460): Bachelor’s or higher degree in 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, or 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 that included 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 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements above, applicants must have the below specialized experience for the grade level(s) in which they apply.

Specialized Experience GS-12: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service that included:

• Assists in providing quality control reviews in the application of the Ecological Site Inventory principles for plant communities across a variety of land uses;
• Identifies analytical tools and methods to correlate and coordinate Ecological Site information with soils information contained in the National Soil Information System (NASIS) database.
• Assists staff in developing procedures, manuals, technical standards, handbooks, and guidelines in coordination with existing discipline handbooks and manuals; and
• Write and publish papers, e.g., NRCS publications, and professional journals.

Specialized Experience GS-13: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service that included:

• Develops and provide support and training in data collection, analysis, and interpretation related to the inventory and classification of Ecological Sites within the framework of the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS), National Soil Information System (NASIS), and Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool (EDIT) databases;
• Provides leadership in the assimilation, adaptation, integration, and transfer of new inventory and classification techniques from research to Soil Survey Regional, State, Area, and District Office staffs;
• Determines workload of staff by conducting workload analysis, develops and implements work plans, and uses other management tools as needed to ensure effective soil survey operations; and
• Evaluates employee performance, recommends appropriate performance awards, inventories training needs, develops appropriate training plans, and makes recommendations for personnel actions.

(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience.)

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).