Program Specialist (Agriculture)

Summary The Agriculture (AG) program specialist will have expertise in areas such as agronomy, soil science, agroecology, natural resources management, small animal husbandry, agricultural extension along with a strong understanding of food security and human nutrition, sustainable rural livelihoods and climate change impacts on agriculture. Additionally, the AG Specialist will have a familiarity with basic principles of regenerative agriculture, permaculture, farm management and/or agribusiness. Responsibilities The Program Specialist (Agriculture) performs the following major duties: Provide on-demand personalized technical assistance to post staff who are responsible for designing, implementing, and reviewing the multi-year AG projects for which U.S. American Peace Corps Volunteers are recruited to serve. Provide technical support in food security programming to posts both with and without AG projects. Guide post staff through periodic, comprehensive, and participatory AG project design, review, and evaluation processes. Determine the direction and scope of standardized agency approaches to AG project design, implementation, and evaluation. Collaborate with the Training team, Monitoring & Evaluation team, Language team, Intercultural Competence Diversity Equity and Inclusion team, and Production team to ensure their work products are inclusive of and in alignment with the AG sector programming strategy, guidance and practices. Establish strategies for effectively integrating complementary development priorities into AG programming, including climate change adaptation and mitigation; food security; gender equity; host country volunteerism; and women's economic empowerment. Facilitate a virtual global community of practice for post staff responsible for designing, implementing, and reviewing AG projects and a COP for posts' 'points of contact' for food security programming to share information, experiences and promising practices in agricultural development and food security. Promotes an understanding of the Peace Corps, Peace Corps' AG sector and food security programming and the work and impact of AG Volunteers in the field. Establish and coordinate partnerships with other USG agencies, multilateral organizations, and public and private sector organizations that advance mutually beneficial goals related to Peace Corps' AG and food security programming. Requirements Conditions of Employment Please read this announcement in its entirety prior to submitting your application. You must be a U.S. Citizen. You must be at least 18 years of age. All Federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so. For additional information, see www.sss.gov. You must complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency. You must go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies. You must successfully complete a background security investigation with favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet this requirement will be grounds for employment termination. Prior to employment, and in compliance with statutes 5 USC 3322 and 22 USC 2507b, Peace Corps will conduct a check of Peace Corps records for both Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and former Peace Corps employees. All new employees are required to certify and submit a state of understanding acknowledging adherence to the Peace Corps condition of employment prior to day 1 of employment with the Peace Corps. This position requires a public trust background investigation. This is not a bargaining unit position. A one-year probationary period is required. Travel within and outside the country of assignment is required. The initial appointment to this position cannot exceed five years. Qualifications All qualification requirements must be met by 11/19/2024 (the closing date of the announcement). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To ensure full credit for your experience, please indicate the start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and the location of employment in your resume. Qualification claims will be subject to verification. Specialized Experience: This vacancy is being announced at one grade level. Specialized Experience at the FP-03 (GS-13): To be minimally qualified for this position at the FP-03 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression, FP-04 or GS-11/12 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: International field experience including design, management, implementation, training and/or monitoring and evaluation of projects or programs to address agricultural development challenges (e.g., limited access to information or resources, degraded soils, access to water, crop loss and waste, limited access to markets, increasing (average) age, gender inequality, climate variability and environmental changes), and improve their agricultural productivity, sustainability and resilience while improving their livelihoods, food security and nutrition. AND Time-in-Grade (TIG) Requirements: Current or Formal Federal employees, including current Peace Corps employees, must meet applicable TIG requirements to be considered eligible. To meet TIG for positions above the FP-09 (GS-05) grade level, you must have served at least one year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade (or equivalent) in the normal line of progression for the position to which you are applying. All current or former Federal employees (including internal employees) must provide a copy of their SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one), "Notice of Personnel Action" that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). Please note: Past experience that satisfies the Specialized Experience MUST be well documented within your resume. Failure to provide this information in your resume with corresponding start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and location of employment may result in disqualification from further consideration. Specialized Experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or through volunteer work done with National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) or other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Additional information on 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. Peace Corps employees are employed using the Foreign Personnel (FP) pay scale. The FP pay plan does not follow the same structure as the GS pay plan. In the FP pay plan, as the grade-level numbers decrease the level/pay for the position increases. The FP-09 is the lowest entry-level grade and the FP-01 is the highest senior-level grade. Education This job does not have an education qualification requirement. Additional Information The minimum and maximum salaries listed on this announcement include locality pay. If you are a current federal employee, your agency may grant you reemployment rights in accordance with Section 310 of the Foreign Service Act, 22 USC 3950. You must request and be granted reemployment rights prior to separation from your current federal agency. Peace Corps Information: This is a federal civilian job in the Excepted Service. Peace Corps employees are paid on the Foreign Personnel (FP) pay scale. Telework eligible positions do not guarantee telework. See Peace Corps Manual Section 623 for agency policy regarding telework. The Peace Corps uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. This is a drug-free workplace and we promote a drug-free environment. Additional hiring needs may be filled through this vacancy. Intelligence Background Information: Peace Corps Manual Section 611 is applicable to this position: This prohibits the employment of certain persons previously engaged in intelligence activities or connected with intelligence agencies within the past 10 years. If you have ever worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), you are not eligible for employment at the Peace Corps in any capacity, and you should not apply for employment. Acceptance of employment with Peace Corps precludes employment by certain intelligence organizations for a specific period of time, determined by the employing agency, after Peace Corps employment ceases. Applicants who are found to be otherwise qualified will be required to submit a completed Intelligence Background Questionnaire upon request, indicating whether the applicant has been involved in or has had any connection with intelligence activities or related work and, if so, the nature and dates of his or her involvement. Failure to meet this requirement will result in disqualification from further consideration. If you have any other type of possible intelligence connection, your application will not be further considered until you submit this form. Except when the CIA or the National Security Agency (NSA) is involved (see below), if your connection with an Intelligence Agency involves an immediate family member who works or has worked in intelligence, the immediate family member should complete the form, not the applicant. Usually relying on memory is sufficient to answer most if not all of the questions. If you have an immediate family member who works or has worked for the CIA, you should not give them this form to complete. Please contact your relative in person-not by phone, email, social networking, or any other means that is not in person- and ask him or her to contact the Office of General Counsel at the CIA. If you or an immediate family member have been employed by or associated with the NSA, you or your family member must contact the NSA Prepublication Review Office at 443-634-4095.