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This announcement is for a Biologist in the Directorate of Biology, Division of Environmental Biology. The Division of Environmental Biology at NSF, supports research and training on evolutionary and ecological processes acting at the level of populations, species, communities, and ecosystems.
Learn more about this agency03/03/2020 to 03/18/2020
$59,534 - $93,638 per year
GS 09 - 11
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Not required
No
Permanent
Full-Time
Competitive
12
No
No
DEB-2020-0003
561621300
Current or former competitive service federal employees.
Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.
Current or former Federal employees with competitive status obtained through a permanent Federal competitive service appointment OR individuals with eligibility for noncompetitive special appointing authority OR ICTAP/CTAP eligibles OR veterans eligible under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.
The incumbent serves in a developmental capacity with responsibilities for the scientific and analytical support to the Directorate on end-to-end merit review and award management and oversight processes. Specifically:
PROGRAM ANALYSIS AND REPORTING:
MERIT REVIEW:
OUTREACH AND COORDINATION:
BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT:
PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
Competencies:
It is NSF policy that NSF personnel employed at or IPAs detailed to NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign government talent recruitment programs. Failure to comply with this NSF policy could result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from Federal Service or termination of an IPA assignment and referral to the Office of Inspector General. Foreign Talent Definitions
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.
Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent.
You must meet eligibility and qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date.
You must answer all job-related questions in the NSF eRecruit questionnaire.
All online applicants must provide a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full or blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
This position is in the bargaining unit.
You must have the basic education and/or experience requirement as follows:
1. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR
2. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in 1 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
In addition to meeting the basic education requirement described above, you must have:
For the GS-9 level, you must have at least 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: researching and retrieving biological and scientific information from databases and other sources of information and precedents; independently preparing routine spreadsheet reports; developing, maintaining and updating program databases; participating in the grant proposal review process; and screening incoming grant proposals for accuracy of information; OR
A Master's degree in biological science or a field directly related; OR
Completion of at least 2 years of graduate education in an accredited college or university in Biology or a field directly related; OR
Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience that meets the total experience requirements.
To qualify at the GS-11 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience include providing scientific and analytical support for merit review and award management and oversight processes; preparing analytical and statistical reports of program activities and scientific accomplishments in biological sciences; and scientific and technical analysis, documentation, and writing in support of reports and presentations regarding the biological research portfolios. OR
3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR
Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience that meets the total experience requirements.
You must meet the minimum education requirements as described in “Qualifications."
Relocation Expenses will not be paid.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP):
ICTAP and CTAP provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP or CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP or CTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified you must meet the following: OPM qualification requirements for the position, all selective factors, where applicable; special OPM approved qualifying conditions for the position; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate, to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and receives a rating of at least “Very Good” on the questionnaire. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP or CTAP eligibility, or a copy of your separation personnel action form.
Additional information regarding ICTAP or CTAP eligibility is available from OPM's Career Transition Resources
Veteran's Preference:
If you are entitled to veterans' preference, you should indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming on your resume. Your veterans' preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency. For 5-point veterans' preference, please provide your DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty, or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that proves your military service was performed under honorable conditions. For 10-point veterans' preference, please submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, DD-214, and the required documentation as specified on the SF-15.
NSF has determined that all of its positions are eligible for telework. Work suitable for telework depends on job duties; therefore, employees must receive approval from their supervisor for telework and have a telework agreement in place. Entering into a telework agreement is voluntary.
For additional information on the NSF eRecruit system, please visit our NSF eRecruit Applicant Guide.
This announcement may be used to fill like positions in other organizations within the National Science Foundation.
The Selected Candidate(s) may be subject to a background investigation.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Ratings will be assigned based on your responses to the occupational questionnaire. In some cases, additional assessment processes may be used.
Review your resume and responses carefully. Responses that are not fully supported by the information in your application package may result in adjustments to your score. A Human Resources Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the selecting official.
