Supervisory Hydrologic Technician

About the role

This position is in the Northwest Pacific Island Region, Oregon Water Science Center, in Klamath Falls, OR. This job is open to current USGS employees serving on permanent competitive service appointments, or current USGS employees eligible under noncompetitive authorities such as 30% disabled veterans, VRA, Individuals with Disabilities, Pathways Interns & Recent Grads eligible for non-comp conversion, and similar authorities.

Responsibilities

• Lead and supervise hydrologic data operations in the office, overseeing office and field activities involving the collection, computation, and analysis of surface-water, groundwater, sediment, and water-quality data.
• Plan and schedule data-collection efforts, ensure accurate hydrologic records, and direct the construction, installation, and maintenance of monitoring stations and equipment.
• Assign workloads, review technical outputs, and provide guidance on complex analytical and administrative matters.
• Build and maintain partnerships with cooperators and water-resource agencies through regular communication to understand shared water-resource information needs.
• Represent the office at meetings with local, Tribal, State, and Federal partners to plan programs, budgets, and future studies, and lead consultations to assess current and emerging water-resource conditions.
• Contribute to Science Center leadership, planning, and policy execution by participating in supervisory and data-program leadership meetings to set priorities, policies, and long-range plans.
• Support the development and execution of technical standards and operational guidelines and provide technical expertise to colleagues engaged in regional and national projects.
• Promote safe work practices by identifying hazards, reviewing accidents, enforcing OSHA standards, and directing regular inspections of office and field installations.
• Develop funding estimates, human-resource plans, and operational budgets for the field office, and prioritize and coordinate workloads to meet organizational objectives and program demands.
• Manage personnel performance, development, and workplace equity by evaluating employee performance, updating position descriptions, resolving complaints, conducting interviews, and recommending selections, promotions, awards, and disciplinary actions.
• Identify training needs, deliver in-house instruction on hydrologic data methods, and ensure employees are well informed on matters affecting their employment while actively promoting equal opportunity in all personnel actions.

Physical demands

The work regularly requires considerable dexterity, agility, and strenuous physical exertion such as climbing and/or working from tall ladders and scaffolding; work in areas where footing is treacherous such as slippery riverbanks, steep rocky terrain, or fast-moving water; lifting heavy objects weighing 23 kilograms (50 pounds) or more; or crouching or crawling in restricted areas.

Work environment

Office conditions do not require special safety precautions; field conditions may include extreme heat or cold, rain or snow, possible aggressive wildlife encounters, and hazardous conditions such as ice or flooding, or exposure to irritant or toxic chemicals. Work may require the use of special clothing or gear such as masks, coats, boots, goggles, respirators, or life jackets.

Requirements

• Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year supervisory probationary period.
• Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license and safe driving record.
• Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam at Federal expense due to the physical demands of this job.
• You will be required to operate a government-owned or leased vehicle in the performance of your official duties; you must possess a valid State license and a safe driving record, and provide proof if selected.
• Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment.
• A background investigation will be required; continued employment is subject to successful completion and favorable adjudication.
• If you are a Federal employee applying for a promotion under merit promotion procedures, you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

For GS-12: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service. Examples of such experience include: planning and conducting the computation and collection of data from approximately thirty or more gaging stations; determining stage-discharge relations, computing rating tables and mean daily, monthly and annual discharge rates from these stations; acting as a party chief and making indirect measurements of flood flows under extremely difficult conditions; collecting data including that required to compute flood flows by the slope-area method, by measurement of flow over dams, by flow through culverts and by flow over embankments; obtaining hydrologic data from published and unpublished sources and conducting hydrologic studies relative to the frequency of flood and droughts; planning and coordinating a ground water survey program for an area that may be either a small area with complex features or a larger area with planning and coordinating problems related to the scope of the ground water survey operations.