Soil Conservation Technician

**Duties**:

- Provides information to farmers, ranchers and other rural residents on the kind of assistance available from NRCS and other USDA agencies.
- Assists with conducting engineer surveys to design mechanical practices to be utilized in conservation planning.
- Advises landowners on eligibility prerequisites and conditions that must be satisfied to qualify for program acceptance and payments.
- Provides technical support to conservation planners in resource planning by utilizing survey tools and planning software.

**Requirements**:
**Conditions of Employment**:

- You 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 will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.
- Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
- Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
- 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.

**Qualifications**:

- Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.
- **NOTE TO APPLICANTS**:The GS-0458 Soil Conservation Technician series is a technical position. Education is not a requirement for this position, however, this series does allows individuals without experience in this field to substitute education in lieu of experience.
- **GS-05**
- **OR**

**OR**

**Combination of experience and education**: You must have a combination of education and experience as listed above which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5. (Must provide transcripts) **IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.** If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).
- **GS-06**
**Specialized Experience**:One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties:

- advising landowners on the use of one or more conservation practices such as terraces, grassed waterways, diversions, underground outlets, irrigation system improvements, cropping systems, fencing, livestock water development, or nutrient management etc. to address individual resource concerns including soil erosion, water quality degradation, or declining range health;
- installing and maintaining agricultural land soil and water conservation measures on farms and ranches;
- performing engineering surveys, processing survey data, preparing engineering designs, and conducting construction inspection activities for various soil erosion stabilization and water diversion practices;
- providing advice on integrating multiple conservation practices using established client objectives. **(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience)**

**OR**
**Education**: One full year of graduate education from an accredited college or university leading to a master's degree with a major course of study in Soil Conservation, Soil Science, Agricultural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Engineering/Construction Technology (Auto CAD/Drafting, Surveying, GIS), Agronomy, Agri-Business/Economics.
- **OR**
**Combination of experience and education**: You must have a combination of education and experience as listed above which when combined totals 100% of the necessary education and experience to qualify for this position. Only graduate education is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. One full academic year of graduate study, or 18 semester hours, is equivalent to 1 year of specialized experience. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-6. (Must provide transcripts) **IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.** If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).
- **GS-07**
**Specialized Experience**: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work ex