PDF versionJob Summary
Due to BLM Hiring Controls, priority consideration will be given to all current DOI non-competitive applicants for this position. This announcement may be used to fill more than one position at this duty location. This position located in Winnemucca, NV. Information about the area can be found atWinnemucca Chamber of Commerce.
Major Duties
As the hydrologist in the office, the employee must plan and coordinate projects involving the analysis and evaluation of stream flow and transport of sediment or pollutants in stream channels. The employee applies a variety of hydrologic models to generate information on high flows, channel behavior, sedimentation. The employee also calibrates models to account for changes in land use patterns in the district and modifies modeling procedures to improve model validity.
The employee engages in negotiations for agreements for the use of federally owned water resources and recommends actions to the district manager to assure availability of water needed for BLM management responsibilities. The employee provides support to other programs for water developments on public land. The incumbent may be required to provide guidance and instruction to less experienced specialists and student workers.
The incumbent provides technical advice on water rights applications and claims. The employee meets with other BLM personnel, state and local government officials, other federal agency personnel, tribal councils, State Office officials and members of the general public to discuss hydrological issues.
Physical Demands: The individual works partly in an office setting at this level, and partly in the field. Field work requires gathering samples and other data, monitoring and inventory activities, and participation in project work. In his/her field capacity, the individual will be required to walk or ride vehicles over rough terrain, perform duties that require recurring bending, crouching, stooping, reaching or lifting. Work may also include lifting of moderately heavy items, such as equipment and samples.
Work Environment: The work of the employee is performed partly in an office setting and partly in the field. When necessary to complete the work, there is outdoor exposure. Outdoor exposure requires some discomfort in extremes of temperature or inclement weather. The incumbent may subjected to hostile wildlife, chemical and physical hazards.
Qualifications
In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement - please be sure to include this information in your resume. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower gradeof the position to be filled.
This position has a Basic Education Requirement:
BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:
A. Degree: physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics, aquatic biology, atmospheric science, meteorology, geology, oceanography, or the management or conservation of water resources. The course work must have included at least 6 semester hours in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours in physics. Calculus and physics, as described above, are requirements for all grade levels, OR
B. Combination of education and experience -- course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Evaluation of Experience: Acceptable experience must have included performance of scientific functions related to the study of water resources, based on and requiring a professional knowledge of related sciences and the consistent application of basic scientific principles to the solution of theoretical and practical hydrologic problems. The following is illustrative of acceptable experience: field or laboratory work that would require application of hydrologic theory and related sciences such as geology, geo-chemistry, geophysics, or civil engineering to making observations, taking samples, operating instruments, assembling data from source materials, analyzing and interpreting data, and reporting findings orally and in writing. In some cases, professional scientific experience that is not clearly water resource experience may be acceptable if such experience was preceded by appropriate education in hydrology or by professional hydrology experience.
Applicants with related experience in hydrology gained through earlier Federal Government employment might have gained that experience in one or more occupational series. Such series include Soil Conservation, GS-457; Forestry, GS-460; Soil Science, GS-470; Civil Engineering, GS-810; Chemistry, GS-1320; Meteorology, GS-1340; and Geology, GS-1350. Comparable non-Federal experience may be given similar credit.
For GS-07 Grade Level: Meet the basic requirementAND have one year of professional experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: taking measurements and collecting information; learning to take proper samples; conducting routine calculating, plotting, and checking of numerical data; preparing graphs and data profiles; and accomplishing routine analyses. This work experience would have involved receiving clear, specific, and detailed instructions as to the methods, procedures, and guidelines to use; OR Meet the basic requirement AND have an equivalent combination of the type and level of experience and education described above; OR Meet the basic requirement AND completed1 year of graduate education in hydrology or a related field such as engineering science, soils, aquatic biology or oceanography; OR Meet the basic educationalrequirement AND graduated with Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A). See OPM Quals Standard-General Policies E94)(f).
For GS-09 Grade Level: Meet the basic requirementAND have one year of professional experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: field or laboratory work that would require application of hydrologic theory and related sciences such as geology, geo-chemistry, geophysics, or civil engineering to making observations, taking samples, operating instruments, assembling data from source materials, analyzing and interpreting data, and reporting findings orally and in writing. In some cases, professional scientific experience that is not clearly water resource experience may be acceptable if such experience was preceded by appropriate education in hydrology or by professional hydrology experience; OR Meet the basic requirement AND have completed 2 years of graduate education leading to a master's degree in hydrology or a directly related field: OR Meet the basic requirement AND possess an equivalent combination of the type and level of experience and education described above.
For GS-11 Grade Level: Meet the basic requirementAND have one year of professional experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-09) in the federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: planning and coordinating projects involving the analysis and evaluation of flow and transport of sediment or pollutants in stream channels and ground water; provide technical advice on water rights applications and claims; evaluate data, identify trends in movement of water and any known contaminants and provide feedback on anomalies; apply standard flood forecasting procedures to compensate for missing or conflicting measurements, and determine short-term flood risks; apply a variety of hydrologic models to generate information on stream discharge, high flows, channel behavior, and sedimentation; OR Meet the basic requirement AND have completed3 years of graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in hydrology or a directly related field: OR Meet the basic requirement AND possess an equivalent combination of the type and level of experience and education described above.
You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.
Pay Range
$42,053.00 - $80,912.00