Legal Administrative Specialist (Water Rights)

Summary

This position is a Legal Administrative Specialist (Water Rights) GS-0901-12 at the Bureau of Land Management MT930-DIV OF RESOURCES AND PLANNING located in one of the following locations: Billings, MT Butte, MT Dillon, MT Lewistown, MT Miles City, MT This position is also open to status candidates under announcement CBUI-26-13062274-ST-AWF. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Perfect and maintain water rights on BLM Administered lands on behalf of the U.S. Government Coordinate with the State and Local Governments on water rights issues Coordinate with the Office of the Solicitor and the Department of Justice on water rights litigation Coordinate monitoring of water rights and water uses with the BLM MT field and district offices Provide oversight and guidance to BLM MT field and district offices regarding water rights and uses on BLM Administered lands

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/01/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. To receive credit for experience, 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. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Minimum Qualification GS-0901-12: A. Specialized Experience Requirement: To qualify for this position at the GS-12 level you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Experience or understanding of state based water rights and federal water reserves to include water rights applications, land claims, or water right claims; ability to maintain a variety of data using GIS information management systems and spreadsheets; ability to communicate effectively with a wide audience including internal and external parties, such as, senior level executives, field office specialists, state and local government officials and members of the general public.. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- B. Education: There is no substitution for education in lieu of experience at this grade level. 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

This position does not allow substituting education for experience. 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. https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualification