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The purpose of the position is to perform routine biological science tasks. The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period is April to November but can be variable due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding.
Open to the first 180 applicants or until 01/13/2025 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.
Learn more about this agency01/06/2025 to 01/13/2025
$17.64 - $19.33 per hour
GS-4: $17.64 GS-5: $19.33
GS 4 - 5
No
No
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
No
Temporary - Not to Exceed 1039 hour: The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period is March-October but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding.s
Full-time
Competitive
None
No
No
MW-1544-SLBE-25-12597486-DE
823943600
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
This job is open to United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) and those eligible under ICTAP/CTAP.
Duties:
GS-04 Major Duties: you will assist in implementing established natural resource management projects including the following: monitoring and controlling exotic plants; conducting natural resource monitoring programs for rare plants; conducting extensive beach and dune surveys for plant species in deep, moving sand.
GS-5 Major Duties: you will participate and may lead a small field crew to implement established natural resource management projects including the following: monitoring and controlling exotic plants; conducting natural resource monitoring programs for rare plants; conducting extensive beach and dune fieldwork in deep, moving sand; working at restoration sites and collecting native plants seeds; and assessing forest health and treating for forest pests. May occasionally lead larger groups of volunteers in projects.
Duties of both grades may include identifying plants; surveying for target invasive plants; collecting data and recording the data into established or new databases; GPS and GIS data on infestation locations and status; and controlling invasive plants using hand-pulling, hand tools, power tools, and chemical herbicides. Teams may include interns, volunteers and other agency staff. Herbicide use and some overnight backcountry camping can be expected. Weekend work is possible. Global positioning systems, aerial photographs, topographic maps, and compass may be used in navigation. A portion of time may be dedicated to data entry and other duties in a laboratory/office setting.
Physical Demands: The work is partially sedentary with prolonged standing, walking, and bending often required. Heavy items (e.g., equipment and packs up to 50 pounds) must be lifted and carried on a routine basis. Hiking 8 miles daily. Maintaining license and applying herbicide and pesticide.
Working Conditions: The work is performed in an office, laboratory, and in the field. Field work includes exposure to extreme weather conditions and terrain, pesticides, poisonous plants, biting insects, and wild animals. Laboratory work may involve exposure to hazardous chemicals. Some work will be conducted in the backcountry with camping and travel via boat ferry up to 8 nights per month.
Government Housing may be available.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is within the scenic resort area on the northeastern shores of Lake Michigan. Housing, medical facilities, shopping, churches, banks, day care, recreational activities, schools, and colleges are readily available within a 30 mile radius from park headquarters in Empire. High temperatures average between 70-80 degrees in the summer and low temperatures average between 10-20 degrees in winter. Shared government housing may be available for rent. For additional information, please view: www.nps.gov/slbe
Badlands National Park: Badlands National Park is located in southwestern South Dakota 75 miles east of Rapid City (population 75,000), and 30 miles from Wall, Kadoka, and Philip. A service station, several churches, and a K-8 school are located in the friendly town of Interior (population 65), 2 miles from park headquarters. Grocery shopping, medical and dental facilities, a post office, and schools K-12 are available in Wall, Kadoka, Philip, and Rapid City.
There is plenty of hiking, biking and wildlife viewing available right on our doorstep. The night skies in Badlands National Park are famous and folks travel for long distances to view them. The area surrounding us presents lots of seasonal activities such as winter skiing and summer camping for a few.
We are surrounded by other National Parks and State Parks as well. Mount Rushmore National Monument, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Black Hills National Forest and Custer State Park, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as well the infamous Wall Drug are within hours of Badlands National Park.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/13/2025-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.
To qualify for this position at the GS-04 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
EXPERIENCE: At least six months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-03 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). General experience is work that demonstrates your ability to perform the work of the position or experience that familiarizes you with the subject matter or processes of the biological or natural sciences. Specialized experience is that experience which demonstrates that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience include research or controlled program work; or nursery/greenhouse work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two (2) full years of college level study that includes at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, mathematics, etc. At least six (6) semester hours were directly related to this position (i.e. plant taxonomy, botany, forestry, plant ecology, etc.) You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating credit hours in order to qualify based on education). A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating credit hours in order to qualify based on education). A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected.
To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess 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-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: applying/performing a variety of manual, mechanical chemical and/or bio-control methods to manage exotic (non-native) species; performing basic vegetation inventories, studies and surveys; participating in site rehabilitation through soil preparation, planting, propagating, and weeding. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of a full four (4) year course of study (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least twenty-four (24) semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, mathematics, etc. At least six (6) semester hours were directly related to this position (i.e., plant taxonomy, botany, forestry, plant ecology, etc.). You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating credit hours in order to qualify based on education). A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. Determine the total qualifying experience as a percentage of the year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level. Then determine education as a percentage of the education that meets the requirements for GS-5. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for GS-5. For example, 6 month of specialized experience (50% of the specialized experience requirement) and 3 years of education above high school with at least 12 semester hours related to the position and 3 hours directly related to the position (50 percent of the education requirement) would be considered qualifying. If you are qualifying based in part, upon education, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts. A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected.
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.
To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.
A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).
If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.
The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.
Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.
Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/13/2025:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
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 01/13/2025. 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.
Once the Occupational Questionnaire is received you will receive acknowledgement that your submission was successful. If you are among the most qualified candidates and your name is referred to the hiring official, you may be contacted directly for a possible interview. You will be notified of the status of your Application Package at the time candidates are referred for consideration, and when the selection process is complete.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/823943600. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
The Department of the Interior (DOI) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission.
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