Interdisciplinary Social Scientist/Biological Scientist/Physical Scientist

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Department of Agriculture

Job Summary

This position is located on the Planning and Resources staff of the Shawnee National Forest with a duty location in Harrisburg, IL. This position plans, directs and advises on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance efforts. For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Lisa Helmig at 618-253-1018 or lisa.helmig@usda.gov.

Major Duties

  • Manage natural resource related appeals, objections, and litigation activities.
  • Interpret changes, decisions, and directions regarding environmental policies that would affect the organization.
  • Analyze litigation and court decisions to make appropriate recommendations to officials regarding natural resource related lawsuits.
  • Direct personnel on compliance efforts regarding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental acts and policies.
  • Mediate conflicting viewpoints of interdisciplinary team members on preparation and processing of categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements.
  • Provide program managers and environmental coordinators with technical leadership and guidance on the interpretation and implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental acts and policies.
  • Review National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) contracts or Memorandums of Agreement and/or the subsequent NEPA documents prepared via contract, cooperating agency, or project proponent for activities on public lands.
  • Ensure accuracy and completeness of the administrative record for each lawsuit.
  • Develop training content for personnel to ensure the technical and procedural aspects of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental acts and policies are consistently performed in project work.
  • Develop legal documents including litigation reports, compliance agreements, mitigation plans, environmental analyses, and/or environmental impact statements.

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. In addition to the specialized experience requirements, applicants must submit proof that they meet the educational requirements for at least one of the series described in the announcement. Applicants may only be appointed to job series/position titles for which they meet all experience and educational requirements. Basic Requirement:

GS-0101: 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 A 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: 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 A 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. GS-1301: 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: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics; OR A combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience in the amounts listed below. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-12 grade level: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of work experience that meet this requirement could include: Planned, directed, and advised personnel on compliance efforts regarding National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), regulations of the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and organizational policy. Mediated conflicting viewpoints of Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) members on preparation and processing of categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements. Executed and coordinated final evaluation and review of environmental analysis documents for natural resource related projects and/or programs to ensure compliance with multiple environmental policy requirements. Communicated with Federal, State, and local government officials, special interest groups, general public, and stakeholders to provide interpretation of requirements and applicability of NEPA, CEQ, FOIA, objections, appeals, and litigation. 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

$76,721.00 - $99,741.00

More information...

End Date: 

Wednesday, April 22, 2020