PDF versionJob Summary
This position is located on the Flathead National Forest, Swan Lake Ranger District in Bigfork, Montana. Position serves as a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Planner and is responsible for performing work involved in Natural Resources Planning and Environmental law compliance, including NEPA and the National Management Act (NFMA). For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Christopher Dowling at (406)837-7501 or email at chris.dowling@usda.gov.
Major Duties
- Develops the annual program of work for all aspects of the unit National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) accomplishment program.
- Responsible for gathering all the appropriate information in order to develop the current and long-range project planning.
- Forecast projected financial, informational, administrative, and staffing needs based on input from all program areas.
- Responsible for the development, monitoring and maintenance of planning documents and action plans for all aspects of the program of work, including monitoring targets and making changes when needed.
- Serves as contact for facilitating the project planning efforts between inter- and intra-agency organizations including coordination of needed requirements including environmental design, budget, safety, etc., in all program-planning efforts.
- May act as contracting officer?s representative (COR) for NEPA contracts.
- Responsible for the collection and the analysis of professional social, cultural and economic data to measure and evaluate the effects of impacts of management proposals on the social, cultural or economic environment.
- Formulates various documents e.g., decision memos, environmental assessments and environmental impact statements, etc. and makes recommendations in order that Responsible Officials can make decisions on issues and affected resources or environments.
- Reviews and develops final documents concerning status of projects.
- Serves as a main point of contact for NEPA activities for the unit and a primary expert in the development and processing of NEPA documents.
- Is the primary contact to the public and other federal or public office on the NEPA processing of documents, appeals, etc.
- Serves as a member of an interdisciplinary team carrying out complete environmental studies and evaluations concerning a variety of resources, such as social, cultural, economics, land, air, water, timber, recreation, wildlife, fisheries, etc.
- Provides direction and supervision during the NEPA process to include scoping, identification of issues, development of alternatives, and the creation of the NEPA document.
- Ensures the NEPA documents created by the interdisciplinary team are developed in accordance with applicable law, regulation and policy.
- Conducts field surveys and accomplishes technical reconnaissance to gather information required to define study objectives.
- Performs supervisory duties such as assigns work to employees, establishes performance requirements and conducts formal performance reviews, hears and resolves employee complaints and other administrative functions.
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series listed below. Basic Requirement:
GS-0101 Social Scientist:
Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
Combination of education and experience -- that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.
OR
Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. GS-0401 Biological Scientist:
Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major field of study that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Related course work generally refers to courses that may be accepted as part of the program major.
OR
Combination of education and experience that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, AND experience sufficient to demonstrate that I possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation that is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field needed to perform the work of the occupation. In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-11: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as the majority of the following: participate in natural resource management activities by making observations, gathering data, and reporting findings where information was used in environmental assessments and environmental impact statements; participate in the permit review process or identify regulatory compliance issues and requirements by performing field inspections and collecting and analyzing environmental data; serve as a project planner for one or more conventional environmental resources projects, such as construction, production or reclamation activities and ensured compliance with environmental plans and stipulations.
OR
Applicants must have 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, as described above).
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.). 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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Pay Range
$62,236.00 - $80,912.00