This position will be filled under the Office of Personnel Management's Direct Hire Authority for COLLEGE GRADUATES and is open to all United States citizens and U.S. nationals. Veteran's preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply. All qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration for this position. College Graduate appointments are permanent competitive service appointments.
Duties
Leads or participates in interdisciplinary teams conducting environmental analyses and ensuring compliance with environmental laws (e.g. the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act), regulations, and policies.
Determines the environmental effects of Reclamation's actions and project operations.
Prepares, or oversees preparation of, and reviews categorical exclusion checklists, environmental assessments, Findings of No Significant Impacts, environmental impact statements, records of decision, and biological assessments.
Provides technical analyses, guidance, and policy recommendations for assuring that environmental requirements are appropriately integrated with Regional programs and activities that affect biological, land, and water resources.
Collaborates with specialists in a wide range of disciplines, including engineers, hydrologists, soil scientists, economists, and other professionals.
Prepares memoranda, special technical reports, statements of work, service agreements, task orders, and other documentation on environmental issues and tasks, and provides guidance and assistance to government or contract personnel involved in preparing such documents.
Develops sampling plans and leads field crews collecting data for aquatic and habitat resource surveys for resident and anadromous fish.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.
Qualifications
To be eligible for a College Graduate Appointment, you must meet the following requirements: Recent graduates who have completed a bachelor's or graduate degree within the previous two years; OR Uniformed service members who have completed a bachelor's or graduate degree and were unable to apply within two years of obtaining their degree due to a uniformed service obligation of at least four years, may apply within two years of their discharge from uniformed service; AND Meets the minimum qualification standards prescribed or approved by OPM for the position to which the individual is being appointed.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/13/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.
To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.
Minimum Qualification Requirements
To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:
A. Degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience that is equivalent to a major in a biological science plus appropriate experience or additional education.
AND
To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level:
EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience at this level must include all of the following: experience or knowledge of the application of the principles, concepts and methodology associated with natural resources and environmental laws (e.g. National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act). Examples of specialized experience include:
Conducting studies using fact-finding techniques (e.g. data collection and literature review);
Analyzing data associated with environmental or scientific studies; and
Presenting findings and associated environmental data in written form that results in or contributes to preparation of documents (e.g. summary, technical, and/or environmental documents, etc.).
You must include hours per week worked.
OR
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree, with a major that is related to the duties of this position. You must include transcripts.
OR
Combination of education and experience. Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take . Then take the number of months of full time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.
Volunteer Experience: 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
This position has a mandatory education requirement.
PROOF OF EDUCATION: All applicants must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.
GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.
Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs.
Additional Requirements
U.S. Citizenship required. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males. Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program. You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.
How to Apply
To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 10/13/2026. You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES.
Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application." Click here for USAJobs Help with "How to create an application" To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13080313
Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS. Select documents you want included in this application. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed. Select if you want to include your demographic information. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site." Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown. Upload any missing required documents or optional documents. Review and Submit Application.
While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement. To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job. Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.
From Bureau of Reclamation's public posting, laid out for reading by newgrad.ai with the wording unchanged. Check the original before you apply.
