OUTREACH NOTICE of job to be posted in the near future: USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Morgantown, WV
Job Title: Botanist
Series and Grade: 0430, ladder position GS 5/7/9 (could be hired at any of the three grades, depending on experience and qualifications; https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.opm.gov%2Fpolicy-data-oversight%2Fclassification-qualifications%2Fgeneral-schedule-qualification-standards%2F0400%2Fbotany-series-0430%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cmadeline.hennessey%40uconn.edu%7C927b5b6a733540cd8c9808d798da9ca7%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637145937142658079&sdata=d9ZLSVF7NIrLZyetN5jH4SMfqM4vI%2BkMNBwyUg3zBiQ%3D&reserved=0.
Salary Range: $39,291 – $59,534
Location (Duty Station): Northern Research Station (NRS) Forest Science Laboratory in Morgantown, WV
Duration: Permanent and full time with health, retirement, and life insurance benefits in addition to annual and sick leave.
The selected person will provide professional, scientific assistance using a variety of botanical skills that support Forest Service research on native, nonnative, invasive, and sensitive plant species in pristine and disturbed forest ecosystems.
Major Duties:
* Conduct vegetation inventories at population, community, and landscape scales
* Select research sites and establish new field monitoring plots and experiments evaluating invasion biology, ecology, and forest restoration
* Collect and prepare voucher specimens and maintain the NRS Herbarium
* Set up and maintain common garden, greenhouse, and growth chamber experiments including propagation, watering, fertilizing, mowing, pest-detection, and monitoring environmental settings and sensors
* Measure morphological and physiological plant attributes
* Collect seed and evaluate germination rates and seed viability
* Collect soil for seed bank analyses and soil nutrient composition
* Oversee and maintain equipment associated with both field and laboratory research; field equipment may include such items as increment borers, soil augers, battery operated mower; laboratory equipment may include light meters, data loggers, incubators, balances, growth chambers and greenhouse growing space; maintenance may include changing light bulbs and filters as needed and cleaning/sanitizing between experiments
* Maintain data in appropriate and organized database/spreadsheet files; summarize and interpret data; assist with presentations and papers
* Collect spatial data and make digital maps of site and plant species locations
Morgantown WV is a small university city in northern WV with many amenities and community services normally associated with larger cities. Recently, it was rated third-best small US city to live in. A federally-sponsored day care facility is available to employees. Outdoor recreation activities abound with the Monongahela National Forest nearby. Morgantown is 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh, PA and 4 hours from Washington, DC.
Vacancy Announcement
The vacancy announcement for this position will be posted in the near future on the U.S. Government’s official website for employment opportunities at https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=www.usajobs.gov&data=02%7C01%7Cmadeline.hennessey%40uconn.edu%7C927b5b6a733540cd8c9808d798da9ca7%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637145937142658079&sdata=Vu1OtYLzJXDHmgKi4om2NTyX0HDn44ZH3AdpgW7CXvU%3D&reserved=0. All persons indicating an interest in applying for this position will be notified when the position is posted. Those who wish to be considered for this position must apply to the vacancy announcement and upload all required documentation, including transcripts and eligibility for special authority hiring, as appropriate. All applicants who have applied to the announcement and are found to be qualified
and in the quality group will be referred for consideration.
Contacts: If you have questions or wish to be sent notice of the vacancy announcement posting, please contact Dr. Cynthia Huebner, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 180 Canfield St. Morgantown, WV 26505, cynthia.d.huebner@usda.gov, 304-285-1582.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) Should contact USDA’s TARGET CENTER at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). The USDA Forest Service provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the contact person or office identified earlier in this announcement for assistance. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.