USDA Climate Change Fellows Program
USDA is seeking qualified applicants for inclusion in the USDA Climate Change Fellows Program (CCFP). Climate change presents real threats to U.S. agricultural production, forest resources, and rural economies. Producers and land managers across the country are experiencing climate impacts on their operations through shifting weather patterns and increasingly frequent and severe storms, floods, drought, and wildfire.
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The American agriculture and forest sectors have incredible potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon, generate renewable energy and deliver lasting solutions to the climate crisis. Through research, conservation practices and partnerships, USDA aims to find solutions to agricultural challenges, enhance economic growth and create new streams of income for farmers, ranchers, producers and private foresters. Successfully meeting these challenges will require USDA to staff a diverse set of employees with the expertise to implement USDA’s climate change strategy.
USDA’s Climate Change Fellows Program (CCFP) allows USDA to hire Climate Change Fellows through a time-limited appointment in the Excepted Service under “Schedule A” hiring authority, as specified in 5 CFR 213.3102(r). Initial appointments for candidates may be for up to a 2-year period. Additional 1-year extensions may be made; however, the appointment cannot exceed a total of 4-years.
The initial periods for specific CCFP appointments will be determined based on expected duration of projects, exposure to diverse program areas, the nature of a developmental assignment, and/or the duration of assignments that meet workforce planning objectives.
Please note that an appointment in the CCFP confers no rights to further Federal employment in either the competitive or excepted service upon expiration of the appointment. Fellows interested in remaining with USDA at the end of their fellowships must compete and be selected for competitive service vacancies.
Scope: USDA Climate Change Fellows Program
Projects will involve working with USDA employees on climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts across the Department. This may include assistance with implementation of the USDA-and climate change-relevant portions of the Inflation Reduction Act, analysis related to agriculture and forestry technologies and practices that can provide climate change adaptation and mitigation benefits, assistance with economic and policy analysis in the areas of agriculture, forest management and climate change, and/or development of science-based tools and information products that will help improve management of working lands in light of climate change, among other tasks.
Individual USDA agencies will develop specific position descriptions under the CCFP to meet their needs. Current/open positions are linked below, and candidates may also submit the required information for general interest in the Program.
How to Apply: USDA Climate Change Fellows Program
Current/open positions are linked below. In order to apply, candidates must:
- Have completed undergraduate or graduate education as of the time of appointment.
- Submit the following via email: [email protected]
- Resume and/or Curriculum Vitae, including reference information
- Cover Letter
- Undergraduate and/or Graduate Transcripts (unofficial accepted)
- In the subject line of your email, please indicate the position description in which you are interested.
Currently Open Positions: USDA Climate Change Fellows Program
Economic Research Service – Resource and Rural Economics Division, Conservation and Environment Branch
USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) is seeking four Climate Change Fellows to support agri-environmental modeling and to build a new interagency Conservation Practices Data Team. These efforts are part of broader ERS and USDA efforts to improve and advance models and tools for assessing GHG emissions and carbon sequestration outcomes at various temporal and spatial resolutions, and to improve temporal and spatial coverage of national conservation activity data in support of Implementation of Sec. 21002(a)(2) of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Economic Research Service (ERS) mission is to inform and enhance public and private decision making on economic and policy issues related to agriculture, food, the environment, and rural development. The fellows will serve in Conservation and Environment Branch of the Resource and Rural Economics Division (RRED), which addresses a wide spectrum of issues as they relate to conservation and environmental policies that affect the agricultural sector.
ERS is currently accepting applications for the following position(s):
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GS-1560/0110/1530 Data Scientist/Economist/Statistician (Data Science) – we are hiring two fellows to work with a newly-created Interagency Conservation Practices Data Team. The Team members will be responsible for developing methodologies to gather data and provide annual estimates for major crop and livestock GHG-related practices (such as such as tillage and cover crops; and nutrient, manure, and livestock feed management) using existing and new data sources, such as federal census and survey data, USDA program and administrative data, and remotely sensed data.
