This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/483603600. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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Summary
Location Consideration: When selecting locations to be considered for, you may select up to 3 locations for consideration. Select only those locations that you will report to no later than June 2018 to begin the internship. Depending on budget, NRCS may authorize a one-time gross housing stipend for the summer if the location selected for is outside the local commuting area of your temporary or permanent address, AND may also provide reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses necessary to get to and from duty station at the end of the work period (summer). Availability and the gross amount will vary by location. The salary for each location may vary depending on locality. Locality tables may be found at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/
Candidates selected from this announcement may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position in the competitive service provided that all terms of the Internship Program are met and there is an available position. Conversion is not mandatory or guaranteed and is at the discretion of the agency.
Pathways Interns may convert to permanent positions in the same line of work they were initially appointed to (Soil Conservationist, GS-0457-5/7/9). To be eligible for the conversion, you must satisfactorily complete all Pathways Program requirements: complete at least 640 hours of work experience prior to graduation, and if applicable, meet the position’s positive education requirements at graduation. The education requirements that must be met for conversion from this position:
• Degree: soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. The study must have included 30 semester hours in a natural resource or agricultural field, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science.
Or
• Combination of Education and Experience at least 30 semester hours in one or more of the disciplines as shown in above, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science.
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Overview
- Reviewing applications
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Open & closing dates
11/02/2017 to 11/09/2017
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Salary
$26,150 - $40,828 per year
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Pay scale & grade
GS 03
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Locations
Additional locations are listed below.
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Travel Required
Occasional travel - As required to perform the duties of the position and complete the requirements of the Pathways Program.
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Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
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Appointment type
Internships
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Work schedule
Multiple Schedules
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Service
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Promotion potential
04
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Job family (Series)
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Supervisory status
No
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Security clearance
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Announcement number
NRCS-18-0025-PW-TS
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Control number
483603600
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Duties
As a Student Trainee (Soil Conservation), you will be performing the following duties under direct supervision; Assignments will be developmental in nature and will assist the employee gain the competencies necessary for a career:
- Receives intensive and specialized training in all phases of soil and water conservation and related natural resource conservation programs.
- Learns to perform surveys and set construction stakes for a variety of practices. May operate rod or chain or other specialized instruments to lay out simple practices.
- Assists in program and conservation planning for a variety of soil and water practices such as terraces, diversions, waterways, farm drainage systems, and others.
Who May Apply
This job is open to…
Students who are currently enrolled or accepted for enrollment on at least a half-time basis at a qualifying educational institution in a certificate, degree, or diploma program.
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Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- US Citizenship is required.
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
If selected for this Internship, the applicant will be required to complete the following:
Pathways Requirements:
• Be enrolled as a certificate or degree-seeking student at least half-time at a qualifying educational institution.
• Maintain good academic standing as defined by the educational institution for the duration of the internship.
• Sign a Pathways Participant Agreement.
• Serve a two (2) year trial period.
Employment Requirements:
• Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. The position may require a background investigation at the time of appointment, and may be subject to reinvestigation every five years thereafter. A favorable adjudication of the background investigation at the time of appointment and on reinvestigations is a condition of employment.
• If you are newly hired, the documentation you present for purposes of completing the Department Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 on your entry-on-duty date will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" system. Federal law requires the use of E-VERIFY to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires. Under this system, the new hire is required to resolve any identified discrepancies as a condition of continued employment.
• Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license as a condition of employment.
Qualifications
All applicants must meet the eligibility, education and qualification requirements listed below by the closing date of the announcement.
To be eligible for a Pathways Internship, applicants must:
• Be at least 16 years of age at the time of appointment;
• Be enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) in an accredited educational institution;
• Be enrolled at least half-time as defined by your educational institution; and
• Be in good academic standing, as defined by the your academic institution.
Below is the education requirements to be qualified at the following grade levels:
GS-3 - Completion of 1 full academic year of post-high school study.
One full academic year of undergraduate education is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent as defined by the accredited college or university.
Degree programs in environmental, natural resources and related sciences preferred.
To be eligible for a Pathways Internship, applicants must:
• Be at least 16 years of age at the time of appointment;
• Be enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) in an accredited educational institution;
• Be enrolled at least half-time as defined by your educational institution; and
• Be in good academic standing, as defined by the your academic institution.
Below is the education requirements to be qualified at the following grade levels:
GS-3 - Completion of 1 full academic year of post-high school study.
One full academic year of undergraduate education is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent as defined by the accredited college or university.
Degree programs in environmental, natural resources and related sciences preferred.
Education
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. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information.
Additional information
- Work Schedules: Selected Interns will be expected to work full-time (40 hours per week) during school summer breaks, and may be allowed to work part-time during the school year, depending on location/state selected.
- Promotion/conversion to the next higher grade may occur without further competition once all legal and regulatory requirements are met to include management’s certification of the continuing need for performance of duties at the higher grade level.
- Depending on the location selected, if students work for more than one year, they may be required to be mobile and work in other locations within the state selected thereafter.
- Work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as walking on rough terrain, jumping ditches and furrows, climbing steep banks, or negotiating other terrain features.
- It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. See more information at: http://www.chcoc.gov/transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=6465
- Additional selections may be made from this announcement.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. Explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees at: http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/enrollment/new-federal-employee-enrollment/
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Application materials received by the closing date will be used to determine whether you meet eligibility criteria for Pathways Internship Program and the extent to which your responses to the Questionnaire satisfy the requirements.
All applicants who meet basic eligibility and qualification requirements will be referred to the selection official in veteran’s preference order. Preference will be given to applicants claiming veteran’s preference based on the supporting documents submitted.
