Agriculturist

Summary

This position is located at the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Center for Agricultural Safeguarding Training (CAST) in Frederick, Maryland. Agriculturists at CAST leverage a science background to design and deliver science-based training dealing with regulating the import and export of plant and animal products with USDA APHIS's Plant Protection and Quarantine Program. Most of the training is delivered in-person, in a traditional classroom setting.

Duties

• Duties may include, but are not limited to:
• Designing, developing, and delivering wide-ranging and broad-based science and regulatory training in the agricultural and regulatory enforcement sciences.
• Developing written materials in a clear, convincing and organized manner that meets established format and style standards and is appropriate for the intended audience.
• Partnering with subject matter experts and specialists in the field to conduct task analyses, as well as to analyze the performance, skill, and knowledge levels of the learning audience.
• Training Plant Protection and Quarantine employees to regulate imported and exported plant commodities following Agency approved regulatory resources.
• Performing other duties assigned.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet 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. BASIC REQUIREMENT: Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level. FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Experience enforcing agricultural regulations through inspection of agricultural commodities for import or export, overseeing fumigations of imported commodities, enforcing agricultural compliance, or overseeing pest survey operations or pest survey teams. OR Experience providing training in an official government training position (federal, state, or county). OR Experience teaching science courses in an educational institution, e.g., high school, community college, or university. AND Experience communicating biological or agricultural regulatory concepts to individuals, colleagues, management, or groups of people. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required if: This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified. You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education. This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient if it includes your name and all course information. If selected, official transcripts will be required prior to entering on duty. Education must have been obtained from an accredited institution. Education completed in a foreign institution must include an evaluation by an organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs that it was deemed equivalent to an accredited U.S. education program, see: Foreign Education Evaluation. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. 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

Please see above for education qualification requirement information. How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by your experience, education, training, responses to the application questionnaire and the responses to all assessments required for this position demonstrated in your application package to determine the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies listed below: Attention to Detail Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Additional Information - USA Hire Online Assessment All applicants are required to complete the online USA Hire assessment to be considered for the position for this vacancy. Applicants will not be given the opportunity to complete the online USA Hire assessment outside of the assigned assessment window for this vacancy. The assessment window closes 48 hours after the posted closing date and time of the announcement. The assessment window closes 48 hours after the posted closing date and time of the announcement. To preview the application questionnaire, please visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13096169 Other Information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100 to receive selection priority. Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website. Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015. First time hires to the federal government normally start at the lowest rate of the salary range for the grade selected. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.