Summary

You will serve as a Supervisory Land Law Examiner (Section Chief) for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Alaska State Office, Division of Lands and Cadastral, in the Adjudication Branch. Section will be assigned at time of appointment at the discretion of the supervisor.

Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) rate of 1.49% is authorized.

Duties

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Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Directs and supervises staff to ensure accurate land records, provides coaching and minor disciplinary actions, and elevates unresolved issues to higher-level management.
• Oversees adjudication and processing of statutory Alaska land conveyances and resolves complex, precedent-setting issues through coordination with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensures timely, high-quality work by establishing performance plans, conducting evaluations, providing corrective guidance when needed, and setting short- and long-term priorities and schedules.
• Leads development and implementation of problem-solving strategies, innovates solutions to complex issues, and adjusts program processes in response to evolving legislative, procedural, or budgetary drivers.
• Anticipates stakeholder needs, strengthens adjudication efficiency, contributes to policy and standards development, and provides strategic program support through briefings, analyses, and recommendations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

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 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 period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/12/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. All candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements.

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:

Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience performing the following:

1.) Reviews and adjudicates land-title cases, interprets land records, abstracts, and survey plats, ensuring accuracy and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

2.) Supervises staff reviewing land titles and legal land transactions, ensuring all work follows applicable laws, policies, and procedures.

3.) Adjudicates applications for public-land disposal, use, or conveyance and issues leases, licenses, or permits in line with land-management requirements.

4.) Resolves land-use conflicts by reviewing case materials and applying statutory and regulatory criteria to support defensible land-management decisions.

5.) Performs title searches and examines legal land records to support land-title determinations.

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 does not allow substituting education for experience.

Additional information

This position will be filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Eligibility is limited to applicants who reside within the defined local commuting area at the time of application. For this announcement, the local commuting area is the area from which individuals can reasonably commute to the duty station under normal conditions. The defined vicinity for this position is: 50 miles from the Alaska State Office, located in Anchorage, AK. You must provide proof of residency within the defined vicinity (e.g. mortgage or property deed, lease/rental agreement, utility bill, insurance policy, etc.). See the Required Documents section for information on how to verify current residence.

This announcement is being advertised concurrently under number CBFH-[redacted]9-ST-ZAW for status candidates and special hiring authority eligible. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR 575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, https://www.doi.gov/ethics/ethics-prohibitions.

The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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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.