Applicants must live in the state of South Carolina and live within local commuting distance of one of the NRCS' Field Offices located in: Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Spartanburg, Chester, Chesterfield, Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood, Camden, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, Newberry, Walhalla, Saluda, or York.

About NEW Solutions

For over 25 years, National Experienced Workforce Solutions (NEW Solutions) has specialized in connecting experienced workers (ages 55+) with full-time and part-time job opportunities that support the critical missions of Federal Agencies across the United States.

Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS)

NEW Solutions connects experienced workers (ages 55+) with the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). These are experienced professionals who provide technical and professional assistance to the Department of Agriculture for the Agriculture Conservation Experienced Services (ACES) Program.

Benefits

Paid Health Insurance Premium for positions budgeted at 60+ hours per pay period, Accrued Vacation and Sick Leave, Paid Federal Holidays, and optional Vision and Dental Insurance available for positions budgeted at 35+ hours per pay period.

Additional Information

Positions listed here do not guarantee employment for any definite period. Enrollment in the Experienced Worker Programs administered by NEW Solutions is temporary. The enrollment relationship between NEW Solutions and the Enrollee is an "at-will" relationship. This means an Enrollee is free to terminate enrollment at any time during the enrollment period, and NEW Solutions and the Agency have the right to terminate the relationship with the Enrollee.

Note: An "ACES Enrollee" is not a federal employee, nor an employee of NEW Solutions. An "ACES Enrollee" is a participant in a grant program established through a Cooperative Agreement funded by the USDA-NRCS and administered by NEW Solutions.

This opportunity applies to applicants legally eligible to work in the United States.

Job Title: Conservation Support Specialist

Job ID: ASC-003

Location: Newberry, SC

Program: ACES

Wage: $27.00/hr.

Hours per Week: 20

Minimum Age Requirement: 55

Qualifications

Applicants must live in the state of South Carolina and live within local commuting distance of one of the NRCS' Field Offices located in: Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Spartanburg, Chester, Chesterfield, Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood, Camden, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, Newberry, Walhalla, Saluda, or York.

• Minimum of 15 year(s) of experience in Natural resources planning field and completed training in conservation planning. OR BA/BS Degree in Natural Resources Field.
• Valid State Driver's license.
• Knowledge of conservation planning related to soil, water, air, plants, and animals. Addressing associate resource concerns, knowledge of engineering design principles and job approval authority, knowledge of Farm Bill and State Agricultural Cost Share Programs.
• Experience required with Windows, MS Word, MS Excel.
• PowerPoint, Conservation Desktop, ProTracts, ArcGIS.

Duties

Provide professional assistance and advise soil conservationist, soil conservationist technician, district conservationist regarding survey, design, installation, checkout and follow-up (including annual contract review) for practices in Farm Bill program contracts in accordance with NRCS standards and specifications. Works with the Farmville Area Office staff members and supports the twelve Service Centers in their daily work to provide Conservation Technical Assistance and Farm Bill Programs to the general public.

• Provide support to the Area Office Staff with field work (survey, layout of conservation practices and checkout) especially for any Farm Bill Program Contracts.   25%
• Assist the field office staff with: Follow-up with producers on various practices including agronomic and livestock to ensure standards are being met along with the resource concern being solved. Conduct site inspections of on-going projects to assure that practices being installed meet specifications. Nine Steps of Conservation Planning in order to produce a conservation plan for any USDA NRCS & FSA conservation program signup/deadline. Surveying & layout for any conservation practice.   25%
• Perform Cultural Resource Reviews for Area I.   20%
• Perform Highly Erodible Cropland Determination for Area I.   20%
• Use of hand tools (e.g. clinometer, hand level) to determine percentage slope and slope length and use Global Positioning system and/or measuring wheel to estimate planned practices and make a final measure of complete practices.   10%

Other

• Annual information system security, anti-harassment, civil rights, and program related training.
• Travel Requirements: Occasionally to satisfy the duties of the position. Government vehicle provided when working in remote farms or communities.
• Health and Safety Considerations: Walking through woody areas will require training in the basic first aid for tick & snake bites, an orientation session on the importance of proper wearing apparel such as long sleeve shirts, boots, sunscreen, and finally, use of the defensive driving techniques when operation a government vehicle. There will be an initial orientation session and periodic follow-up review.

NEW Solutions is committed to promoting equal opportunity and to an environment free from discrimination and harassment in any form administering Experienced Worker Programs under cooperative agreements with federal agencies. It is NEW Solutions' policy to comply with all applicable laws that provide equal opportunity and to prohibit unlawful discrimination in enrolling participants in the federal programs.