Land Law Examiner

About the role

You will serve as a Land Law Examiner with Bureau of Land Management adjudicating rights and privileges under the laws that govern the use and disposition of public lands and resources. You will research and make decisions on applications and claims for land use, minerals leasing, and mining on public lands. Pay will vary based on grade level for which you're selected.

First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

What you will do

• Collects data on a variety of assigned cases related to lands, oil and gas, mining or minerals cases.
• Determines the accuracy and proper execution of applications or claims and the qualifications of applicants for legal rights as requested.
• Adjudicate routine lands, mining, or mineral leasing applications filed which have more complex statutory and regulatory provisions, require development and review of a considerable amount of data and involve controversial factual situations.
• Determines the accuracy and proper execution of applications or claims and the qualifications of applicants.
• Prepares routine correspondence, including decisions, to process cases.
• Drafts progressively complex adjudication decisions (concerning lands, mining, oil and gas, or mineral leasing cases).
• Independently gathers and researches information and data necessary to complete and adjudicate a legal document.
• Utilizes data, systems and applications to collect, enter, manipulate, update and maintain data according to prescribed Bureau and program standards.
• Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Requirements

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check.
• To learn more, visit ***
• You cannot hold an active real estate license, nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
• A financial disclosure report will be required for the GS-09 within 30 days of appointment.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1-3 nights per month.
• You may be required to obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
• You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.
• This probationary or trial period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service.
• In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
• Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized.
• In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.
• Upon completion of your probationary period of trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience.

Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position.

Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs.

Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. ***

How you will be evaluated

This position is being filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Under this authority, competitive rating, ranking, and veterans' preference procedures do not apply. The Servicing Human Resources Office will determine whether applicants meet the qualification and eligibility requirements described in this announcement.

Applicants who meet these requirements may be referred to the selecting official on a certificate of eligibles for consideration.

You must certify that you will maintain a permanent and exclusive residence within the defined vicinity of the field unit(s) listed in this announcement.

Upon receipt of a completed application package, the Servicing Human Resources Office will review your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements described in this announcement. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages. Resumes longer than two pages will not be reviewed.

Applicants may submit only one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine qualifications and eligibility. If more than one resume is submitted, only the most recent submission will be reviewed.

If your resume is incomplete or does not demonstrate that you meet the qualification requirements or specialized experience described in this announcement, you may be determined ineligible or not qualified for further consideration.

Providing false or misleading information on your resume or supporting documentation may result in removal from consideration or other action consistent with applicable federal hiring regulations. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Documents you must provide

• Two Page Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, dates specified in month and year format, and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week).
• If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience.
• If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade.
• Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted.
• The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text.
• Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible.
• All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression.
• Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
• Your 2-page resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements.
• Note: Current and former Federal employees should include pay plan, series, and grade level for relevant federal experience.
• If experience is for a career ladder position, please ensure to clearly distinguish the job duties for each grade level and how long you were working in each grade level.
• Resume Builder: *** Proof of residence (e.g. mortgage or property deed, lease/rental agreement, utility bill, insurance policy).
• SF-50 cannot be accepted as proof of residence.
• All college transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
• Please submit both undergraduate and graduate level transcripts, as applicable.
• Veteran Documentation, if applicable, such as: DD-214, SF15, letter from Veteran Affairs, etc. Current or prior federal employees who hold or have held a non-temporary appointment in the federal competitive or excepted service within the previous 52 weeks must submit official documentation (i.e. SF50s) proving they meet time-in-grade requirements to be eligible for the grade level of this announcement.
• Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package.
• It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
• Do not submit photographs with your application package.
• Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from all documents.
• Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents.
• Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

What to expect next

Once your Occupational Questionnaire has been received, you will receive an acknowledgment confirming your submission was successful. Applicants who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. Under this authority, all applicants determined to be qualified may be referred.

If your name is referred, you may be contacted directly by the hiring official for a possible interview. You will be notified of the status of your application at key stages in the process, including when candidates are referred for consideration and when the selection process has been completed.

You can find your path with the Department of Interior at *** Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for employment consideration.

We may verify all information you provide in your resume and questionnaire responses, through reference and/or background checks, and/or verification of your education. If you are selected, you will be contacted personally by the Human Resources Office posting this announcement.

Additional information

This position will be filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Eligibility is limited to applicants who reside within the defined local commuting area at the time of application. For this announcement, the local commuting area is the area from which individuals can reasonably commute to the duty station under normal conditions.

The defined vicinity for this position is: 75 miles from BLM Office 161 Burnett Dr #4, Durango, CO 81301.

You must provide proof of residency within the defined vicinity (e.g. mortgage or property deed, lease/rental agreement, utility bill, insurance policy, etc.).

See the Required Documents section for information on how to verify current residence. Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, ***