PDF versionJob Summary
This position is located in the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP). The mission of the OPMP is to integrate and coordinate the pest management efforts of the Department, provide data and analyses to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to better inform pesticide regulatory decisions, and provide a Departmental focal point for farmers, grower organizations, EPA, and State Land Grant institutions regarding pesticide and pest management issues.
Major Duties
- Provides scientific/technical guidance to USDA agencies to assure that adequate risk assessment, cost benefit analysis, and ecological risk assessments have been reviewed and completed as it relates to pest management and pesticide registration.
- Works with policy and decision makers to support better understanding of the use of risk assessment in policy activities for domestic and international activities.
- Provides review and comment on scientific analyses, risk analyses and their supporting documents, regulations, and other materials as requested by the Director, OPMP, and other USDA senior leaders.
- Identifies significant developments in risk analysis, environmental sciences, science policy issues and/or proposed pest management regulatory decisions that have implications for agriculture and USDA programs.
- Uses a variety of analytical methods and techniques to assess a wide range of scientific, legal, and risk issues related to pest management and pesticides.
- Represents USDA on various pesticide/ecological/human health/dietary-related committees and workgroups as well as at national and international meetings, conferences, and workshops for risk assessment and ecological or human health concerns.
- Provides the unifying expertise in science, risk assessment, and advanced quantitative modeling on high-level multi-disciplinary teams.
- Plans and coordinates environmental evaluations and risk assessments involving complex crop production systems, including specialty crops, and large ecological systems.
- Presents results of analyses to USDA and EPA (and other regulatory agencies) and prepares plans to mitigate the biological and economic impacts of proposed pesticide and pest management regulatory decisions.
- Serves as a liaison with EPA regulatory and scientific staffs, USDA staff, and Land Grant and industry scientists involved in risk assessment related to pest management/pesticides.
Qualifications
Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. Basic Requirements:
This interdisciplinary position may be filled in any of the three (3) occupational series listed below which requires applicants to meet basic requirements in addition to at least one year of specialized experience in order to be found minimally qualified. You MUST meet at least one of the following occupational series' basic requirements. General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences, 0401 Series
A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Ecology Series, 0408
Degree: biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences. General Physical Science Series, 1301
A. Degree: 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 B. Combination of education and experience: education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Specialized experience: In addition to meeting at least one of the Basic Requirements as shown above, applicants must also meet the Specialized Experience requirements as shown below. If qualifying based on experience, your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. GS-14: Qualifying experience for GS-14 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-13 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience performing risk assessments for human health, ecological, or environmental modeling; leading analyses of risk assessment issues relevant to pest management and pesticides; and identifying regulatory alternatives and evaluating risk mitigation options. GS-15: Qualifying experience for GS-15 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-14 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience performing risk assessments for human health, ecological, or environmental modeling; leading analyses of risk assessment issues relevant to pest management and pesticides; identifying regulatory alternatives and evaluating risk mitigation options in order to provide authoritative direction and guidance for pest management policy decision making; and communicating with policy analysts, officials, and general audiences about risk assessments. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Pay Range
$117,191.00 - $166,500.00