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As a Plant Protection Technician, you implement domestic programs within an assigned geographic area to prevent the establishment and/or artificial spread of plant pests and diseases into new areas. If selected, you provide support to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Officers with surveys; control measures; biocontrol and biotechnology activities; and export of regulated agricultural commodities within PPQ Field Operations (FO).

This job is open to Recent Graduates

Recent graduate who has, within the previous two years, completed a qualifying Associate's, Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate, professional, vocational or technical degree or certificate program. Veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree due to military service obligation have up to six years after degree completion to apply.


The duties may include, but are not limited to:

  • Participates with supervisor in planning and coordinating survey/control measures by furnishing information about the presence and extent of plant diseases and/or insects, and effect of treatments.
  • Directs and/or conducts approved control and eradication measures including sanitation measures, biological controls, and the application of herbicides, insecticides, nematicide, and fungicides.
  • Enforces Federal and/or State regulatory orders to restrict movement or issue certificates permitting movement of plants, plant products, and equipment into or out of regulated areas.
  • Assists with inspections of routine commodities for export.
  • Maintains daily records of inspection work, control measures and regulatory procedures applied; prepares reports and maps on the activities and accomplishments within the assigned area

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National

Qualifications

To qualify, you MUST meet all program and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

To be eligible, applicants must meet one of the following requirements;

  • Completed all requirements for an associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution within the previous two (2) years.
  • Individuals who, due to military service obligation, were precluded from applying to the Recent Graduates Program during any portion of the 2-year eligibility period described above shall have a full 2-year period of eligibility upon release or discharge from active duty. This eligibility period cannot extend more than 6 years from the date on which the requirements for the academic course of study were met.


IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE: Applicants must meet the following specialized experience and/or education requirements listed below:

FOR THE GS-05 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-04 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates:

  • Identifying economically significant target pests.
  • Collecting insect and disease samples suspected to be plant pests for identification by subject experts.
  • Using and maintaining survey equipment, including electronic field data equipment such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), GPS, computer tablets, cellular phones, and digital cameras.
  • Assisting co-workers with surveys for alternate host plants and to acquire new sites for trap placement as part of the national exotic insect monitoring program(s).
  • Contacting stakeholders, (i.e., landowners, tenants, managers, etc) to obtain permission to conduct surveys on private property.
  • Using maps to locate commercial and residential properties for survey.

OR Successful completion of 4 years of study that included at least 16 semester hours in courses such as biology, plant pathology, entomology, zoology, botany, forestry, chemistry, agriculture, or physics.

Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level.

TRANSCRIPTS are required if:

  • You are qualifying for the position based on education.
  • You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education.
  • This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.

Category rating procedures will be used to rank and select eligible candidates. The following quality categories will be used: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, and Qualified. Within each quality category, veterans' preference eligibles will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Your final category placement will be based on your responses to the assessment questionnaire.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

To preview the application questionnaire, please visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12432223