Landscape Architect

Duties

Summary

This position is located in Cody, WY

The primary responsibilities of this position include knowledge and application of scenery management; landscape planning and design; interpretive planning; dispersed and developed recreation; recreation special uses; congressionally designated areas and other special areas and transportation planning.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Robert Lafrentz at 307-578-5117 or email at robert.lafrentz@usda.gov

Responsibilities

• Provide professional landscape architectural input and environmental analysis to facilitate approaches to the land management planning and environmental design.
• Evaluate landscape architectural recommendations and modifications for a variety of resource management activities such as recreation planning, forest restoration, and wilderness/scenic river planning.
• Prepare proposed land management or proposed natural resource management projects scopes and budget in relation to scenery/landscape management.
• Serve as a consultant and/or negotiator on controversial projects, providing highly technical or specialized skills to help resolve issues.
• Assist with the development of land and resource management plans related to recreation, scenery and related resources.
• Recommend recreation/land management project priorities and adjustments based on changing direction and work factors.
• Manage recreation projects from environmental analysis and site planning, through design, construction and post-construction.
• Prepare master plans, design narratives, construction documents and site development plans.
• Prepare progress reports to ensure projects remain on track and processes/products are compliant with laws and regulations.
• Develop drawings, sketches, technical reports, daily diaries, etc., for use in preliminary planning reports, conceptual site planning, and contract documents.
• Develop recommendations and guidance documents to ensure recreation program objectives are accomplished.
• Develop plans (including unprecedented), conceptual designs, and specifications for recreational development.
• Participate in conferences with other landscape architects to develop relationships, mentor junior landscape architects, and actively contribute to discussion topics.
• Engage in discussions with other resource specialists and leadership during the course of assigned projects.
• Provide environmental planning training to personnel on scenery resources matters.

Travel Required

75% or less - You may be expected to travel for meetings, trainings, and project related work.

Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

None

• Job family (Series)

  0807 Landscape Architecture

• Requirements

  Requirements

  Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify.

  Qualifications

  In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

  Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

  For more information on the qualifications for this Landscape Architect position, go to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/landscape-architecture-series-0807/

  Basic Requirement:

  • Degree: landscape architecture or landscape design. Note: Successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture in an accredited college or university is qualifying for GS-7.

    OR

  • Combination of education and experience - for each year short of graduation, the applicant must have had 1 year of experience under professional leadership and guidance of such character and diversity as to be a satisfactory substitute for the required education. This experience must have included original landscape design.

  Experience Equivalent to a Degree in Landscape Architecture: A degree in landscape architecture indicates that an applicant has the basic background to perform professional landscape architectural work at the beginning levels, and has the potential to develop the skills and abilities required at the higher levels. Experience may be substituted for education to the extent that it provided the equivalent back-ground. However, because an education provides some knowledge that cannot be measured in terms of course content, but rather is part of general knowledge and cultural background gained as a result of interrelationships among courses, careful judgment must be used in evaluating experience substituted for education as provided for in paragraph B of the basic requirements.

  The objective of providing for the substitution of experience for education is to avoid excluding proven professional landscape architects from the Federal service. However, relatively few applicants will qualify on the basis of experience alone. The time required in the case of an individual applicant to acquire the required experience may take substantially more than 4 years. In view of the breadth and depth of training required, it is rare that a person will qualify without some course work in addition to experience.

  Applicants who apply on the basis of experience in lieu of education are required to show how their background is equivalent to a degree. In order to qualify at the entrance level, non-degree applicants typically must have experience or study that included site planning; layout of circulation patterns; grading and drainage plans; planting plans; collaboration with architects and/or engineers; and the supervision or review of landscape construction.

  Evaluation of Experience: The following kinds of experience are not acceptable as professional landscape architectural experience: routine drafting or developing of plans where original investigations or designs are not involved; laying out or executing illustrations in black-and-white or in color; nursery work involving the propagation of trees, shrubs, vines, etc.; experimental, horticultural, or landscape gardening; breeding, testing, propagation, culture, and production of plants, flowers, trees, crops, etc.; forestry work involving the management of forest resources for the continuous production of timber, water, forage, and other forest values; architectural and engineering work limited to the design of structures; work in city and community planning that relates primarily to the broad social and economic growth of cities and communities and the organization of community services and facilities.

  In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

  Specialized Experience Requirement:

  For the GS-12: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as; Designed a variety of moderately to highly complex recreational facilities, using computer-assisted design technology; Served as the recreation and scenery resource specialist on multidisciplinary teams for a variety of resource management activities such as recreation planning, forest restoration, and wilderness/wild and scenic river planning; Prepared or reviewed site analyses and recreation and scenic resource specialist reports including design features, proposed mitigation measures and visual simulations; Participated in the development of land management plans related to recreation, scenery and related resources.

  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.

  Education

  See Qualifications section for Educational requirements.

  Additional information

  This term appointment may be extended for up to 4 years based on workload and funds availability.

  Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

  The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.

  Must possess or be able to obtain within a reasonable time Professional Landscape Architect Registration.

  This agency offers alternative and flexible work schedules.

  Government Housing is not available.

  Daycare facilities are not available

  Selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. Questions should be directed to the Travel Help Desk, 877-372-7248, Option 1, or email

  asctos@fs.fed.us.

  How You Will Be Evaluated

  You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

  You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications.

  You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. You will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Individuals with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.

  Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

  To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10736476

  Background checks and security clearance

  Security clearance

  Other

  Drug test required

  No

  Position sensitivity and risk

  Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

  Trust determination process

  Credentialing, Suitability/Fitness

• Required Documents

  Required Documents

  The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

  Resume that includes: 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the responsibilities section including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications.

  If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

  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 you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), plus the proof of entitlement of this preference as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but is not required. 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 visit FEDSHIREVETS.

  Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.

• Benefits

  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. Learn more about federal benefits.

  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.

Help

This job is open to

• The public

  U.S. citizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.