Supervisory Interdisciplinary Horticulturist/Landscape Architect

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution (SI) is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in the Smithsonian Gardens, Facilities Management. Smithsonian Gardens is responsible for managing public gardens, living plant collections, greenhouse and nursery operations, and landscape assets.

Duties

The Supervisory Interdisciplinary Horticulturist/Landscape Architect provides leadership and expertise in horticulture operations, landscape design, plant stewardship, and sustainable landscape management. In this position, you will: · Direct horticulture and landscape operations; establishes priorities, operating procedures, and technical standards; evaluates resource needs and program effectiveness; and recommends improvements. · Direct horticulture, landscape planning and operations activities through subordinate supervisors and staff. · Represent the organization and coordinates with internal teams, professional organizations, governmental partners, and external stakeholders on activities affecting gardens and landscapes. · Direct emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and continuity activities for Smithsonian Gardens' horticulture and landscape operations. Develops and implements emergency procedures; coordinates with emergency management, safety, security, facilities, and operational personnel and establishes priorities for protecting assets. Requirements

Conditions of Employment Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website. Qualifications

Basic Qualification Requirements: Basic Education Requirements for Horticulture Series 0437: 1. Degree: horticulture; or a related discipline of basic plant science that included at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, of which at least 16 semester hours were in horticultural subjects such as those dealing with the breeding, care, management, production, and post harvest handling of horticultural crops. OR 2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in horticulture or a related discipline of basic plant science that included course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Evaluation of Education: Courses in botany, plant physiology, plant taxonomy, plant pathology, genetics, agronomy, horticulture, and similar courses may be used to meet the 30-semester-hour requirement in basic plant sciences. Basic Education Requirements for Landscape Architecture Series 0807: 1. Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree in landscape architecture or landscape design. or 2. Combination of education and experience: For each year short of graduation, the applicant must have had 1 year of experience under professional leadership and guidance of such character and diversity as to be a satisfactory substitute for the required education. This experience must have included original landscape design. To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, however if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify you must provide an official transcript before you begin work. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements listed below: GS-14 Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as leading or managing horticulture or landscape programs & overseeing the technical aspects of garden or landscape planning, improvement, and maintenance projects; and working with other teams and partners to resolve competing work priorities and resource needs. Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience. 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. Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week. Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below: Knowledge of cultural landscape management, sustainable horticulture, landscape management, and living collection practices sufficient to establish and evaluate horticulture and landscape operation programs. · Ability to provide professional direction and oversight for horticulture and landscape activities, ensuring that planning, design, development, and operational decisions support institutional priorities, protect significant landscape resources and enhance the visitor experience. · Knowledge of landscape planning, site design, planting design, landscape construction, horticulture operations and landscape rehabilitation to evaluate and resolve complex issues. · Knowledge of emergency preparedness, risk management, continuity of operations and recovery principles applicable to horticulture and landscape programs. Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria: Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above. Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above. Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree. This 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 category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position. Important Note: The review of your resume will determine your final rating and should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. You may preview questions for this vacancy. Benefits

The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options. Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description. Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/ Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/ Other Information

This position is not included in the bargaining unit. Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period. Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.