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Biologist (Plants)

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

Summary

This position is located in Grand Teton National Park, in the Division of Science and Resource Management

Open to the first 50 applicants or until 12/28/2019 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/09/2019 to 12/28/2019
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$62,236 to - $80,912 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
Moose, WY
1 vacancy
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
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Announcement number
IM-1540-GRTE-20-10623693-ST
Control number
553877100

Duties

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Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will be placed into non pay status for at least two consecutive weeks each year, The period of non-pay status is expected to be the first two weeks of December, but this could change depending on funding and work needs.

This position is located in the Vegetation Ecology and Management Branch of the Division of Science and Resource Management at Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway. The incumbent plays a key role in the management of park resources through their role in interdisciplinary teamwork, native plant materials management, revegetation of disturbed sites, and ecological restoration and monitoring. The vegetation branch consists of four permanent employees and 20-30 seasonal employees who collaborate with other park staff, volunteers, local and regional workgroups, and academic institutions to support the conservation of native plants and ecosystems. Grand Teton National Park is home to over 900 plant species, with a diverse array of communities ranging from shrub-steppe and riparian corridors to forested foothills and alpine tundra.
The primary function of this biologist position is to oversee a program of revegetation associated with park construction projects and ecological restoration including inter-divisional coordination with project managers; providing recommendations to avoid, minimize or mitigate resource impacts; creation of revegetation plans; oversight of seed collection, propagation, and reseeding; and administration of plant propagation and seed cleaning contracts and agreements. The incumbent will apply current ecological restoration practices and principles to revegetation and ecological restoration plans. They will serve on park interdisciplinary team for planning efforts, supervise a revegetation team consisting of one permanent and three to five temporary seasonals, and demonstrate flexibility to respond to park priorities.
The incumbent will have a range of other duties that may include the following: 1) develop and implement monitoring studies; manage, analyze, interpret, and present data as well as resulting management recommendations 2) oversee grazing, irrigation and range management 3) oversee conservation of whitebark pine 4) oversee wetland restoration projects 5) oversee the park's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program 5) survey and monitor rare plant populations.

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.
  • Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
  • 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 occasionally, but rarely, work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to two 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-12/28/2019-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 number of hours worked per week.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS EDUCATION: There is a positive education position. You must meet one of the education requirements listed here along with the specialized experience list below. You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts/documentation that show how you meet the below requirements. If you do not submit proof your will be found not qualified.
BASIC REQUIREMENT BIOLOGIST GS-401: Degree: 4-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 the position.
OR
COMBINATION EDUCATION/SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE SUBSTITUTION BIOLOGIST GS-401::
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 must demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of the 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.
- AND -
To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess at least 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-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: managing or supervising in native plant revegetation and ecological restoration projects, habitat restoration, native and nonnative plant identification, classification and taxonomy of vegetation types and flora of the Northern Rocky Mountains, wetland delineation and management; reclamation and rehabilitation of disturbed lands; performing soil assessments and studies; and developing and supervising scientific monitoring of vegetation communities and revegetation management. You must include hours per week worked and the grade level of any federal position.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at PhD or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a PhD or equivalent graduate degree in a field that is directly related to biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must include transcripts.. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. Experience and education should be computed as percentages of the overall requirements and must equal 100% when combined. Only graduate education in excess of the first 2 years is creditable when combined. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your school transcript(s) if qualifications are based on education. 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.

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.

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 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 will require strenuous physical activity including long periods of standing, walking, hiking, lifting and carrying heavy objects. Also requires planning, data management and report writing, which is sedentary and requires the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors, all types of weather, in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky and uneven terrain and with exposure to wild animals.

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.

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.

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 who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

  • Applies Technology to Tasks
  • Botany
  • Leadership
  • Partnering
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Research


Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

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