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Biological Science Technician (Wildlife)

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

Summary

These positions are temporary and may not exceed 1039 hours (six months) in a service year. They may be terminated sooner or extended depending on management needs.

Positions may not be filled at every duty station.

Selectees may be moved between duty stations within park boundaries.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open date: 11/18/2019
Closed date: 11/22/2019
Location
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$23.19 - $23.54 per hour

Salary includes 3.27% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for Juneau, AK and 4.83% for all other locations.

Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-Time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Temporary
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Announcement number
AK-1537-AKRO-20-10633750-DE
Control number
549936700

Duties

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The parks and duty stations hiring for these positions are below. The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period for each park/duty station is listed below. These months vary due to weather conditions, project needs and/or funding.

  • Denali National Park and Preserve (Denali Park, AK): April - November
  • Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Bartlett Cove and Juneau, AK): April - October
  • Katmai National Park and Preserve (King Salmon and Lake & Peninsula County, AK. Applicants selected for Lake & Peninsula County will be duty stationed at Brooks Camp, AK): April - October
  • Kenai Fjords National Park (Seward, AK): April - September
  • Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (Skagway, AK): April - September
  • Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (Port Alsworth, AK): April - November
Please visit find a park for additional park information.

Work will include, but is not limited to the following:
  • Surveys for amphibians, birds (including seabirds, shorebirds, raptors, land birds, etc.), or mammals (bears, wolves, marine mammals, etc.).
  • Participates in planning, managing, conducting, analyzing data and writing reports on a variety of wildlife oriented biological survey, monitoring and research activities.
  • Performs a wide variety of complex biological science technical support functions under the supervision of a professional specialist.
  • Plans study design and field sampling schemes, logistical arrangements, leading field work, data entry and analysis and completing reports or other documents related to the project.
  • Wildlife surveys, GPS mapping, GIS data management, map production, weather data collection, water quality data collection, data entry, managing and manipulating digital images and web or journal based research and training other employees and volunteers to efficiently conduct these tasks.
  • Additional duties may include assisting with other natural resource management projects, maintaining and repairing field equipment, preparing for field trips, communicating resource management topics to park staff and visitors, implementing bear-human interaction management, including conducting/leading aversive conditioning on black or brown bears.

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.
  • Selectees will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • Selectees for Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve and some Denali National Park and Preserve positions will be required to carry a non-law enforcement firearm in the back-country or other locations for non-law enforcement reasons such as protection from animals. They will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, these positions are subject to random testing for illegal drug use. You must be free of any domestic violence convictions.
  • Selectees for Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve and some Denali National Park and Preserve and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve positions will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of their 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 may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle.
  • Selectees for all positions, except at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • Selectees for Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park are required to obtain and maintain a valid US Passport or US Passport Card to enter Canada.
  • Motorboat operation will be required at Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays and overtime.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 21 nights per month. You must complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/22/2019-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 of qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for this position, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level in the federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) conducting wildlife inventory and monitoring programs for a variety of wildlife species. This experience includes leading field surveys in remote locations to document and assess animal presence, abundance, reproduction, management issues and population dynamics using established protocols and standard scientific equipment (including GPS); and managing, summarizing and reporting wildlife data using computer software (such as Microsoft Access, Excel, Word, ArcGIS, Pathfinder Office, or comparable).

-OR-

EDUCATION: One full year (18 semester hours, 27 quarter hours or equivalent) of graduate level course work that is directly related to the work of the position from an accredited college or university. For example: wildlife biology or wildlife management. You must submit transcripts.

-OR-

A COMBINATION OF SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION AS DESCRIBED ABOVE:
To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours or equivalent earned towards a graduate degree and divide by 18 semester hours or equivalent. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

Volunteer experiencerefers 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.

Individuals selected under this vacancy announcement are eligible for the possibility of extensions or rehire in subsequent service years.

Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. All travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the sole responsibility of the selected employee.

Alaska currently does not have a state income tax.

Salary and COLA subject to annual review and adjustment.

Physical Demands: The work requires regular physical exertion such as walking or climbing over wet, rough, uneven and/or rocky surfaces; bending, crouching, stooping or reaching to observe, collect and/or record field data; or in some situations, the work may require physical exertion to scuba dive or operate a boat. Moderately heavy items, such as equipment packs weighing up to 50 pounds, must be lifted and carried on a regular basis. May be required to hike several miles in a day.

Work Environment: The work environment varies from office/laboratory settings to field sites. The work performed in the field involves regular and recurring exposure to extreme weather conditions and terrain, poisonous plants, biting insects and wild animals.

Government housing is available at Denali National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Park and Preserve and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. It may be available at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

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 will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
  • Research
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application
  • Wildlife Biology
  • Writing

National Park Service

Agency contact information

HR Assistant
Phone
907-644-3828
Email
akr_usa_staffing@nps.gov
Address
Alaska Regional Office
240 W 5th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501
US

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https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm

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