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Summary The USBG is a leading public garden and museum that inspires people to appreciate, study, and conserve plants to enrich society locally and globally. Comprised of four divisions, the USBG provides educational experiences to 1 million visitors annually, presents horticultural displays and exhibits, strives to break down barriers to inclusion, and advances the exchange of ideas and information through national and global partnerships and initiatives. Learn more: U.S. Botanic Garden. Responsibilities The incumbent serves as an Education Specialist with emphasis on urban agriculture and leads educational programs that fulfill the USBG's mission. The incumbent is responsible for developing partnerships and educational programs and conducting outreach in urban agriculture. Partnerships Identifies, develops, and oversees urban agriculture partnerships between the AOC/USBG and public gardens and other institutions nationwide. Works with USBG colleagues to identify potential partners and develop new collaborative programs aimed at providing educational and job training experiences in urban agriculture, food production and preparation, and related areas in urban communities. Works with partnerships program coordinator to provide management and oversight of programs and partnerships, including jointly developing work plans, budgets and deliverables, and tracking program progress. Educational Programs Develops, writes, facilitates, and evaluates educational programs that fulfill the mission of the USBG, focusing on agriculture production and sustainable food systems to improve access to healthy foods and strengthen urban resilience. Provides farm-based learning programs and training in best gardening and food crop growing practices. Develops and offers formal and informal educational programs and hands-on activities for classroom, greenhouses, and outdoor gardens, through a range of formats, including workshops, classes, discovery carts and festivals. Assists with volunteer training, creates content for interpretive signs and coordinates materials preparation and classroom set-up. External Relations Works to advance urban agriculture by developing relationships and new engagement opportunities. Identifies and builds relationships with a diversity of relevant stakeholders in agriculture and food systems locally. Engages with other public gardens and institutions nationwide that have or are developing urban agriculture programs. Plant Cultivation As part of an educational program, assists with design and installation of agricultural and horticultural demonstrations in an urban setting and provides for their maintenance and upkeep through activities like planting, weeding, watering, fertilizing and related tasks. Performs complex plant cultivation tasks and may utilize a variety of equipment including but not limited to hand and power-operated garden tools, such as spreaders, edgers, hedge trimmers, pruning shears, and sprayers. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen. You must be able to pass a drug test. Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs. You must meet the definition of specialized experience. A citizen of the United States; A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B); A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible; A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or You must be able to pass a drug test and background check. Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs. You must meet the definition of specialized experience. Qualifications You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Candidates for the GS-09 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position includes: (1) Propagating and cultivating a wide variety of plants with a particular emphasis on vegetable and fruit production; (2) Developing and offering formal and informal educational programs and hands-on activities for classroom, greenhouses and outdoor gardens, through a range of formats; (3) Developing partnerships, conducting outreach and promoting engagement and participation in urban agriculture; (4) Engaging community organizations in sustainable agriculture practices and other related activities; and (5) Providing management of programs and partnerships, including jointly developing work plans, monitoring expenditures and tracking deliverables and outcomes. Qualifying on Education: You may substitute education for experience for this position. Your education must consist of two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master’s degree or equivalent graduate degree. Must be related to the duties of the position. Candidates for the GS-11 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position includes: (1) Propagating and cultivating a wide variety of plants with a particular emphasis on vegetable and fruit production; (2) Independently developing and offering formal and informal educational programs and hands-on activities for classroom, greenhouses and outdoor gardens, through a range of formats; (3) Identifying, evaluating and developing partnerships, conducting outreach and promoting engagement and participation in urban agriculture; (4) Developing strategies to engage community organizations in sustainable agriculture practices and other activities that address poor diet, nutritional illiteracy and food insecurity; and (5) Providing management and oversight of programs and partnerships, including jointly developing work plans, monitoring expenditures and tracking deliverables and outcomes. Qualifying on Education: You may substitute education for experience for this position. Your education must consist of a three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree. Must be related to the duties of the position. Education Degree: that included or was supplemented by major study in education or in a field appropriate to the position. or Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in education, or in a field appropriate to the position, plus appropriate experience or additional course work that provided knowledge comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of the 4-year course of study described above. Additional Information Welcome Veterans. The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) gives veterans' preference rights in the legislative branch to certain veterans as applied by the Congressional Accountability Act. Veterans' preference is applied on this vacancy announcement. If you are a veteran and have been separated under honorable conditions, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility; SF-15, if applicable; and Department of Veterans Affairs documentation of disability, if applicable. For more information, please visit http://www.opm.gov/veterans/html/vetguide.asp#6. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information. DRUG TESTING: The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is a Drug Free Workplace. As part of the AOC’s suitability assessment, a candidate tentatively selected for a position who is not currently an AOC employee is required to submit to screening for illegal drug use. Satisfactory completion of a drug test is a condition of employment with the Agency. A candidate must test negative prior to being eligible for appointment into a position. We will schedule, provide and cover the cost for the drug test. The selectee(s) under the vacancy announcement for this position is subject to a criminal record check by the U.S. Capitol Police and satisfactory adjudication to be eligible for employment at the Architect of the Capitol. The Architect of the Capitol is an E-VERIFY Participant. E-VERIFY is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment authorization in the United States. If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the DHS Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" electronic system. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm The Architect of the Capitol is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or disability. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Moving expenses are not authorized. Relocation expenses are not authorized. Probationary Period - A newly appointed selectee is subject to the completion of a one-year trial/probationary period, regardless of whether or not a trial/probationary period has been completed previously with the Architect of the Capitol or another Federal agency. This vacancy announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies in any of the jurisdictions of the Architect of the Capitol. Please be advised that federal retired annuitant candidates may only be considered as a temporary employee if the role can be filled in that capacity.