The purpose of this Outreach Notice is to determine interest in and the potential applicant pool for this position, to establish the appropriate recruitment method, and to determine the area of consideration for the advertisement. Responses received from this notice will be relied upon to make this determination. If you are interested in applying for this position, please respond by February 16, 2018.
Duties of this Position:
This position is a member of the Vegetation and Watershed Program staff as the Biological Technician (Natural Resources) at the Forest Headquarters Office. The position is responsible for a variety of soil and watershed management activities. In addition, the selected candidate will be responsible for leading seasonal field crews.
Specific duties include the following:
- Collects or inspects the collection of technical data needed to monitor soil and ecosystem condition; including slope, aspect, soil depth, structure, mixing, compaction, erosion, disturbance level, plant associations, tree species, radial growth, basal area, site index, stand density, and stand condition.
- Uses Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine acreage, locate sample plots, and map important landscape features.
- Utilizes Geographic Information System (GIS) to produce maps, digitize and edit geospatial features, and edit and append geospatial attribute data.
- Utilizes computer and corporate databases to collect and record soil and watershed data.
- Documents post-treatment monitoring in summary reports for review and approval by the Soil Scientist.
- Performs calculations and assessments of soil and forestry data and creates tables, cost estimates, or visual representations to be used in larger reports or analyses.
- Serves as Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or inspector on specific contracts as assigned and/or supervises force account projects. Ensures all provisions are enforced and proper measures are taken to protect or enhance values in accordance with contract objectives. Prepares and submits related inspection reports, checks for compliance on needed corrective actions, and recommends final acceptance of the contract upon completion.
- Assists in conducting field reconnaissance for integrated vegetation projects.
Supervision:
This position will lead small field crews during the field season.
Physical Demands:
The position requires both office and strenuous field work. Office work includes, but is not limited to, scheduling work for the field crew, computer word processing, conference calls and webinars, and communication by emails and phone calls. Field work will require, but is not limited to, completing resource inventories, using hand tools, digging holes, working in streams, and hiking into steep and remote areas.
Location:
The position will be stationed at the Forest Headquarters Office in Rutland, Vermont. Most duties will occur on the Green Mountain National Forest, although there will be occasional travel throughout Vermont and to the Finger Lakes National Forest in New York.
Qualification Requirements:
Qualifications Requirements for this position can be found in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, which is available from any Federal Government Personnel Office and OPM website (http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/index.asp).
If You Are Interested In This Position:
Please complete the Outreach Response Form at the end of this document and forward it along with your resume to Angie Quintana, Soil Scientist, at angelicaquintana@fs.fed.us. Please respond by Friday, February 16th, 2018. If you respond to this outreach notice, we will contact you with the information necessary to apply for this position.
After the outreach period has ended, the vacancy announcement for this position will be posted on the U.S. Government's official website for employment opportunities at, www.usajobs.gov. Individuals that wish to be considered for this position must apply to the vacancy announcement on USAJOBS.gov website by the closing date of the vacancy announcement. The Referral List for this position will be issued to the selecting official upon closing of the vacancy announcement. All applicants found to be qualified, and in the quality group will be referred for consideration.