FUL - Land Law Examiner (Minerals)

You will serve as a FUL - Land Law Examiner (Minerals) located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Montana State Office in Billings, Montana. Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate. You must reside within 50 miles of 5001 Southgate Drive Billings, MT.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Applies land and mineral surveying terminology and land record systems to interpret legal land descriptions and determine accurate surface and mineral ownership using maps, plats, legal references, and related guidance.
• Review and apply laws, regulations, and relevant legal decisions to evaluate mineral-related claims and actions, ensuring all requirements for conditions, applications, patents, or requests are correctly met.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing in order to convey decisions on applications, and to provide responses to questions from the public and other agencies.
• Ability to utilize computer equipment and software applications to input, manipulate, update, and maintain data and request support.
• Applies comprehensive knowledge of legal and judicial mineral reference systems to accurately process leases, licenses, patents, permits, sales, and exchanges for leasable, locatable, and saleable minerals, while providing expert guidance to others.
• Ability to research, analyze and interpret various laws, IBLA decisions, program handbooks and manuals, Executive Orders and agency regulations, in order to process the most complex and unprecedented claims or applications.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Salary

• $61,722 - $97,087/year

Conditions of Employment

• 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 https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• You cannot hold an active real estate license, nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probation 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 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 your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 07/27/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

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: 50 miles from the Montana State Office located at 5001 Southgate Drive Billings, MT 59101. 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.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

For the GS-09: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-07 as a Land Law Examiner or work that is directly related position. Specialized experience is further defined as demonstrated examples of the following: experience in adjudication or examination of applications & claims for the disposal, use of, or title to public lands, issuance of leases, licenses, or permits for land use.

-OR-

Degree: 2 full years (36 semester hours) of graduate level education leading to a master`s degree or equivalent or LL.B or J.D., if related, in a directly related field such as surveying, cartography, land use law, real estate law, land appraising or land use planning. You must submit transcripts.

-OR-

Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

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. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications Other Information 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 must be within: Within 50 miles of 5001 Southgate Drive Billings, MT 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. If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a Student Loan Repayment Benefit (SLRB). The decision to offer an SLRB will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. Related Non-Federal experience or related experience as retired members of the uniformed services may be credited towards computing entitlement to leave accrual, at managerial discretion, providing that experience meets certain criteria. This provision allows new employees to earn annual leave at a higher rate than would otherwise be allowed. (5 Code of Federal Regulations, 630). All 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, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior. Physical Demands/Work Environment: The work is performed in a typical office setting. It is predominantly sedentary although there is some walking, stooping, and bending involved when searching for records. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/27/2026:

1. 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: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include
2. Proof of residence (e.g. mortgage or property deed, lease/rental agreement, utility bill, insurance policy). SF-50 or Driver's license cannot be accepted as proof of residence.
3. All college transcript(s), if qualifying based on education. Please submit both undergraduate and graduate level transcripts, as applicable.
4. Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP/CTAP) consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc.; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be well qualified. ICTAP/CTAP eligibles will be considered well qualified if they exceed minimal qualifications for this position (i.e. Resume supports substantial possession of stated competencies) for the position.
5. Veteran Documentation, if applicable, such as: DD-214, SF15, letter from Veteran Affairs, etc.
6. 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.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. To receive consideration, your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/27/2026.

You must provide documentation to support your eligibility and qualification claims. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibility sections to ensure you submit the appropriate information. You will only be considered for eligibilities for which you have provided the required supporting documentation.

Applications may be submitted through USAJOBS or through other authorized methods identified by the agency (e.g., third-party platforms or local outreach efforts) to support targeted recruitment under this authority.

Applicants submitting materials outside of USAJOBS must:

• Submit a complete application package by the 07/27/2026 of this announcement, and

• Ensure all materials are formatted and consistent with the application instructions outlined in this announcement, including resume requirements and supporting documentation.

All applications, regardless of submission method, will be evaluated using the same criteria and requirements to ensure a fair and equitable hiring process.

Applications received after the closing date, or that do not meet the requirements outlined in this announcement, will not be considered.

USAJOBS Application Instructions

1. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account.
2. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application."
   • Click here for USAJobs Help with "How to create an application"
   • To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13004122
3. Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS.
4. Select documents you want included in this application.
5. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed.
6. Select if you want to include your demographic information.
7. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site."
8. Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application.
9. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown.
   • Upload any missing required documents or optional documents.
10. Review and Submit Application.
11. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position.
12. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement.
    • To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job.
    • Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.