Agronomist - Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration : Job Details

Summary This position is located at the NCA Pacific District Office in Oakland, California. Responsibilities Analyzes Cemetery Grounds Maintenance Operational Elements and consults with and advises the cemeteries on maximizing resources in the care, maintenance and/or development/acquisition of these elements. The Operational Elements consist of grounds maintenance operations, i.e., turfgrass/plant materials/varieties, soil conditions, fertilizers, pesticides; grounds maintenance equipment, irrigation systems; and interment and headstone operations. Develops contract documents for construction/maintenance/repair projects related to cemetery's grounds and coordinates/collaborates with the irrigation specialist on irrigation systems, as well as performance-based and fixed cost contract documents related to contracting out of all or various cemetery operations elements. Acts as a liaison between other Federal agencies and state and local entities, regarding the care and maintenance of the cemetery's grounds, as well as complying with laws and regulations regarding chemical usage. Primary advisor to the Executive Director regarding grounds maintenance issues. Work schedule: Required to work Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. May include occasional weekends. Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Available Telework: Available Position Description Title/PD#: Agronomist/PD130730 The full performance level of this position is GS - 13. Relocation Expenses: Not Authorized Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all specialized experience and time in grade requirements within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement, 11/04/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If your most recent non-award SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional non-award SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. There is a Basic Education Requirement for the GS-0471 Agronomist series. You must have: 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree in agronomy; or related discipline of science that included at least 30 semester hours of course work in the basic plant sciences, including at least 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, such as those dealing with plant breeding, crop production, and soil and crop management. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, including a minimum of 15 semester hours in agronomic subjects, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Graduate Education: Agronomy, or one of the related disciplines or fields of science, such as plant physiology, soils, or genetics, where the curriculum or pattern of training placed major emphasis on field crops or agronomy. Graduate study in related fields, such as botany, plant pathology, and biochemistry may also be qualifying, provided it placed a sufficient amount of emphasis on agronomy. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You may qualify for the GS-13 based on your experience, as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: expertise in remote sensing soil water sensors as they relate to abiotic stresses such as heat and drought, and soil water balance approaches to develop efficient irrigation and fertigation recommendations for sustainable turf management, providing guidance and oversight to others on conservation planning and implementation and overseeing technical operations involving plants, soils, and/or water resources conservation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Budget Administration Contract Formation Horticulture Landscape Architecture Planning and Evaluating 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary, sitting behind a desk when within the office. When travel occurs to NCA-PD cemeteries, which is about once a month for a week, there is considerable walking, bending, and stooping when surveying grounds and monitoring projects. Training sessions for employees and occasional work projects may require the incumbent to do some physical demonstrations and lifting up to 50 pounds. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application. PLEASE NOTE: 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 (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. 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. Additional Information Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the Who may apply eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.