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Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our greatest natural resource. BLM is seeking dynamic and energetic individuals to join our team to serve in Interdisciplinary Mining Engineer/Geologist positions for the Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management Directorate, Solid Minerals Division. One position is located in Reno, Nevada, and one position is located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. (Click on each city to learn more about each area.)
Learn more about this agency03/27/2020 to 04/10/2020
$107,807 - $140,146 per year
GS 14
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Occasional travel - Regular travel to various locations for meetings and training as required.
Yes—Travel and relocation expenses will be paid consistent with the Federal Travel Regulation, Chapter 302, and Departmental policy. The use of a relocation service company and home marketing incentive will not be offered.
Permanent
Full-time - Work Schedule is Full Time.
Competitive
14
No
No
NOC-DEU-2020-0028
563986700
All U.S. Citizens. No prior Federal service is required.
The incumbent supports strategic and tactical planning and priorities that reflect the Secretary, the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the BLM mission goals and objectives that fall within the area of responsibility of the Solid Minerals Division. The incumbent serves as the Program Lead for either the Locatables (mining law), Mineral Materials or Non-Energy Leasables programs. The incumbent has wide latitude for independent decisions and actions in performance of difficult, specialized, and important technical work in the fields of mining engineering and/or geology with respect to solid mineral programs, including evaluation of mineral processes, development of guidance and policies that provide appropriate oversight of mining operations, and budgetary tasks including development and tracking of national program annual budgets.
Physical Demands: The work involves office activities largely of a sedentary nature but may travel periodically to field sites. Rugged terrain at site locations may involve strenuous hiking and climbing. The incumbent often works under very tight deadlines involving projects of national significance.
Candidates must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
If selected, you must obtain and maintain a favorable background investigation. A background investigation will be conducted by the employing office following acceptance of the position. Failure to obtain a favorable determination of the background investigation will result in the cancellation of the offer or will be grounds for termination.
THIS IS A DRUG TESTING DESIGNATED POSITION. This position is subject to both pre-employment and random drug testing as a condition of employment. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
Basic Requirements for the Mining Engineer 0880: Bachelor’s degree in engineering that included courses acceptable by the Accreditation Board for engineering (ABET); or included differential and integral calculus AND courses in 5 of these areas of engineering science or physics: (1) statics, dynamics; (2) strength of materials; (3) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (4) thermodynamics; (5) electrical fields and circuits; (6) nature and properties of materials; or (7) optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics; OR Combination of education and experience including engineering coursework in physical and mathematical science and experience in one of the branches of engineering, and I have one of the following: (1) a current professional engineer registration; (2) passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) exam or similar examination; (3) completed 60 semester hours of coursework specified above; (4) completed bachelor’s degree in a related field AND have 1 year or more of professional engineering experience.
Basic Requirements for the Geologist 1350: Degree in the field of Geology which included or was supplemented by 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography; OR Combination of education and experience equivalent to a major in geology or related disciplines appropriate to the position advertised.
Selective Placement Factor: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor(s) will be rated not qualified: Must have and maintain a valid state's driver's license.
In addition to the Basic Requirements and the Selective Factor:
Specialized Experience: In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement. Please be sure to include this information in your resume. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade of the position to be filled.
For the GS-14 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level or equivalent. Examples of specialized experience include: Experience applying laws, regulations, case law and policies governing the locatables (mining laws), mineral materials or non-energy leasing programs and evaluating existing legislative, regulatory and policy framework.
Substitution of Education: There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-14 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, 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.
Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement or vacancy questions. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience.
In addition, your responses to the questions must be adequately reflected in your resume.
See Qualifications section.
You must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. If your degree is from a Foreign Institution See Foreign Education.
Appointment may require completion of a 1 year probationary period.
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. Information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility is available from OPM's Career Transition Resources website at CTAP or ICTAP. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration or that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) This vacancy is within your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility; 2) You apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) You are found well qualified for this vacancy. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, or a copy of your separation personnel action form.
CTAP/ICTAP eligibles will be considered well qualified if they rank in either the Well Qualified or Best Qualified category on the rating criteria used for this position.
Reemployment Priority List (RPL): The RPL is the mechanism agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by a RIF or who have fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than one year. If you are currently on a Reemployment Priority List, you may be given priority consideration.
Government facilities are required to provide a smoke free environment for their employees. Smoking will permitted only in designated areas.
BLM may use certain incentives, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract high quality applicants.
This announcement is being advertised concurrently under Announcement NOC Merit-2020-0074 which is open to all qualified persons. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.
