Soil Conservation Technician

Job Description

WHO WE ARE The Georgia Association of Conservation Districts (GACD) is a grassroots non-profit organization whose mission is to advocate for the conservation of Georgia’s natural resources by providing organization, leadership and a unified strategic direction to the 40 Soil and Water Conservation Districts of the State.

POSITION SUMMARY GACD, in coordination with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is seeking independently contracted Soil Conservation Technicians to serve in select locations in the State of Georgia. Soil Conservation Technicians will work as independent contractors who will be based daily at a designated NRCS Office and contracted by GACD. The Soil Conservation Technician will perform all duties and responsibilities as required by GACD and NRCS set forth in the subsequent contract. These duties will be completed on-site at the NRCS office designated.

POSITION SCOPE AND DELIVERABLES The Soil Conservation Technician will serve the designated NRCS office by assisting soil and district conservationists in the implementation of total resource management system plans and provide assistance in conservation planning. This person is responsible for surveying, staking, information gathering, designing, engineering plan preparation, and construction inspection.

The Soil Conservation Technician will also have the following responsibilities (specific to the support of NRCS):

• Perform all duties and responsibilities as required by the Agreement between GACD and NRCS to be completed on-site at the NRCS office designated

• Implement Farm Bill Programs to address resource concerns and explain cost share programs to applicants.

• Contract Management and technical responsibilities for Farm Bill and NRCS programs including Environmental Quality Incentive program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and easement programs.

• Contract review for compliance with contract schedules and practice requirements.

• Outreach within the community to promote conservation awareness at workshops, seminars, fairs, and school events.

• Perform other duties as assigned by NRCS District Conservationist.

PAYMENT GACD shall pay the Contractor a total annual payment of $36,118.00 in bi- weekly installments of $1,389.15. Payment will be a flat fee as total compensation for the services described above.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS The following qualifications are desirable for any candidate interested in becoming a Soil Conservation Technician:

• Management and organizational skills

• Ability to multi-task in high volume workload offices

• Comfort working in different environments (i.e. field visits with farmers, educational days with students, etc.)

• Meet basic requirements found in General Schedule and Qualification Standards for Soil Conservationist Series, 0457

BASIC REQUIREMENTS

• Specialized Experience: In addition to the experience requirements described in the group coverage standard, seasonal experience may also be creditable. A season of experience is considered to be a period of no less than 3 months of continuous employment on a seasonal basis. Shorter periods may be combined to make a season, provided a total of at least 3 months' experience is shown. For any period where the work exceeded 3 months, the excess work is credited towards an additional season of experience.

  Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

  • Installing and maintaining conservation measures on public or privately owned land including parks, shoreline, refuse waste sites, dams and reservoir areas, water and sewer sites, road embankments, forests, and wildlife habitats.

  • Installing and maintaining soil and water conservation measures on farms, ranches, or agricultural land.

  OR

• Education: Successful completion of 1+ years of study that included at least 6 semester hours in a combination of courses such as range management or conservation, agriculture, forestry, wildlife management, engineering, biology, mathematics, or other natural or physical sciences. Evaluation of Education: Education that provided specialized knowledge and skills in soil and water conservation is more valuable than education that imparted broad but general knowledge and skills. Evaluation of Experience: Experience that included the application of techniques, principles, and methods from a variety of agricultural and natural resource fields is appropriate, given the interdisciplinary character of the soil conservation occupation. For example, experience gained in a specialized field such as soil science, forestry, or agronomy is as fully acceptable as experience directly obtained in soil conservation work.

Location:

Americus, GA

how to apply:

Please send the following items by email to info@gacd.us:
1) Completed job application (available to download here) 
2) Resume
3) Cover Letter

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.