Attempts to falsify information; inflate your qualifications or providing inaccurate information on federal documents may be grounds for disqualification. If selected providing inaccurate information on federal documents could also be grounds for dismissing you from the position/agency. Please review and follow all instructions carefully.
To view the application form, visit: https://nrcs.usda.ntis.gov/cp/?event=jobs.previewApplication&jobid=5838EEAD-3BEE-4CA6-99A2-A81E010E4229
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. Explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees at: http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/enrollment/new-federal-employee-enrollment/
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Required Documents
As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.
The following documents are required for your application to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in mail service, your system failure or downtime, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
- Resume must include: 1) personal information; 2) education; 3) work experience including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; and title, series and grade if applicable; 4) supervisors phone number, e-mail address for each work period listed, and whether or not we may contact them for reference checks; and 5) other qualifications.
- Proof of current enrollment or acceptance of enrollment and academic standing:
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In the form of letters, records, or statements issued from a high school, vocational institution, college or university. The documentation provided must be issued from an authorized source (example: university registrar’s office). AND/OR
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A copy of your most recent transcripts which show your field of study, school name, students name, current GPA or academic standing, past and current course work, degree program, and major/concentration. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if selected, an official college transcript will be required prior to entering on duty.
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Veterans: If claiming veteran’s preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veteran’s preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran’s preference and your application will be evaluated based on the material(s) submitted.
- If claiming 10-point veteran’s preference based on a service connected disability or purple heart, you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), and the VA letter. The SF-15 should be included but not required with the initial application, but if selected you will required to complete the SF-15. If claiming 10-point derived preference, i.e. spouse, widow/widowers and mothers, you must submit the SF-15 at the time of application submission. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. For more information on veterans’ preference please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/.
NOTE: If a document is resubmitted, it replaces the previous submission, which means the previous document is no longer available to the Human Resources Office. If you are adding to, rather than replacing a previous submission, you must upload both the old document and the new document. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded resumes must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX).
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, click "Apply Online" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE: You must verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system. Applicants may combine all like required documents (e.g., all SF-50s) into one or more files and scan for uploading into the application. Each file must not exceed 3MB. Grouping like documents into files will simplify the application process. Documents must be in one of the following formats: GIF, JPEG, JPG, PDF, PNG, RTF, or Word (DOC or DOCX). Uploaded documents may not require a password, digital signature, or other encryption to open.
Agency contact information
Tia Stanley
- Address
-
Natural Resources Conservation Service
1400 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, DC, 20250
USA
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account at https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login to check your application status. We expect to make a final job offer approximately 40 days after the deadline for applications.
Fair and Transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Additional Locations
Help
Required Documents
The following documents are required for your application to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in mail service, your system failure or downtime, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
- Resume must include: 1) personal information; 2) education; 3) work experience including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; and title, series and grade if applicable; 4) supervisors phone number, e-mail address for each work period listed, and whether or not we may contact them for reference checks; and 5) other qualifications.
- Proof of current enrollment or acceptance of enrollment and academic standing:
-
In the form of letters, records, or statements issued from a high school, vocational institution, college or university. The documentation provided must be issued from an authorized source (example: university registrar’s office). AND/OR
-
A copy of your most recent transcripts which show your field of study, school name, students name, current GPA or academic standing, past and current course work, degree program, and major/concentration. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if selected, an official college transcript will be required prior to entering on duty.
-
Veterans: If claiming veteran’s preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veteran’s preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran’s preference and your application will be evaluated based on the material(s) submitted.
- If claiming 10-point veteran’s preference based on a service connected disability or purple heart, you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), and the VA letter. The SF-15 should be included but not required with the initial application, but if selected you will required to complete the SF-15. If claiming 10-point derived preference, i.e. spouse, widow/widowers and mothers, you must submit the SF-15 at the time of application submission. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. For more information on veterans’ preference please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/.
NOTE: If a document is resubmitted, it replaces the previous submission, which means the previous document is no longer available to the Human Resources Office. If you are adding to, rather than replacing a previous submission, you must upload both the old document and the new document. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded resumes must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX).
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
Help
Learn more about this agency
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, click "Apply Online" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE: You must verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system. Applicants may combine all like required documents (e.g., all SF-50s) into one or more files and scan for uploading into the application. Each file must not exceed 3MB. Grouping like documents into files will simplify the application process. Documents must be in one of the following formats: GIF, JPEG, JPG, PDF, PNG, RTF, or Word (DOC or DOCX). Uploaded documents may not require a password, digital signature, or other encryption to open.
Agency contact information
Tia Stanley
- Address
-
Natural Resources Conservation Service
1400 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, DC, 20250
USA
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account at https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login to check your application status. We expect to make a final job offer approximately 40 days after the deadline for applications.
Fair & Transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Beginning of a dialog window for the agency announcing this job. It begins with a heading 2 called "Learn more about Field Operating Offices of the Office of the Secretary of the Army". Escape will cancel and close the window.
Learn more about
Natural Resources Conservation Service
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps America’s farmers and ranchers conserve the Nation’s soil, water, air and other natural resources. We need people who want to apply their education and experience to make sure we all enjoy the benefits of productive soil, clean water, clean air, and abundant wildlife that come from a healthy environment. “Helping People Help the Land” http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
The Pathways Internship Program is for current diploma/certificate/degree-seeking students and is designed to attract students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions with paid opportunities to work in USDA/NRCS and explore Federal careers while still in school. This program exposes students to jobs in the Federal civil service by providing meaningful developmental work while completing their academic requirements. For more information on the Pathways Internship, please visit https://www.usajobs.gov/StudentsAndGrads.
Agency contact information
Tia Stanley
- Address
-
Natural Resources Conservation Service
1400 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, DC, 20250
USA