Forester (Silviculture) Information Technology (IT) - Rochester, VT at Geebo

Forester (Silviculture)

Company Name:
Department Of Agriculture
US Citizens and Nationals; no prior Federal experience is required. Permanent Full-Time
A career with the Forest Service will challenge you to manage and care for more than 193 million acres of our nation's most magnificent lands, conduct research through a network of forest and range experiment stations and the Forest Products Laboratory, and provide assistance to State and private forestry agencies.
It's an awesome responsibility - but the rewards are as limitless as the views.
This position is being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number 14-0920-59920G-SD (opens 08/08/2014 and closes 08/18/2014) . Current or former Federal employees may apply to both announcements, but should be sure to apply to the Merit Promotion Announcement in order to avoid losing consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. Disabled veterans, candidates with 3 or more years of active duty military service, and candidates eligible for special hiring authorities may apply to the Merit Promotion Announcement if they meet the criteria outlined in the announcement and submit supporting documentation.
The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.
This position is located on the Green Mountain & Finger Lakes National Forest. The duty location for this position is Rochester, VT. For additional information about the duties of the position, please contact Christopher Mattrick at or .us
The incumbent of this position serves as a silviculturist with primary responsibility for the development, planning, and application of silvicultural methods and practices.
USCITIZEN SSR PROBATION US Citizenship is required. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. A 1-year probationary period is required. Duties listed are at the full performance level.
Makes on-the-ground examinations and analyses of forest areas to determine which areas require short or long-range cultural treatment in terms of the total ecosystem. Provides advice, technical support, and evaluation of proposed and ongoing timber sale programs to prevent loss of timber productivity and damage to the environment.
Reviews and approves project plans for special administrative studies of silvicultural methods and techniques in planting, seeding, site preparation, timber stand improvement, and tree and shrub improvement projects.
Plans, coordinates, and administers the technical phases of forest area control of animals, insects, or diseases affecting reforestation and regeneration programs.
Serves as a full member of the unit management team and shares in setting unit goals and objectives and developing overall unit plans. Plans, coordinates, and evaluates the timber stand improvement program; prescribes cutting practices based on an examination of stand conditions and esthetic or other resource requirements.
Inspects all phases of reforestation and stand improvement projects; appraises the degree of conformance with policies, procedures, and silvicultural plans; and recommends corrective action as required.
Participates in preparation and review of environmental analysis reports and environmental impact statements. Reviews silviculture prescriptions to ensure that plans, treatment, and harvesting techniques are compatible with long-range land management plans.
Provides advice, technical support, and evaluation of proposed and ongoing timber sale programs to prevent loss of timber productivity and damage to the environment. Coordinates silvicultural needs with other resource specialists.
Maintains liaison with employees of Federal and State governments, local officials, and private organizations or landowners who are affected by, or have a shared interest in, the Forest land management practices and problems in the forest area; provides technical assistance on mutual reforestation problems.
Plans, coordinates, and conducts training on silvicultural principles and practices, including planting and seeding procedures; ground and seedbed preparation techniques; timber stand improvement techniques, and the influence of various factors on the kind and timing of silvicultural treatment necessary and appropriate to achieve multiple-use land management objectives.
Supervision Less than 25% - Provides technical and administrative supervision to subordinate employees. Plans work to be accomplished, sets and adjusts short-term priorities and prepares schedules for completion of work. Assigns work based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees. Evaluates work performance. Gives advice, counsel or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters. Hears and resolves minor complaints from employees. Refers group grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to a higher level supervisor or manager. Interviews candidates for employment; recommends or selects for temporary positions. Finds ways to improve production or increase the quality of work directed.
Provides leadership, allocates resources, and implements activities to accomplish Forest Service multicultural organization direction and Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights requirements, goals, policies, and objectives. Supports and participates in the Work Environment Continuous Improvement process. Ensures all communication - written, oral, visual, signed - is non-discriminatory and sensitive to all employees and publics. Creates a work environment which respects, appreciates, and accepts contributions and perspectives of all employees.
This position serves as a silviculturist. Incumbent must be a certified silviculturist upon placement in this position OR attain certification within three years of that date.
REQUIREMENTS:
May be subject to satisfactory completion of one year probationary or trial period.
You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. Eligible applicants will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire. Applicants with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.
Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the Apply Online button to the right.
To view the application form, visit: You must possess the Basic Requirements identified below to be considered eligible for this position. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the appropriate experience requirements.
Bachelor's Degree: 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, of 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 -- 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.
In addition to the basic requirements, the following additional education and/or experience are qualifying. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.
GS-9: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level; master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related; or an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Examples of specialized experience are: Assisted with timber sale contracts, ensuring that all contract provisions were enforced in accordance with contract objectives; conducted cruises of timber stands to determine volume of merchantable timber, species composition, accessibility, and environmental constraints; performed related timber sale preparation, timber stand improvement, and reforestation duties; collected timber compartment and stand prescription, or presale information data; and/or participated on dispersed and developed recreation, oil, gas, special uses, and lands projects.
