Soil Conservation Technician

* Duties Help Duties Summary This position is located within a USDA Natural Resources Conservation state, area, or field office within a designated state. This position provides assistance to the Soil and Water Conservation District assigned to the field office within the assigned Natural Resources area; and to work with landowners to apply and maintain a number of conservation practices and review of financial assistance requests under the provision of federal, state, and local agriculture programs. Learn more about this agency Responsibilities * Provides information to farmers, ranchers and other rural residents on the kind of assistance available from NRCS and other USDA agencies. * Assists with conducting engineer surveys to design mechanical practices to be utilized in conservation planning. * Advises landowners on eligibility prerequisites and conditions that must be satisfied to qualify for program acceptance and payments. * Provides technical support to conservation planners in resource planning by utilizing survey tools and planning software. Travel Required Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position. Supervisory status No Promotion Potential 8 * Job family (Series) 0458 Soil Conservation Technician Similar jobs * Technicians, Wildlife * Wildlife Technicians * Requirements Help Requirements 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. * Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. * 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 at https://www.e-verify.gov/. * 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. Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Minimum Qualification Requirement: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level(s) in which you are applying: Must submit transcripts as proof of any claimed education. GS-05Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: * gathering and compiling planning data on soil limitations, erosion, surface drainage, and sedimentation to make preliminary engineering surveys; * assisting in the development of large area resource conservation plans; * working with landowners on the application and maintenance of conservation practices. OR Education: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (a) with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position, or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 6 semester hours in mathematics is creditable. OR Combination of experience and education: You must have a combination of education and experience as listed above which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5. GS-06Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: * advising landowners on the use of one or several single alternative practices such as nutrient management, roof runoff structures, contour cultivation, grassed waterways, and terracing; * installing and maintaining soil and water conservation measures on farms, ranches, or agricultural land; * performing surveying work, reducing notes and drafting specifications for various stabilization or diversion practices; * providing advice on merging conservation practices using established objectives. OR Education Substitution for GS-06: Successful completion of one full year of graduate education from an accredited college or university leading to a master's degree with a major course of study in agriculture, forestry, range management, or another subject-matter field directly related to the position; OR Combination of experience and education: You must have a combination of education and experience as listed above which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. Only graduate education is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. One full academic year of graduate study, or 18 semester hours, is equivalent to 1 year of specialized experience. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-6.GS-07Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: * designing, installing and maintaining a variety of nonroutine conservation measures on public and privately owned land including farms, parks, shoreline, dams and reservoir areas, forests, and/or wildlife habitats; advising property holders on the effectiveness of applying soil and water conservation practices; * conducting basic research in support of conservation planning efforts; * performing surveying work, reducing notes and drafting specifications for various stabilization or diversion practices; * providing advice on merging conservation practices using established objectives; * developing and maintaining constructive relationships with clients, partners, and Conservation Districts. Education Substitution for GS-07: One full year of graduate education from an accredited college or university leading to a master's degree with a major course of study in agriculture, forestry, range management, or another subject-matter field directly related to the position; OR Combination of experience and education: You must have a combination of education and experience as listed above which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. Only graduate education is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. One full academic year of graduate study, or 18 semester hours, is equivalent to 1 year of specialized experience. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-7. Specialized Experience to qualify for the GS-08 level: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service, which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples of specialized experience at this level include, but are not limited to: * Designing, installing and maintaining a variety of non-routine conservation measures on public and privately owned land including farms, parks, shoreline, dams and reservoir areas, forests, and/or wildlife habitats * Advising property holders on the effectiveness of applying soil and water conservation practices; conducting basic research in support of conservation planning efforts * Performing surveying work, reducing notes and drafting specifications for various stabilization or diversion practices; providing advice on merging conservation practices using established objectives * Developing and maintaining constructive relationships with clients, partners, and Conservation Districts. * Assisting in conducting field investigations, surveys, and assembly of data needed in the development of conservation practices for structural solutions to problems with water quality, erosion, drainage, and irrigation. Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-08 grade level. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0400/soil-conservation-technician-series-0458/ 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 If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You must submit a copy of your transcripts to include course number, title, completion and grade. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. 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 for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information. Failure to provide all of the required documents/information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

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