Summary The incumbent is a Supervisory Research Scientist serving as either a Soil Scientist, Agricultural Engineer, or Hydrologist and as the Research Leader for the Soil and Water Management Research Unit located in St. Paul, MN. The incumbent will provide leadership and line authority for conducting research in a multidisciplinary program to develop strategies to protect and conserve water and environmental resources and the effect on carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. Responsibilities Incumbent leads, directs and conducts research whose objectives include: Measuring and modeling the occurrence, export, and transport of agricultural inputs and environmental contaminants to and within surface water and ground water resources. Developing management approaches to reduce impacts of agronomic practices on water quality and quantity. Contributing to Long Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) related activities. Assessing the carbon and nitrogen balance and greenhouse gas emissions of different management systems. Developing new cropping practices designed to reduce offsite chemical losses, including the use of winter cover crops, and living mulches in corn and corn-soybean systems. Developing alternative uses of agricultural lands, such as agrivoltaics. Supervisory duties include: Providing vision, establishing an advisory stakeholder base, and developing research programs to address stakeholder priorities. Exercising leadership and supervising personnel assigned to the unit. Maximizing the creativity and productivity of the unit. Hiring personnel and managing the human, fiscal, and physical resources assigned to the unit. Serving as the unit fundholder. Providing technical information and consultation both internal and external to Agricultural Research Service. Ensuring the proper interpretation and reporting of scientific research results. Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. Basic Qualification Requirements for the Soil Science Series, 0470: A. Degree: soil science or a closely related discipline that included 30 semester hours or equivalent in biological, physical, or earth science, with a minimum of 15 semester hours in such subjects as soil genesis, pedology, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil fertility. OR B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in soil science or a related discipline that included at least 30 semester hours in the biological, physical, or earth sciences. At least 15 of these semester hours must have been in the areas specified in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Basic Qualification Requirements for the Agricultural Engineering Series, 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: 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. 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. 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. 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.) NOTE: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise. Basic Qualification Requirements for the Hydrology Series, 1315: A. Degree: physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics, aquatic biology, atmospheric science, meteorology, geology, oceanography, or the management or conservation of water resources. The course work must have included at least 6 semester hours in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours in physics. Calculus and physics, as described above, are requirements for all grade levels. OR B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: In addition to meeting the basic requirements for at least one of the series described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. GS-14: Applicants must have 1 year (52 weeks) of specialized experience (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal Service. The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-14 level are: Planning and conducting independent research related to protecting and conserving water and environmental resources OR developing farming practices that protect soils and reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of agriculture; AND Publishing related research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals; AND Experience supervising staff to accomplish a variety of research objectives; AND Working with stakeholders to enhance research efforts or writing grant proposals to expand existing programs. GS-15: Applicants must have 1 year (52 weeks) of specialized experience (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-14 grade level in the Federal Service. The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-15 level are: Leading a multidisciplinary team conducting research related to protecting and conserving water and environmental resources OR developing farming practices that protect soils and reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of agriculture; AND Publishing related research results as first or corresponding author in peer-reviewed scientific journals; AND Being invited to present research findings at scientific conferences, either in person or virtually; AND Experience supervising staff to accomplish research objectives; AND Developing and maintaining relationships with commodity groups or other stakeholders; AND Experience in transferring developed technologies or intervention strategies in the field. Supervisory/Managerial Competencies - the following KSAs will also be used to evaluate candidates in the interview and selection process: 1. Ability to lead and accomplish work through others (i.e., team building, conflict management, cultural awareness, strategic thinking, technology management, and political savvy). 2. Ability to communicate with individuals or groups from diverse backgrounds in a variety of situations. Education Please see above for education qualification requirement information. Additional Information 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. This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series/position titles listed. In addition to the specialized experience requirements, applicants must submit proof that they meet the educational requirements for at least one of the series described in the announcement. Applicants may only be appointed to job series/position titles for which they meet all experience and educational requirements. Applicants must be available to report for duty at the time a selection is made. Selections are typically made within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement. This position is designated as Non-sensitive/Moderate Risk (Tier 2) and requires the selectee to undergo a pre-employment check and a full background investigation. Any offer made is considered a tentative job offer pending the outcome of the pre-employment check. Retention in the position is based upon a favorable adjudication of the background investigation. The incumbent will be subject to periodic reinvestigations. CONFIDENTIAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORT: Federal employees are subject to prohibitions against officially dealing with outside organizations in which they have a financial interest. If hired for this position, you may be required to submit a financial disclosure report within 30 days of the effective date of your appointment and annually thereafter. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 71 out of a possible 100. Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at time of job offer. This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.
