Student intern sought for NRCS Saipan office

The Natural Resources Conservation Service is recruiting for a student trainee for its Saipan office. The vacancy announcement was posted yesterday and will close on Feb. 9, 2015. Please consider this internship and work in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

“This is such a wonderful opportunity for our students who are currently enrolled or accepted for enrollment on at least a half-time basis at a qualifying educational institution in a certificate, degree, or diploma program,” said Craig Derickson NRCS acting director for the Pacific Islands Area.

NRCS helps farmers and ranchers conserve the soil, water, air and other natural resources. We need people who want to apply their education and experience to make sure we all enjoy the benefits of productive soil, clean water, clean air, and abundant wildlife that come from a healthy environment. Our mission is “Helping People Help the Land.”

The Pathways Internship Program is for current diploma/certificate/degree-seeking students and is designed to attract students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions with paid opportunities to work in USDA/NRCS and explore federal careers while still in school. This program exposes students to jobs in the federal civil service by providing meaningful developmental work while completing their academic requirements.

Candidates selected may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position in the competitive service provided that all terms of the Internship Program are met and there is an available position. Conversion is not mandatory or guaranteed. The intent of this internship is to convert the candidates to the Soil Conservation Series, 0457. To be eligible for the conversion, you must satisfactorily complete all training and Pathways Program requirements, complete at least 640 hours of work experience prior to graduation, and meet the position’s positive education requirements at graduation.

As a Student Trainee (Soil Conservation), you will be performing duties under direct supervision. Assignments will be developmental in nature and will assist the employee gain the competencies necessary for a career. Duties may include receiving intensive and specialized training in all phases of soil and water conservation and related natural resource conservation programs; learning to perform surveys, set construction stakes for a variety of practices, and completes basic designs of commonly used practices for location selected; assisting in program and conservation planning for a variety of soil and water conservation practices, dependent upon location selected, may or may not include terraces, diversions, waterways, farm drainage systems, water control structures, irrigation systems, and others; and assisting in gathering and assembling preliminary data for use in developing and applying basic conservation plans.

All applicants must meet the eligibility, education and qualification requirements by Feb. 9, 2015.

To be eligible for a Pathways Internship, applicants must:

-Be at least 16 years of age at the time of appointment;

-Be enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) in an accredited educational institution;

-Be enrolled at least half-time as defined by your educational institution; and

-Be in good academic standing, as defined by the your academic institution.

All academic degrees or course work must be completed in an educational institution that has obtained accreditation from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.edu.gov/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

If selected for this Internship, the applicant will be required to complete the following Pathways Requirements:

-Be enrolled at least half-time at a qualifying educational institution.

-Maintain good academic standing as defined by the educational institution for the duration of the internship.

-Sign a Pathways Participant Agreement.

-Serve a trial period for the duration of the appointment.

Attempts to falsify information; inflate your qualifications or providing inaccurate information on federal documents may be grounds for disqualification. If selected providing inaccurate information on federal documents could also be grounds for dismissing you from the position/agency. Please review and follow all instructions carefully.

To view the application form, visit: https://nrcs.usda.ntis.gov/cp/?event=jobs.previewApplication&jobid=946b8b22-52af-4e4f-805e-a42d010f8d4c

See www.usajobs.gov for full vacancy announcement. Relocation is not authorized for this student position and U.S. citizenship is required. To learn more about NRCS and working in the Pacific Islands Area, visit www.pia.nrcs.usda.gov. (USDA/NRCS)