Farm Bill Program Technician

Being Age 55 or Older is Good for The Environment! The Agricultural Conservation Experienced Services (ACES) Program offers unique opportunities in Scientific, Technical, and Agricultural support for individuals aged 55 and over to support the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through a grant administered program awarded to National Experienced Workforce Solutions (NEW Solutions). This is a unique program where your talents, expertise and experience will truly be valued. The ACES program provides an opportunity to work side-by-side with NRCS staff that are doing important work every day.

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.

NOTE: 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 that an Enrollee is free to terminate his or her 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, which is established through a Cooperative Agreement funded by the USDA-NRCS and administered by NEW Solutions.

Qualifications:

Minimum of 5 year(s) of experience in Business Administration and some Natural Resources related curriculum. OR HS/GED Degree

• Minimum Age: 55 (per Federal Program requirements)
• Valid State Driver's license.
• Experience required with MS Office, Windows, MS Word, MS Excel
• Multiple phone lines.

Duties:

Work will be technical and administrative conservation work under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Technical programmatic work will be defined as work requiring technical knowledge and expertise in job execution.

• Provide general support and implementation assistance on a wide range of Farm Bill programs, and to support Farm Bill delivery. This may include, but is not limited to, providing business tool support to internal and external customers and partners.   40%
• Track Farm Bill contracts (pending actions, expiring contracts, contract reviews etc.); assists in preparing follow up letters to participants.   20%
• Assist with File Records Management including archiving.   15%
• Enter data into agency-specific software programs and prepare reports. Analyze problems with applications and take remedial actions.   15%
• Assist with other duties as assigned.   10%

Other:

• Annual information system security, anti-harassment, and civil rights training. Enrollee will be required to complete security awareness training in order to have access to government computer systems. They will also be required to complete other workplace training which will be provided by the government at no cost to the enrollee or NEW Solutions.
• Minor training associated with NRCS specific programs and systems will be provided by the government.
• Travel Requirements: Periodic use of government vehicle for duties.
• Overnight travel: Travel may be required for Programs Training. In the event this is required the government will reimburse for expenses in accordance with Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR).
• Health and Safety Considerations: The enrollee will receive the same occupational training provided to all NRCS Field Employees.

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.