About this role
Job SummaryThis position is located in the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Tennessee State office. Serves as State Conservation Engineer on the Engineering staff for the state and serves as advisor to the State Conservationist (STC) on all engineering phases of (NRCS) programs to include formulation of standards, specifications, engineering planning, design and construction; analyzes engineering work and recommended training. Current state Professional Engineering (PE) license required.
QualificationsIn 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. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts. This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series listed below. Basic Requirement: GS-0810/0890: A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: 1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. 2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. 4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.) In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below. Specialized Experience For the GS-13 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. For this position, examples of specialized experience include: Analyzes engineering work and training needs; Reviews draft of work plans and project measures for adequacy of the engineering aspects; Prepares specifications and guidelines for planning, design, and construction of the structural practices of organizational programs; Trains field engineers in the use of engineering standards and procedures. OR Education at the GS-13 grade level: There is no education substitution for specialized experience at the GS-13 grade level. 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. 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. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement.
Major DutiesProvides staff leadership in all phases of the civil and/or agriculture engineering programs of NRCS in the assigned state, including formulation of standards, specifications, engineering planning, design and construction.Analyzes engineering work and training needs; and recommends training and placement of engineering personnel.Prepares specifications and guidelines for planning, design, and construction of the structural practices installed under NRCS programs.Manages available staff resources by preparing long and short-range schedules for staff activities, preparing and monitoring budgets and funding requests, organizing work, and controlling work products.Establishes technical engineering standards and procedures and associated engineering policies, methods of operation, training field personnel, and for the engineering phases of the work in the state.RequirementsYou must be a US Citizen or US National. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected, you may be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are unable to reimburse for any fees incurred. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov. Subject to one year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New FPAC supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period. Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position. Must maintain a current professional engineering license in the state that the incumbent is currently working. Required to submit Confidential Financial Disclosure Report Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter.