Job Information
Bureau of Land Management Land Surveyor (BIA Specialist) in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Summary This position located in Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office. This position is concurrently open to all U.S. Citizens under Announcement Number BLM-NM-25-12566015-DE-OPM. Responsibilities The incumbent will be BLM's principal liaison for the BIA and Tribal Offices concerning boundary surveys, land ownership, Fee-to-Trust transactions and other legal and technical matters related to trust and Federal interest lands. The incumbent is expected to be a senior technical specialist in Land Surveying with competencies developed for dealing with sensitive issues related to cultural awareness, local traditions, and the history affecting tribal lands. Participation in meetings or briefing with BIA employees, Tribal Councils, Tribal employees, individual Tribal members, as well as members of the general public, congressional staffs and others is required. This position is key to the successful implementation of the Department of the Interior Standards for Indian Trust Lands Boundary Evidence, 303 DM 7. This position functions as a Bureau of Land Management Land Surveyor (BIA Specialist) with the duty station typically assigned to a Bureau of Indian Affairs Regional Office, or at a location determined by the BIA Deputy Director for Trust Services. The position is under the administrative and technical supervision of the Chief Cadastral Surveyor of the BLM New Mexico State Office. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications In order to qualify for this Land Surveyor GS-1373-13, you must meet BOTH the Basic and Additional qualification requirements for at least one grade level described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience. If qualifying based on education, a copy of your unofficial transcripts must be provided with your application. BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT for the 1373 series: A. Successfully completed a 4-year bachelor's degree or higher in land surveying; or civil engineering with a surveying option/emphasis. The civil engineering major must have included at least 6 semester hours of surveying, 3 semester hours of land law, and 21 additional semester hours in any combination of the following: surveying, photogrammetry, geodetic surveying, geodesy, route surveying, remote sensing, cartography, survey astronomy, land information systems, computer-aided mapping, aerial photo interpretation, and survey analysis and adjustments. Note: You must submit a complete, legible copy of your transcript to verify college courses. -OR- B. Possess a combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in land surveying or civil engineering as described in paragraph A, plus appropriate experience or additional education that furnished a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional land surveying. Note: You must submit a complete, legible copy of your transcripts to verify college courses and your resume must support specialized experience. -OR- C. The basic requirements for this series may be fully satisfied by a current registration as a land surveyor in a State, territory, or the District of Columbia obtained by written examination. Such registration must have been obtained under conditions outlined in the National Council of Engineering Examiners (NCEE) Unified Model Law for Registration of Surveyors. Applicants wishing to be considered under this provision must show evidence of registration based on successful completion of the written examinations. Registrations granted prior to adoption of a registration law with qualification requirements equivalent to the NCEE Model Law by the State, territory, or District of Columbia are not acceptable under this option. To be considered equivalent to the NCEE Model law, registration laws must include the four options listed within the NCEE Unified Model Law in the section specifying "General Requirements for Registration" as a Professional Land Surveyor. Note: You must submit proof of your registration based on successful completion of the written examinations. -AND- ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Minimum Qualification GS-13 Applicants must have one full year of specialized land survey experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing the following:1) applying land surveying disciplines (e.g. mapping, legal description, deed construction and interpretation; 2) utilizing Federal or State laws and regulations relative to land conveyances, surveying and land surveying case law; 3) employing Federal and State land survey procedures to re-establish cadastral surveys and land boundaries based on documents of record and historical evidence, as well as certifying boundary surveys; 4) operating electronic survey systems (e.g. GPS Surveying Systems, Geographic Coordinate Data Base, and AutoCAD). TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-12 is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-13 level. (Must submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No award SF-50 will be accepted). Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). 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. You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies". Education To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. 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. Additional Information Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Physical Demands: The work is performed primarily in office settings, but may involve some field visits. The office work is sedentary. The employee may walk, stand, bend and carry light items. Working Conditions: Office work is performed in well lighted, air conditioned or heated, as appropriate, work settings. Field work is usually in areas where the terrain varies from nearly level land to mountainous terrain and extreme temperature variables. These locations are often remote with limited vehicular access and wilderness settings. The incumbent will adhere to all safety rules and regulations as prescribed in manuals/supplements or by the designated Safety Officer. The Bureau of Land Management has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval. Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) or Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP or CTAP eligible see http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ctap_guideline.pdf. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 90 or above on the rating criteria for this position. If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, please contact San Antonio Services Branch at SASBMailbox@opm.gov or 816-541-8101.