Applicants eligible for selection preference under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) must meet the agency definition of "well qualified." At NSF, this means a score of 90.0 or higher.
In the merit promotion selection process, due weight will be given to incentive awards and performance appraisals.
If you are an NSF employee on or eligible for a permanent, competitive service position or you are an NSF employee who is reinstatement eligible based on prior Federal permanent, competitive service, you need not submit documents to confirm status. All applicants are required to provide a resume, in any format they choose. Cover letters are optional.
If you are not an NSF employee as described above, but you are eligible under merit promotion, under an Interchange Agreements, under a non-competitive authority, or under a similar authority, you will be required to submit supporting documentation. This will typically require the submission of one or more of the following documents:
1. Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50s) or comparable federal agency forms to verify your eligibility for reinstatement and/or grade/step/salary if you are a current or former permanent federal civil service employee.
• SF-50 must indicate that appointment is/was to a competitive service position with permanent tenure or conditional tenure within the last three years; OR, to a similar position in the excepted service at an agency that has an Interchange Agreement.
• An example of a comparable agency form is a personnel action from a DOD Non-appropriated Fund organization or from the US Postal Service for a current and continuing appointment without a break in service.
• Documents that are NOT comparable and NOT acceptable substitutes for a SF-50 include a SF-52, a Performance Appraisal form, a Personnel Action Request (PAR), or a Request for Personnel Action (RPA).
2. Performance appraisals and awards. If you do not possess or are unable to submit a performance appraisal at the time of application submission, further requests will be made during the interview and selection process.
3. DD-214 (Member-4 copy); and if applicable, the Department of Veterans Affairs Notice of Compensable Disability Rating from applicants requesting consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA), Veteran Recruitment Act (VRA), or the disabled veterans appointing authority.
4. Schedule A Certification – from applicants requesting consideration under the Schedule A appointing authority for disabled applicants.
5. Other – Documentation which verifies you are eligible to be appointed to a permanent position in the federal competitive civil service.
If you are requesting consideration under a Special Hiring Authority listed below, you must submit the required documentation as outlined in the regulation or Executive Order. Please also annotate your application to reflect that you are applying under a special hiring authority. If you are requesting consideration under a Special Hiring Authority not listed below, please email eRecruit@nsf.gov or reach out to the point of contact listed on the vacancy announcement.
• Returned Peace Corp Volunteers
• Certain Military Spouses (Executive Order 13473)
• Former Overseas Employees
• Foreign Service Employees
• Career Service Employees
• Postal Rate Commission Employees
• Government Accountability Office (GAO) Employees
• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Employees
If you are requesting special employment consideration under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) or
CTAP, you must submit documentation provided by your current or former employing agency verifying your eligibility for that program. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of your most recent performance rating, and a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP or ICTAP eligible.
You must submit proof of meeting the basic education requirement described in the QUALIFICATIONS paragraph. Therefore, you should submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met. [Include for jobs with positive education requirement only]
We also ask that you complete and submit the Applicant Survey. This will help NSF to ensure that our recruiting efforts are attracting a diverse candidate pool; it will be used for statistical purposes only.
All faxing/uploading must be completed before 11:59 PM Eastern time on the vacancy closing date.
If you are faxing your information, please use extreme care in dialing the fax number to assure we receive your information. You will receive an email confirmation of receipt of your faxed/uploaded document(s).
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.
Your application should be submitted online and must be completed and all required documents successfully faxed (or uploaded) before 11:59 PM Eastern time on the closing date. You must answer all of the job-related questions to ensure full consideration for this position. For more detailed information, please review our NSF eRecruit Applicant Guide.
If you are unable to apply electronically, please use the Contact Information below for special instructions on how to submit your application materials. Hearing impaired individuals may call TDD (703) 292-8044 for assistance.
WARNING! Applications submitted online must have a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full or blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
You may check the status of your application at any time on the USAJOBS website
We highly recommend that all candidates opt to receive email notifications for job status updates.
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/561621300. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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