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Research Zoologist

Smithsonian Institution
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum Natural History. The purpose of this position is to perform scholarly scientific research and professional curation in part of
the National Collections relating to the incumbent’s area of specialization. 

**The salary range listed above reflects the Museum's authorized salary range for this position.**

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
11/07/2018 to 01/07/2019
Salary
$81,548 to - $86,984 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Washington DC, DC
FEW vacancies
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
50% or less - .
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Federal
Work schedule
Full-time - Full-Time, Permanent
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Drug test
No
Announcement number
19A-JW-304220-DEU-NMNH
Control number
516234600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals (including Veterans recruitment). Excepted Service employees may also apply to this announcement.

Duties

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  • Initiates, develops, and participates in integrative scientific research, including field work, on invertebrates (exclusive of hexapods, myriapods, and arachnids).
  • Enhances and curates portions of the National Collection related to his/her specialty area.
  • Serves as consultant and expert adviser on professional matters in the areas of expertise on Museum exhibitions, taxonomic identifications, and reports on items and collections submitted to the Museum; data management; strategic planning; reviewing research proposals, manuscripts, and published materials; answering public enquiries; and lecturing to professional associations, educational institutions, civic groups, clubs, and other organizations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
  • May need to complete a Probationary Period
  • Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on the web at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

Qualifications

You must meet these Basic Education Requirements:

A. Degree: zoology; or a related discipline or field of science that included at least 20 semester hours in zoology and related animal sciences.

OR


B. Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in zoology, or in a related discipline that included course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to Basic Requirements above, you must have following:

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system.  For this position specialized experience is defined as  conducting integrative, specimen or collection-based research in invertebrate evolution and biodiversity (exclusive of hexapods, myriapods, and arachnids) as evidenced by one or more peer-reviewed scientific publications in the applicant’s area of claimed taxonomic specialization, and using collections for research purposes or playing a role in planning the enhancement or building of such collections

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Or Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Education

SPECIAL NOTE:

  • Unofficial school transcripts (undergraduate and graduate) must be submitted with your application package by the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
  • If you have foreign education, you must show proof by the closing date of the vacancy announcement that education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Transcripts and proof of the evaluations must be submitted within your application package as indicated under “Required Documents”. Applicants may use the following websites http://www.naces.org/ OR  http://www.fceatlanta.com/ to obtain these evaluations.

Applicants that are referred to the hiring manager for further consideration may be asked to provide additional materials.

Additional information

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below:

  • Ability to conduct original, specimen- or collection-based scientific research in evolution and biodiversity of invertebrates (exclusive of hexapods, myriapods, and arachnids), as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications.

  • Ability to enhance and expand a natural history collection (through information augmentation such as development of data standards, capturing information from existing collections, establishment of linkages to meta-data, or digitization and through fieldwork).
  • Skill in conducting oral presentations and/or seminars, securing funding, public outreach (for example, communicating orally or otherwise to non-scientific audiences), professional service (for example, service as a reviewer and/or editor of a peer-reviewed journal, and/or service in a leadership role of a professional society or organization), and mentoring.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria: Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above. Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above. Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree. This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position. Important Note: The review of your resume will determine your final rating and should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.


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