GIS/Natural Resources Technician Individual Placement

Title:  GIS/Natural Resources Technician Individual Placement

Location:  Roanoke, VA; George Washington and Jefferson National Forest Supervisor’s Office

Dates of Service:  June 8th, 2026 – May 21st, 2027 (50 weeks)

Pay:  $900/week paid biweekly ($600/week living stipend + $300 additional member benefit)

Status:  This is a full-time 40 hour/week, temporary AmeriCorps National Service position.

Questions?Contact [email protected]

Appalachian Conservation Corps:

Our Individual Placement program works to connect young people to conservation service work across Appalachia and neighboring communities in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, DC, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. ACC is a program of Conservation Legacy, a nationwide network of conservation organizations.

As an AmeriCorps program, participants commit to a term of service at their placement site in order to gain hands-on experience and a variety of benefits to help them succeed in achieving their career goals. ACC welcomes national applicants, but also emphasizes the engagement of local individuals who represent the communities in which they serve.

Position Summary:

The Appalachian Conservation Corps, in partnership with the United States Forest Service, is seeking a Natural Resources GIS Technician to serve under the Forest Soil Scientist in 2026. This position is hosted in Roanoke, VA in the Supervisor’s office for the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests (GWJ). The technician position will support multiple programs including watershed, soil, and geology for the GWJ. Duties will include collecting, organizing, and managing geospatial data, performing geospatial analyses, modeling, map making, and completing monitoring data summaries. GIS products created would contribute to public land management and hurricane disaster recovery on National Forest lands in Virginia. Some data entry will also be required. The ideal candidate will be familiar with geospatial data collection and processing using ESRI products and have some familiarity with related programming languages (R, Python). Upon completion of the internship, individuals will have gained substantial experience in all aspects of forest management relevant to both public and private sectors and will be equipped with technical skills to aid them in their career.

During their term, the member will assist the Biophysical Resources program on various projects. Specific responsibilities include:

Office Support (80%):

• Collecting, organizing, and managing geospatial datasets used for a variety of land management projects
• Identifying modeling approaches for the creation of new remote sensing products to support land management activities
• Building and field-testing digital survey forms using various applications such as Survey123, ArcGIS Online, and ESRI Field Maps
• Publishing maps for project reports and monitoring summaries
• Data cleaning and data entry into USFS Corporate Databases

Field Support (20%):

• Field surveys supporting data collection for various land management projects (Watershed restoration, Prescribed Fire, Timber Harvest, etc.)
• Field validation of remote sensing products
• Stream classifications, groundwater dependent ecosystem mapping, karst inventories, etc.
• Collecting forest monitoring data using the Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol (FSDMP)

Housing is NOT provided for this position.

Benefits :

• $900/week paid biweekly ($600/week living stipend + $300 additional member benefit)
• $7,395 AmeriCorps Segal Education Award upon successful completion of 1700-hour service term (award amount varies based on length of commitment and can be used for paying off federal student loans or paying tuition for a Title IV accredited college)
• Option to enroll in health, vision and dental benefits.
• Eligibility for the Public Land Corps Hiring Authority upon successful completion – noncompetitive hiring status for two years when applying for federal positions.
• Federal student loan forbearance and interest payoff
• Member Assistance Program– 3 free sessions of support with a counseling or work-life balance specialist
• Additional subject-specific certifications and trainings may be offered (Chainsaw training, pesticides, etc)
• Depending upon the academic institution and program, positions may fulfill internship requirements
• Professional development opportunities (mentorship, resume support, alumni listserv, etc.) and exposure to natural resource career paths

General Qualifications:

To qualify, you must be between the ages of 18 and 30, and a US citizen that has received a high school diploma or GED. All offers of employment are conditional upon completion of an acceptable check of the National Sex Offender Public Registry and federal criminal background check. Must be eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award. In addition, applicants must:

• Possess a valid driver’s license
• Able to work independently as well as part of a team, in both the office and in the field

Desired Skills/Qualifications:

• Working towards or have obtained a Bachelor's or Master's degree in an accredited natural resources program (coursework in soils, geology, hydrology, mineralogy) with an emphasis on geospatial skills and coursework
• Experience with geodatabase creation and management
• Familiarity with geospatial programming languages (Python, R)
• Proficiency in GIS, including data collection, AGOL applications, data editing and mapping, ArcGIS suite navigation, and the Microsoft Office suite

Time Requirements:

• These positions are full-time, 40 hour/week.
• Typically, this position is expected to serve Monday to Friday, but exact service schedules may vary. A half hour lunch break will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service.
• Service may include occasional weekends, evenings and federal holidays for special events.
• Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.

Evaluation and Reporting:

As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.

Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.

Our Commitment:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full consideration of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential job functions. Physical requirements may include periodic overnight travel, non-traditional work hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. The ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager. 

Our Promise:

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodations due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Requirements

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