Department of the Interior

Horticulturist

Dover, Tennessee Full time

Horticulturist

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Dover, Tennessee

Salary Range: $61722 - $80243 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located in Fort Donelson National Battlefield, in the Facility Maintenance Division. Open to the first 100 applicants or until 03/17/2026 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Major Duties:

  • Develops a Preservation Maintenance Plan for Fort Donelson National Cemetery within Fort Donelson National Battlefield that defines preservation objectives and an annual calendar of maintenance activities and task descriptions. Outlines issues to address when determining how this preservation maintenance plan will support existing maintenance program. Conducts field inspection and outlines how to conduct field inspections for varied types of landscape features. Keeps records of maintenance activities and evaluates effectiveness of landscape maintenance operation. This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment expecting to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of ten years, or more based on any changes to regulations governing the number of years term appointments may last, without further competition. Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service. The National Park Service retains the right to extend the duration of this appointment after selection and/or appointment, based on changes to the regulation governing the number of years term appointments may last. This change, which may be made at the agency's sole discretion and without further competition, shall not be construed or interpreted as the granting of a right to a selectee or employee to such an extension. No extension to a term appointment shall be granted to a selectee/employee to an amount of time that exceeds the maximum number of years authorized under any present or current regulation, unless such regulation expressly allows such action.

Qualifications: Requirements Continued... 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 trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement 03/17/2026 unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. Basic Requirements: Candidates who do not meet one of the basic requirements listed below by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. Degree: Successful completion of a full four-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major such as horticulture; or a related discipline of basic plant science that included at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, of which at least 16 semester hours were in horticultural subjects such as those dealing with the breeding, care, management, production, and post-harvest handling of horticultural crops. You must include a copy of your transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience: Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in horticulture or a related discipline of basic plant science that included course work as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must include a copy of your transcripts. -AND- In addition to the Basic Requirements as listed above, to qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment; professional work involving the care of a historic orchard and surrounding historic landscape; propagation and cultivation of a variety of trees including planting, grafting, pruning, transplanting; caring for very old trees; providing public information concerning historic landscapes; independently performing a wide range of orchard, field, gardening work using various hand and mechanical tools and equipment. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in a major such as botany, plant physiology, plant taxonomy, plant pathology, genetics, agronomy, and/or horticulture. You must include a copy of your transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To compute this percentage, first divide the total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide the number of completed graduate-level education semester hours of education (that are in excess of 18 semester hours) by 18. Add the two percentages together; the total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. NOTE: Only graduate-level education in excess of one-year may be used to qualify for this position. You must include a copy of your transcripts. 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.

How to Apply: To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 03/17/2026. You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account. 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/12906412 Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS. Select documents you want included in this application. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed. Select if you want to include your demographic information. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site." Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown. Upload any missing required documents or optional documents. Review and Submit Application. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position. 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.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-17