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Biologist - Direct Hiring Authority

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Gulf Islands National Seashore
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located in Gulf Islands National Seashore, in the of Science and Resource Stewardship.

This is a TERM position and will be for a period not to exceed thirteen months with possible extensions up to a total of four years without further competition. TERM positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/04/2019 to 11/11/2019
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$62,236 to - $80,912 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Gulf Breeze, FL
Ocean Springs, MS
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term - 13 Months
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
SE-1628-GUIS-20-10644966-DE
Control number
550700600

Duties

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The employee will engage in the study, inventory, monitoring, restoration, and management of a broad range of natural resources including but not limited to, vegetation, wildlife, fisheries, exotic and pest species, sensitive species, and associated ecological components such as air, water, and soil. They will also develop and prepare major portions of the resources management plan primarily dealing with biotic resources. The employee will prepare specific action plans pertaining to the management and protection of natural resources. They will represent the superintendent when working with others and develops and maintains liaisons and effective working relations with related groups and individuals, agencies and the public. Coordinates the park's natural resources strategies and programs with those on adjacent lands, negotiates cooperative and interagency agreements and other cooperative instruments needed to effectively carry out resource stewardship goals. Develops request for proposals or statements of work and provides oversight for research projects. Serves as a Contracting Officer's Technical Representative. Develops and carries out statistically valid data collection protocols for the monitoring of plant and animal communities and the results of protection, mitigation, and restoration projects. Performs data collection using advanced technology such as electronic data collectors. Prepares environmental assessments for projects in compliance with the NEPA and may supervise seasonal, temporary, permanent, VIP and other personnel, but less than 25% of the time.



Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • You will be required to complete a one-year trial period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/11/2019-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 qualified specialized experience.


To qualify for this position, you must meet the minimum qualifications below:

Education: Successful completion of a full four year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to this position.

-OR-

Combination of Education and Experience: Possess equivalent combination of education and experience that included course work equivalent to a major (i.e., 24 semester hours) in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or a discipline closely related to biology; PLUS appropriate experience or additional course work. The quality of the combination demonstrates that I possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of this position and is comparable to that normally acquired through the completion of a full four-year course of study with a major as described above.

In addition to the above minimum qualifications, applicants must also possess one of the following the following:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: develop and implement resource management partnerships, project management, developing and implementing management plans, wildlife inventory, in-depth studies and monitoring; Implementing projects associated with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Restoration funds. Environmental assessments (EAs) for projects in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act; developing alternatives and preparing specific recommendations for resource protection and restoration activities; and negotiating habitat restoration/management plans and agreements with Federal or State, Tribal organizations, and non-governmental organizations or private landowners. You must include hours per week worked.

-OR-

EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three full years of graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in a field directly related to fire science, fire management, biological science, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry or related disciplines. One year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) is considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full- time graduate study. You must include transcripts.-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 include 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.

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".

Education

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.

Additional information

This notice will be used to build an inventory of applicants that may be referred as vacancies become available.

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: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Assignments may be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, volcanoes, caves, firelines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.

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.

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is considered by the organization as well qualified. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information.

How you will be evaluated

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 OPM'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 Servicing Human Resource Office, 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.

If a determination is made that an applicant has inflated qualifications or experience on the resume, consideration for the position will be denied, as per OPM regulations.

Your resume will be reviewed for the following competencies:

  • Administration and Management
  • Oral Communication
  • Technical Competence
  • Wildlife Biology

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