Summary Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our most precious resource. This position is located in Kanab, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; or Vernal, Utah. Information about these locations and the surrounding area please follow the link. We expect to fill one (1) vacancy at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available. Responsibilities This position is a Mining Engineer or Geologist with the Division of Lands and Minerals, Branch of Solid Minerals within the Utah State Office serving as the leasable minerals and mineral materials program lead. Handles the full range of mining engineering, geological, and varied economic parameters as well as political and environmental policy relate to surface and underground recovery on federal lands, and state and fee lands that affect federal lands. Provides expert advice relative to the review of proposed leasable and mineral material operations, and a variety of related activities including the review of geologic reports and applications submitted by the permittees or lessees. Reviews mine and exploration plans, proposed processes, and geologic models for technical adequacy; inspects operating mines and exploration activities for compliance with laws, regulations, and approved operating plans. Provides mining engineering/geological expertise in making Fair Market Value determinations for solid minerals prelease tract delineations, exchanges, lease-by-applications, lease modifications, and contracts/permits for mineral materials. Evaluates industry proposals and prepares mineral occurrence and development reports, Environmental Assessments, or Categorical Exclusion Reviews as directed by the National Environmental Policy Act for leasable and saleable minerals. Conducts examinations to confirm discoveries of valuable mineral deposits and makes evaluations to determine workability of leasable mineral deposits. Provides recommendations of special conditions, terms, or requirements to be included in the lease or permit assignments, contracts, free use permits and lease readjustments. Ensures maximum recovery of the leasable mineral resource, minimal degradation to the environment, and successful reclamation of the disturbed lands for Federal leasable and salable minerals. Coordinates assigned permit/lease actions with applicable regulatory agencies on public domain lands and private surface lands where the mineral estate (i.e. split-estate) is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Evaluates and ensures the feasibility of proposed lease operation plans and operator’s geologic models associated with Federal managed minerals, including the protection of BLM administered resources and property. Revises plans or requests revisions and modifications be made, as necessary, to ensure that exploration and mining plans are in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Conducts regular reviews of permit/lease operations to ensure industry compliance with applicable laws, regulations, mining plan, lease/permit, maximum economic recovery, and technical conditions to the approval of the operations plan. Monitors Mineral and Land Records System (MLRS) and makes timely updates of required data elements for mineral materials and leasable case types. Coordinates or consults with the appropriate surface managing agencies, the public, special interest groups, and other interested parties to determine the level of interest and the sensitivity of issues and concerns. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the qualification requirements - please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience. In addition to the basic education requirements, to qualify at the GS-12 level you must meet the following: Specialized experience: Applicants must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 level equivalent in difficulty and complexity to perform the duties of an Mining Engineer/Geologist. Qualifying specialized experience includes: planning and conducting analytical and engineering or geological evaluations; compiling, updating, and retrieving information from data base management systems; completed or participated in a mineral evaluation determining a mineral value utilizing income, comparative sale or cost approach method; providing recommendations of special conditions, terms, or requirements to be included in lease, license, permits, mineral material sales contracts and/or lease readjustments; and preparing for issuing/authorizing at least one of the following items: pre-application sampling and testing for mineral materials, competitive or noncompetitive sales contracts, sales from community pits or common use areas, or nonenergy lease, license, or permit. Please note there are no educational substitutions at this grade level. 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. You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement. Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level. Physical Demands: The work requires some physical exertion during regular inspection of operations on leases or permits. This requires walking over uneven terrain and crouching, bending, and climbing when investigating surface and underground mining operations. Work Environment: Work is usually performed in an office setting. During required inspections of leases and mining operations, safety equipment such as steel-toed boots, hard hat and safety glasses are required. In underground operations, a safety lamp and self-rescuer are required. Education To qualify for the Engineer series: A) You must have a degree in Professional Engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR B) Combination of education and experience - college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be in accordance with the Qualification Standards set by OPM. To qualify for the Geology series: A) You must have a degree in 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 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), or additional education. Transcripts: You MUST submit a copy of ALL your college transcripts or a list of ALL college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. Upon selection, official transcripts must be received prior to appointment. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Additional Information DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 90 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid by the Department of the Interior. Any travel, transportation and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the responsibility of the selected employee. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval. Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.