The Bureau of Land Management has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
If selected for this position, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 within 30 days of reporting to duty. You will be required to provide this information annually.
Tax Law Impact for PCS: On 22-Dec-2017, Public Law 115-97 - the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 suspended qualified moving expense deductions along with the exclusion for employer reimbursements and payments of moving expenses effective 01-Jan-2018 for tax years 2018 through 2025. The law made taxable certain reimbursements and other payments, including driving mileage, airfare and lodging expenses, en-route travel to the new duty station, and temporary storage of those items. The Federal Travel Regulation Bulletin (FTR) 18-05 issued by General Services Administration (GSA) has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance (WTA) and Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individuals. For additional information on WTA/RITA allowances and eligibilities, please visit: https://www.gsa.gov/cdnstatic/FTR%20Bulletin%2018_05%20Relocation%20Allowances_0.pdf
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Upon receipt of your complete application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your rating will be based on your responses to the Job Specific Questionnaire and the information stated in your resume. If you meet the qualification requirements, you application will be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. In addition, interviews may be conducted for this position. The interviews may be conducted on a pass/fail basis or may be scored. The job specific questions relate to the following knowledge, skills and abilities required to do the work of this position:
KSA 1: Skill in applying mining/geological engineering and geology principles, practices, and techniques in order to develop regulations, standards, guidelines, manuals and handbooks for royalty management, mineral leasing and other solid mineral exploration and mining operations on Federal and Indian lands.
KSA 2: Knowledge of the locatables (mining law), mineral materials or non-energy leasable program(s).
KSA 3: Ability to work with other agencies and groups whose policies and procedures are not reflective of BLM policies and procedures.
KSA 4: Knowledge of the principles and procedures used in evaluating and assessing program results, processes and functions, pertaining to the solid minerals program to evaluate the performance of BLM district and field offices.
KSA 5: Ability to communicate to develop written materials and responses to Congress.
In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the questionnaire), you are required to submit the following forms:
Transcripts: You MUST submit a copy of ALL your college transcripts or a list of ALL college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. Upon selection, official transcripts must be received prior to appointment. If your degree is from a Foreign Institution, See Foreign Education.
Veterans' Preference: If you are entitled to veterans' preference, you should indicate the level of veterans' preference you are claiming on your resume. Your veterans' preference entitlement will be adjudicated (verified) by the employing agency using the documents you provide.
For more information on which type of preference is applicable please visit VetGuide.
Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) eligibles: documentation verifying your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility - this includes a copy of the agency notice and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level and duty location.
Selective Factor Documentation: You must provide evidence that you currently hold a valid state driver's license.
You may submit your documents either via Auto-Requested Fax or by uploading your documents from your USAJOBS Profile. Auto-Requested Fax: allows you to submit required documentation that will be electronically displayed along with your resume. Uploading Documents: instead of faxing your documents you may use the uploading procedures thru Applicant Manager. Do not use both options.
Hard copy paper supplemental documents, submitted without prior Human Resources approval, will be considered as an incomplete application. Required documentation must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement.
READ THIS: It is the responsibility of the applicant to illustrate that all eligibility requirements are met. This includes ensuring your resume / application documents specific information on each employment listed. Specifically, you must document Agency/Company Name, supervisor's name and contact information, position title, grade/series/salary, and employment dates to include month, day and year. Failure to do so may result in your application being disqualified. If you have questions regarding the necessary documentation to include, contact the HR Specialist listed on this announcement prior to the closing date of the announcement.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
To receive consideration for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, which includes ALL of the following items: 1. your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire; 2. your resume; and 3. applicable supporting documents specified in the Required Documents section of this job announcement.
Click on the "Apply" button and login to MY USAJOBS.
If you haven't already registered with USAJOBS, select the “Create a new account” link. You will be required to create a user name and password, complete a questionnaire and upload, paste or type a resume into USAJOBS.
If you have already registered with USAJOBS and forgot your login information, select the Forgot your password? link.
Your application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time by the closing date of this announcement.
If you need assistance in applying on-line, please contact the HR Office at BLM_OC_HR_Staff_Team@blm.gov or (303) 236-6421.
If applying on-line poses a hardship for you (i.e. you do not have access to the internet) you must contact us prior to the closing date of the announcement for an alternative method of applying.
You will be notified of the status of your application as the qualification review process is conducted.
You may also check the status of your application by viewing your MY USAJOBs account.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/563986700. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
The BLM manages more land - 245 million surface acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The BLM, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. For more information about our agency click here.