GS-12 level position description (PDF, 147 KB)
GS-13 level position description (PDF, 164 KB)
GS-0150 Geographer – we are hiring one Geographer to work with the Conservation Practices Data Team and focus on (among other duties) identifying current remotely-sensed data sources and methodologies for estimating conservation practice adoption for practices such as tillage and cover crops, determining the strengths and weaknesses of those data sources and methodologies, and making recommendations for how to incorporate remotely-sensed data into the development of timely, accurate, and consistent statistics about conservation and GHG-related practices.
GS-12 level position description (PDF, 143 KB)
GS-13 level position description (PDF, 161 KB)
GS-0110, Research Agricultural Economist – we are hiring a fellow who will carry out complex, empirical economic analysis and data management to support agri-environmental modeling of US cropping systems and their GHG implications. Familiarity with biophysical models of crop growth and/or livestock – and their integration into economic sector models of agriculture – would be highly regarded in the candidate.
GS-12/13 level position description (PDF, 132 KB)
Duty location: Location negotiable after selection
Salary: The salary rates will depend upon the selectee’s duty location and GS level. Please see OPM’s 2023 General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay Tables.
Restrictions: Applications will be accepted from US citizens only.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply by September 30th, 2023 11:59PM EST. If you have previously applied for a Climate Change Fellows position, you may be contacted regarding this position.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is seeking Climate Change Fellows to support improving estimates of carbon sequestration (including soil and perennial biomass) and greenhouse gas (GHG) sources and sinks from land management activities (conservation practices). NRCS is the premier conservation agency whose mission is to “help people help the land.”
NRCS works in close partnership with farmers, ranchers, forest managers, non-governmental organizations, local and state governments, and other federal agencies to create and maintain healthy and productive working landscapes. We help stewards of agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest lands to plan and implement proven conservation systems through technical and financial assistance designed to enhance productivity, improve soil and water health, and restore wetlands and wildlife habitat.
Duties of the Fellows will include one or more of the following key tasks:
- Identify data needed for common models and tools to quantitively estimate carbon (soil and biomass) and GHG dynamics in agricultural systems (crop, range, crop-associated forestry)
- Evaluate data schemas for data needs and identify alignments and gaps between schemas
- Identify, analyze and summarize gaps and data needs for soil carbon and GHG procedures and data elements, and for soil carbon inventory sampling frames and survey statistics
- Identify, analyze and summarize gaps and data needs for soil carbon and GHG models and tools
- Assist in the development of plans of work, specifications, RFPs, and cooperative and interagency agreements, and support intra-agency and interagency coordination efforts
- Assist in the synthesis of existing data and new data collected to support the above activities
- Apply models and tools to quantify the contributions of NRCS conservation practices towards mitigating the effects of greenhouse gases
- Research the effects of conservation practice implementation on greenhouse gas emissions
- Conduct stakeholder engagement related to data collection and management needs and model and tool development needs
NRCS seeks Fellows who possesses experience in the review, synthesis, and analysis of scientific and technical literature, and strong oral and written communication skills, including creativity in presenting information and the ability to effectively communicate complex issues to technical and non-technical audiences. We are specifically seeking candidates with skills and experience in soil science, agronomy, range science, animal science, ecology, plant science, database management, statistics, and related fields.
NRCS is currently accepting applications for the following positions:
- GS 11, 12, or 13 Natural Resource Specialist (GS-401)
Duty location: Location negotiable after selection
Salary: The salary rates will depend upon the selectee’s duty location and GS level. Please see OPM’s 2023 General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay Tables.
Restrictions: Applications will be accepted from US citizens, permanent residents (green card holders), or temporary residents who are authorized to work in the United States.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply by September 30, 2023, 11:59PM EST. If you have previously applied for a Climate Change Fellows position, you may be contacted regarding this position, you are also encouraged to send in a new application tailored to this announcement.
Next Steps: USDA Climate Change Fellows Program
Thank you for your interest in the USDA Climate Change Fellows Program. Please check back periodically for new openings from USDA agencies seeking Climate Change Fellows.
For questions on an existing application, please email [email protected].
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