GS-11: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (coursework directly related to position being filled); one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level; or an appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.). Examples of specialized experience are: Performed vegetation management duties including timber management, harvesting, reforestation, timber stand improvement, and fuels management; assisted in analyzing technical issues and/or providing advice and assistance on forestry resource management policies and practices; assisted in reviewing or developing standard plans for well-established programs or projects or recommending short-range plans for a component of a forestry resource management program; assisted in evaluating programs and performing well-established forestry land use improvement projects; collected timber compartment and stand prescription data; and/or conducted cruises of timber stands to determine volume of merchantable timber, species composition, accessibility, and environmental constraints.
To receive consideration for this position, you must meet all qualification requirements as of the closing date of the announcement.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin.
The following instructions outline our application process.
You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday). Applying online is highly encouraged. If applying online poses a hardship, please contact our office during business hours well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages with supporting documents must be submitted no later than noon on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you are requesting this.
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not have one) at . It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application.
Step 2: Create a resume with USAJOBS or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met. Your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement).
Step 3: Click Apply Online and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required.
You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Log into your USAJOBS account and click on Application Status. Click on the position title, and then select Update Application to continue.
NOTE: Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system. Once in the Agency's staffing system you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX).
You must submit a complete Application Package, prior to 11:59, ET, on the closing date of this announcement. The following documents must be submitted for your application package to be considered complete. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents are received within the required timeframes. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, system failure or downtime, etc. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes the following information: 1) job information for which you are applying; 2) personal information; 3) education; 4) work experience including the work schedule and hours worked per week as well as dates of employment; and title, series and grade if applicable; 5) supervisors phone number and e-mail address for each work period listed and whether or not we may contact them for reference checks; and, 6) other qualifications.
College Transcripts if education is required for meeting basic qualifications and/or you are substituting education for specialized experience and/or if you are using education to meet the criteria for the quality category. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if selected, an official college transcript will be required prior to entering on duty.
DD-214 (Member 4 Copy) if claiming Veterans' Preference. Veterans claiming 10 point preference must also submit a VA Letter and an SF-15 Application for 10-point Veteran Preference. Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within the last 120 days.
Other required documents may include:
CTAP/ICTAP Required Documentation Reduction-In-Force: Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; AND most recent performance evaluation; AND SF-50 demonstrating your separation or the position you will be separated from.
Worker's Compensation Separation: Agency certification of inability to place employee AND Notification of Separation OR Separation SF-50.
Disability Annuity Termination: Notification from OPM of disability annuity termination AND Separation SF-50 of the last position held. Military Reserve or National Guard Technician Special Disability Retirement Annuity under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456: Certification of special disability retirement annuity from a military department or National Guard Bureau AND Separation SF-50 of the last position held.
NOTE : If a document is resubmitted, it replaces the previous submission, which means the previous document is no longer available to the Human Resources Office. If you are adding to, rather than replacing a previous submission, you must upload both the old document and the new document. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded resumes must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX). If you set up your USAJOBS account to send automatic email notifications, you will receive an acknowledgement email that the submission of your online Occupational Questionnaire and resume was successful, if you were referred to the selecting official for consideration, and if you were selected or not selected. If you choose not to set up automatic email notifications, you must check your USAJOBS account for the latest status of your application. Your application may be reviewed to verify that you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements for the position prior to issuing lists to a selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Normally, a final job offer to the selected candidate is made within 30-60 days after the issuance of the certificate The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. Explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees at: / Relocation expenses are not authorized.
Bargaining Unit Status: Not eligible.
If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.
Career Transition Assistance Plan(CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): If you are claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, provide proof of eligibility. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate to be considered. Information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION AND FINGERPRINT CHECK: Selection and retention in this position is contingent on a successfully adjudicated FBI National Criminal History Check (fingerprint check) and a background investigation.
Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
If you are newly hired, the documentation you present for purposes of completing the Department Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 on your entry-on-duty date will be verified through the DHS E-VERIFY system. Federal law requires the use of E-VERIFY to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires. Under this system, the new hire is required to resolve any identified discrepancies as a condition of continued employment.Estimated Salary: $20 to $28 per hour based on qualifications.

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