This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/770367900. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
This career/career-conditional permanent full-time position is located in Shenandoah National Park, in the Division of Ranger Activities, Fire Management Branch.
Learn more about this agency01/12/2024 to 01/26/2024
$59,966 - $94,317 per year
GS 9 - 11
1 vacancy in the following location:
No
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Permanent
Full-time
Competitive
11
Yes
No
NE-1612-SHEN-24-12270489-DE
770367900
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.
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position.
This position serves as program lead and technical advisor in fire ecology for the fire management program supporting the Mountains to the Seas Zone (Virginia Parks) and Allegheny Zone (West Virginia, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania Parks). The purpose of the position is to apply a systems approach to the study and analysis of ecological systems and the effects of wildland fire management activities. Duties include:
This position may be filled at either the GS-09 level or the GS-11 level.
Career Ladder/Promotion Potential: Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.
POSITION LOCATION: This position will be duty stationed at Shenandoah National Park. Shenandoah NP preserves and protects more than 300 square miles of nationally significant natural and cultural resources, scenic beauty, and congressionally designated wilderness within Virginia's northern Blue Ridge Mountains; and provides a broad range of opportunities for public enjoyment, recreation, inspiration, and stewardship. Within just 90 miles of Washington D.C. the Park provides visitors the ability to explore mountain peaks, hidden hollows, cascading streams, accessible wilderness, and stunning natural beauty. Approximately 40% of the Park is designated wilderness with over 500 miles of hiking trails and the iconic Skyline Drive, SHEN was established as an eastern Park that provided a "western Park experience". Due to the Park's easy accessibility to D.C and other highly populated areas along the east coast, visitation exceeds 1.4 million visitors annually which results in significant resource protection and visitor management issues and incidents.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement closing date, 01/26/2024.
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 qualified specialized experience.
In order to qualify for this position you must meet the basic series requirement described below. YOU MUST INCLUDE A COPY OF YOUR TRANSCRIPTS TO DOCUMENT HOW YOU MEET THE BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT.
Basic Requirement (Ecologist) GS-0408:
Degree in biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences. You must provide a copy of your transcript(s).
-AND-
To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by the close of the announcement.
EXPERIENCE: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sector). Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes: Inventorying and compiling data on ecosystem components related to vegetation communities or wildlife habitat; Monitoring and reporting ecological responses of grasslands or forests to disturbance; and Assisting in analyzing ecological data and preparing reports for management. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two full years (36 semester hours) of graduate level education leading to a master's degree OR master's OR equivalent graduate degree. Major study must have been in courses directly related to the position such as ecology or related biological sciences. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION COMBINATION: Successful completion of a COMBINATION of graduate education (more than one year of graduate education, but less than two full years) and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of completed graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours and divide by 18 (semester hours). Then take the number of months of full-time specialized experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.
To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by the close of the announcement.
EXPERIENCE: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sector). Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes: Planning and implementing studies related to fire ecology, vegetation ecology, or fuel management; Developing and carrying out scientific protocols monitoring ecological responses of grasslands or forests to disturbance by wildland fire; Analyzing ecological data and preparing reports for management. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. OR equivalent doctoral degree. Major study must have been in courses directly related to the position such as ecology or related biological sciences. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION COMBINATION: Successful completion of a COMBINATION of graduate education (more than two years of graduate education, but less than three full years) and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of completed graduate education in excess of 36 semester hours and divide by 18 (semester hours). Then take the number of months of full-time specialized experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.
You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".
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.
This notice is being issued to recruit personnel to occupations for which a critical hiring need has been identified. To assist in filling these positions, OPM has granted the Department of the Interior "Direct Hire Authority".
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.
A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.
A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
Physical Demands: Office work is normally sedentary. However, field work may require moderate physical activity including periods of standing, walking over rough terrain, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings over extended periods of time.
Working Conditions: Office conditions require long periods of sitting, working with computers an general lifting, bending and reaching. Field conditions involve the employee being exposed to noise, dust, heat, weather, aircraft turbulence and the hazards of on the line wildland fire activity such as heat, smoke, and fire behavior. Protective clothing and equipment are required when in these hazardous environments.
The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) OR Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): CTAP/ICTAP provides placement assistance to permanent Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF50 noting position, grade level, duty location with their application. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, applicants must be qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. For Information on CTAP and ICTAP visit: Career Transition (opm.gov)
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applicants will be evaluated based on how well they meet the qualification requirements.
Upon receipt of the completed application package, a review of the application will be made to ensure basic qualification requirements are met.
This vacancy will be filled through DOI's Direct Hire Authority. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under this Authority. All qualified applicants, as determined by the SHRO, will be referred for consideration. While managers and supervisors are not required to conduct interviews, it is highly recommended that they do so in order to assess the competencies of each applicant.
If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted.
If a determination is made that an applicant has inflated qualifications or experience on the resume, the employee will receive no consideration for the position, as per OPM regulations.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/26/2024:
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 01/26/2024. 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/770367900. 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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