Natural Resource Specialist (Resource Conservationist)

This position is located in the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), California under the leadership of the Assistant State Conservationist for Programs. The primary purpose of this position is to provide resources to farmers and landowners to aid them with conservation. This recruitment is for a TEMPORARY PROMOTION not to exceed 2 years. Please see "Qualifications" section for more details. In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts. Basic Requirement: GS-0401: A. Degree: Biological sciences, Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below. Specialized Experience Requirement For the GS-13 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Developing, establishing, and maintaining partnerships with public and private organizations; Tracking Budget allocations; Coordinating communications and marketing efforts to inform and educate targeted audiences; Conducting research for the preparation of reports, documents, information and other analyses on topics identifying partnership projects. 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. Time-in-Grade Requirement: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement. Note: If you are applying at the target grade level identified in the vacancy announcement and you currently hold that same grade level, the personnel action will be processed as a detail instead of a temporary promotion. This detail may be extended without further competition or may end earlier due to lack of work or funds, or at the discretion of the Hiring Manager. At the end of the temporary promotion, it is expected that you will be returned to your permanent position of record with any increases that would have been received if not temporarily assigned. This temporary promotion may be made permanent without further competition. If the temporary promotion is not made permanent, you will be returned to your permanent position of record with any increases that would have been received if not temporarily assigned. If you are selected, we will work with you and your supervisor on an agreement covering return rights so every effort will be made to return you to a properly classified position for which qualified and at the same grade level. If it is not possible to be returned to the prior position, you should be placed in another position in your agency for which qualified, at the same grade and geographic location as before. Should this not occur, reduction-in-force procedures may be necessary. Provides leadership in creating, guiding, and facilitating an interdependent network among regional, state, and local project levels of the partnership organizations. Assists technical leads with agreement negotiations and development by performing the following: understanding and advising on specific deliverables for implementation of programs Track budget allocations, ensuring proper payments or reimbursements are made to lead partner entities. Coordinates with public affairs staff of NRCS and partners to coordinate communications and marketing efforts to inform and educate targeted audiences of results and efforts. Maintains a communication network among the various conservation partners, agriculture organizations, state natural resource agencies and other federal conservation agencies to provide timely and relevant data on key conservation issues. Leads junior staff in the execution of team duties. Oversees and reviews work to ensure timely performance, soundness, and value Contributes to training plans to ensure personnel are adequately qualified to perform assigned tasks and to ensure personnel are provided the opportunity to develop their skills to optimum level. Monitors work progress of the team, concluding adherence to methods and procedures, prioritization, development of assignments and schedules. Conducts research for preparation of issue/briefing papers, reports, documents, information memoranda, and other analyses on topics which identity partnership projects for consideration and provides justification for these priorities. Reviews and analyzes studies, reports, evaluations, and other information related to partnerships. Conditions of Employment You 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 may be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are unable to reimburse for any fees incurred. 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.gov. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period depending on your appointment type, unless previous federal service is creditable. During this time your employment will be evaluated, and we may consider: your performance and conduct, the needs and interests of the agency, whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government, and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position. Education There is no education substitution for specialized experience at the GS-13 grade level. College Transcript: If qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with course number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. 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 to ensure proper evaluation. Your education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited toward qualifications. You may verify accreditation by visiting the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs website. We will verify your education accordingly. Foreign Education: You must submit verification that education completed in a foreign institution, was recognized by an accreditation body accepted by the U.S. Department of Education. You must include a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Your transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. You may submit an unofficial copy of your transcript at the initial phase of the application process. However, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting transcripts.