Rangeland Management Specialist - Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs

Summary This position is located with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Northwest Region, Yakama Agency, Division of Trust Services, Natural Resources in Toppenish, Washington. TRAVEL AND RELOCATION EXPENSES WILL BE AUTHORIZED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATIONS. THE PAY FLEXIBILITIES OF A RECRUITMENT BONUS, RELOCATION BONUS OR STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT MAY BE AUTHORIZED, PENDING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND MANAGEMENT APPROVAL. Responsibilities Provides staff support to administer the trust, care and use of the reservation natural resources, including; soil, water, range forage, fish, wildlife and outdoor recreation. Administers the grazing permit system. Serves as a rangeland resource consultant and advisor to management, land users, and Tribal program staff, administrators, and government. Plans, manages, produces, and implements range unit evaluations as the author, editor or inventory coordinator; to include utilization reports, rangeland condition inventories, annual evaluations, determinations of carrying capacity and technical recommendations. Conducts field investigations concerning theft, damage or destruction of range resources or government property. Recommends or reviews and comments on wildlife habitat improvement projects. Provides technical assistance to the Tribal Council, livestock operators and Indian landowners concerning the basic principles of range management, laws, regulations, and policies governing the management of rangeland trust resources. Prepares budgets and identifies funding allocations with improvement funds and is responsible for the expenditures of such funds, within the approved budget constraints. Provide direct supervision to a GS-9 Rangeland Management Specialist, and indirect supervision to Range Management Technicians in carrying out the mission of the Range Management Program. Responsible for budget development, program leadership, general activity direction, and/or supervision in the development of efforts related to the management, planning, development, use, conservation, and protection of range management and minerals development on Indian reservations. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions, GS-0454 and Individual Occupational Requirements). BASIC REQUIREMENTS (IOR) FOR ALL GS-0454 GRADES: A. Degree: range management; or a related discipline that included at least 42 semester hours in a combination of the plant, animal, and soil sciences, and natural resources management, as follows: Range Management-at least 18 semester hours of course work in range management, including courses in such areas as basic principles of range management, range plants, range ecology, range inventories and studies, range improvements and ranch or rangeland planning. Directly Related Plant, Animal and Soil Sciences-at least 15 semester hours of directly related courses in the plant, animal and soil sciences, including at least one course in each of these three scientific areas, i.e., plant, animal, and soil sciences. Courses in such areas as plant taxonomy, plant physiology, plant ecology, animal nutrition, livestock production, and soil morphology or soil classification are acceptable. Related Resources Management Studies-at least 9 semester hours of course work in related resource management subjects, including courses in such areas as wildlife management, watershed management, natural resource or agricultural economics, forestry, agronomy, forages, and outdoor recreation management. OR B. Combination of education and experience: at least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil sciences and natural resources management shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: In addition to meeting the basic entry level qualification requirements, applicants must have the following: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE S-12: In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, I have at least 1 year of full-time specialized experience or the equivalent, comparable to at least the GS-11 in the Federal Service (obtained in either the public or private sector). This experience includes analyzing rangeland resources to determine its current condition; drafting management plans; determining compliance or noncompliance with terms and conditions in grazing permits or leases; supervising office staff and field crews; responsible for the care and use of the Indian Reservations Natural Resources, including: soil, water, range forage, fish, wildlife and outdoor recreation. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Merit Promotion candidates must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the announcement closing date. Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act of 1934 (title 25, USC Section 472). Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur in the same location within 90 days from the closing date. Education If you are qualifying based on your education, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society. One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows 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. For further information, visit: FOREIGN EDUCATION Additional Information All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2024 Salary Tables here and select the duty station from the Toppenish, Washington to choose the appropriate pay chart. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart. The full performance level of this position is a GS-12. This is a supervisory position. Under provision of the Civil Service Reform Act, first-time supervisors are required to serve a one year supervisory probationary period before their appointment becomes final. Those who do not satisfactorily complete this probationary period will be returned to positions of no lower grade and pay than those they occupied before assuming their supervisory assignment. TELEWORK: Indian Affairs has determined that the duties of the position are not suitable for telework under any circumstances. You will be required to operate a government-owned or leased motor vehicle in the performance of duties, therefore, a valid driver's license is required. Incumbent must have a safe driving record within the three-year period immediately preceding submittal of GSA Form 3607 and be able to meet the safe driving requirements of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee\_guides/career\_transition.asp . Certain candidates may be eligible to apply under a special hiring authority including those for disabled individuals, Peace Corps employees, Foreign Service employees, veterans, etc. For more information, visit the following OPM websites: USAJOBS Information Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/; Vets Info Guide: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/. Former Federal Employees are required to indicate whether they received a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) buyout in their previous employment with the Federal government, and are required to submit a copy of the applicable Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) regarding the VSIP. Most individuals who accept reemployment with the Federal government within 5 years of receiving the VSIP amount, must repay the gross amount of the separation pay prior to reemployment.