About this role
Job Summary
You will serve as a Wild Horse and Burro Specialist (Fertility) with Bureau of Land Management. BLM Location Negotiable After Selection. Note this is not a remote position. This announcement will utilize an applicant limit to manage high application volumes. Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.
Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/11/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience.
For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.
Minimum Qualification
Requirements
To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying. Basic Educational
Requirements
In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must submit transcripts. -OR- B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Experience: GS-13: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-12 in the federal service.
Specialized experience at this level is defined as: Providing humane care for wild horses and burros to include experience with field darting and designing a fertility control program or plan (at any level - field, state, national). Writing and approving statements of work and/or NOFOs. Reviewing contractor or financial assistance proposals. Monitoring contractor and/or partner performance. Volunteer Experience: 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.
Major Duties
- Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Coordinates specific national WHB program aspects related to fertility control, policy, guidance, and operations.
- Provides advice and technical guidance to field staff in the planning of fertility control operations, including statutory, regulatory, and policy requirements.
- Provides information and data input to reviews and comments for planning documents at the field level for compliance with national policy and guidance.
- These planning documents primarily include site specific NEPA such as gather plans and other applicable documents.
- Develops procurement tools for the application of fertility control measures.
- Collaborates with BLM and DOI personnel as well as non-federal entities and individuals to communicate science on fertility control, build networks, and develop partnerships for the advancement and application of fertility control.
Requirements
Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. You cannot hold an active real estate license, nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.
This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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.
Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. 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.