Summary

Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as a Geologist. You can make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment.

Duty Location: Upper Colorado Basin Region, Provo Area Office, Geology and Drilling Operations Group, located in Provo, Utah.

At various times the incumbent will be required to work from the Pleasant Grove, UT Office.

Duties

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At the full performance level (GS-13) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

Supervises and/or performs the following tasks:

• Implements policies and plans and establishes program and performance goals and objectives.
• Provides support and direction in supervising, organizing, coordinating, and directing the development and execution of programs involving geology and drilling operations.
• Responsible for providing and maintaining a technically complete and competent staff of geologists, specialized technicians, Drill Crew, and associated help, as required, to perform the assigned studies and responsibilities.
• Interprets policies, procedures and methods, reviews and evaluates subordinate geologists' interpretation of geologic samplings and findings and recommends and advises on further explorations or on geologic treatment of findings.
• Performs inspection of special problem areas such as unstable dam or canal embankments, potential landslide areas, sinkholes, etc.
• Establishes and/or coordinates with other Reclamation Offices and the Technical Service Center, geotechnical standards, guidelines, and procedures for all geologic field studies, such as drill core logging, geologic mapping, excavation documentation, drawing preparation, seismic or landslide hazard studies, other related activities, and associated memoranda and reports.
• Provides advice to construction engineers on geologic problems that could be anticipated prior to actual excavation, or as encountered during excavation, such as permeability, stability, and adequacy of foundations or recommended remedial action to improve foundation conditions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.

You must be suitable for federal employment, determined by a background investigation.

You must submit a resume and supporting documentation (see Required Documents).

You must meet any minimum education and experience requirements (see Qualifications).

You must submit transcript(s) to verify education requirements (see Qualifications/Education).

You will be required to complete a Financial Disclosure Form.

You will be required to work from the Pleasant Grove, UT Office, located approximately 15 miles from the Provo Area Office, at various times.

Applicants must meet all qualification requirements, including time in grade requirements and any selective factors, by the closing date of the announcement.

Continue to the Additional Information section for the Condition of Employment For Probationary Period.

Who May Apply:

• Bureau of Reclamation Employees (Competitive)
• Bureau of Reclamation Employees (Non-Competitive)
• Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)
• Department of the Interior Employees (Competitive)
• Department of the Interior Employees (Non-Competitive)
• Federal Employees (Competitive Transfer)
• Federal Employees (Non-Competitive Transfer)
• Former Federal Employees (Competitive Reinstatement)
• Former Federal Employees (Non-Competitive Reinstatement)
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA)
• Military Spouses
• Miscellaneous Appointing Authorities
• Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA)

Qualifications

You must meet all qualification requirements, including time-in-grade restrictions and any selective factors, by the closing date of this announcement. There is no education substitution for Time in Grade requirements.

BASIC INDVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR) - GS-1350:

Basic Requirements:

A. Degree: geology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography.

or

B. Combination of education and experience course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience (see below for acceptable experience) or additional education.

Evaluation of Experience: Acceptable experience may have been gained through geological field or laboratory work that provided a means of obtaining professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of geology and closely related sciences, e.g., geophysics, geochemistry, or hydrology. Such work generally must have involved making close observations, taking samples, handling various types of instruments and equipment, assembling geologic data from source materials, and analyzing and reporting findings orally and in writing. Experience that involved only one phase of geology work, e.g., collecting samples, would not be acceptable as providing the required professional knowledge of the theory and principles of geology. In some situations, professional scientific experience in other fields may be accepted in part as professional geological experience. Such experience must have been preceded by appropriate education in geology or by professional geological experience and must have contributed directly and significantly to the applicant's professional geological competence. Examples include some positions in geophysics, mining engineering, soils science, physical oceanography, hydrology, climatology, biology, analytic or experimental chemistry, metallurgy, and comparable fields where the normal duties or results of investigations have been extended to the solution of geologic problems by the applicant. Ordinary functions of positions such as seismic, computer, petroleum or mining engineer, mine superintendent, or metallurgist generally are not considered professional geological experience. To receive credit for geological experience obtained in positions that are not full-time professional geological positions, the applicant is responsible for indicating clearly the actual time or percentage of time devoted to geologic duties within such positions, and for giving adequate descriptions of the geologic functions.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: To qualify for the position (in addition to meeting the basic IOR requirement above), your resume must clearly describe specialized experience that demonstrates the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities as follows:

To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, your resume must demonstrate at least one year of full-time specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-12 grade level or pay band in the Federal Service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized Experience must demonstrate all the following:

Must have experience mentoring and developing junior geologists and/or geotechnical engineers, and collaborating with peer level geotechnical engineers, and at least three of the following:

(1) Experience participating in Reclamation's Safety Evaluation of Existing Dams and Safety of Dams programs, practices, and guidelines (or equivalent Federal or State programs).

(2) Experience participating in risk-based decision-making processes, such as Best Practices in Dam and Levee Safety Risk Analysis (or similar State or Federal programs).

(3) Experience developing exploratory drilling programs and geologic investigations related to water storage, conveyance, or appurtenant infrastructure.

(4) Experience with instrumentation, and instrumentation used to evaluate dam safety, such as is done in the Safety Evaluation of Existing Dams and Safety of Dams programs, to provide technical review, analysis, and interpretation.

(5) Experience interpreting data collected and logged in the field, directing collection of additional data depending on project requirements, compiling all information into reports, figures, and diagrams necessary to support adjoining and dependent activities of geotechnical engineers and other similar professionals.

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. Applicants will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

If selected, the selectee will be required to provide official college transcripts to verify educational qualifications. An official transcript must be sent directly from the University's Registrar's office and must be provided from the institution awarding the degree. Academic transcripts certified by notary publics are NOT official. Official transcripts must be submitted prior to reporting to work as a condition of employment. Failure to submit official transcripts may be grounds for dismissal or rescission of the job offer.

Time-In-Grade: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower-grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b).

Work Environment: Approximately 70 % of the time spent in an office setting. Travel/driving to field sites is involved 30 % of the time; approximately 3-5 overnight stays a month. Some physical exertion such as walking, bending and lifting up to 50 lbs.

Physical Demands: Physical activity varies from sedentary office work to light walking to rigorous hiking in steep terrain with up to 50 pounds of field gear. Work environment ranges from modem office conditions to a wide variety of field conditions that include warm to very hot, cold, windy, wet, and rainy to snowy weather.

You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including time-in-grade restrictions and any selective placement factors if applicable, by 06/22/2026.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for experience.

This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of college transcript(s) (unofficial copy is acceptable) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include the name of the college or university and date the degree was conferred. Non-submission will result in being rated not-qualified for the position.

You will be required to provide official college transcripts to verify educational qualifications, if selected. An official transcript must be sent directly from the University's Registrar's office and must be provided from the institution awarding the degree. Academic transcripts certified by notary publics are NOT official. Official transcripts must be submitted prior to reporting to work as a condition of employment. Failure to submit official transcripts may be grounds for dismissal or rescission of the job offer.

Accreditation: Only education from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education is acceptable to meet education requirements or to substitute for experience, if applicable. For additional info, refer to the Office of Personnel Management and U.S. Department of Education.

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. For additional info, refer to the U.S. Network for Education Information.

Additional information

Condition of Employment for Probationary Period: 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. 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.

You may be required to serve an initial supervisory probation period.

Reclamation has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and you may be allowed to telework with supervisory approval. Full time telework or remote work is not available for this