Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Hydrologist

Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

At the full GS-12 performance level, you will serve as the expert Hydrologist on surface water hydrology, climatological and surface water data analysis and modeling, and lake and stream hydraulics in the Upper Klamath River Basin.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/11/2019 to 12/26/2019
Salary
$51,440 to - $62,236 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
Klamath Falls, OR
few vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - 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
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
R8-20-10673117-DS-MP
Control number
554142700

Duties

Help

  • - Plans and conducts studies to evaluate complex hydrologic and hydraulic problems to determine the most efficient means of using available resources; to protect those resources from future development; as well as to determine groundwater and surface water interaction.
  • - Computes stream flow depletions and lake level changes due to proposed projects and works with Service biologists to relate the physical impacts to impacts on fish and wildlife.
  • - Develops and implements plans of investigation, including study objectives, methods, tasks, deliverables, timetables and budgets; determines needs for scientific instrumentation; and recommends changes in focus of investigation, scheduling, and methods as required by interim results and availability of new methods or techniques
  • - Assists biologists and project applicants in developing measures to offset the effects of projects on listed species and candidate species.
Promotion Potential: This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed represent the full performance level of GS-12. At lower grade levels, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-12. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. The selectee may be promoted without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
  • Resume and supporting documents (See How To Apply)
  • Suitability for employment, as determined by background investigation
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
  • Time-in-Grade requirements apply to status candidates
  • LMWFA or Public Land Corps eligibles may apply

Qualifications

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date will be considered.

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: GS-1315
Bachelor's or higher degree in physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics, aquatic biology, atmospheric science, meteorology, geology, oceanography, or the management or conservation of water resources. The course work must have included at least 6 semester hours in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours in physics.

OR

Have a combination of education and experience - course work as described above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Acceptable experience must have included performance of scientific functions related to the study of water resources, based on and requiring a professional knowledge of related sciences and the consistent application of basic scientific principles to the solution of theoretical and practical hydrologic problems. Examples of acceptable experience include: field or laboratory work that would require application of hydrologic theory and related sciences such as geology, geo-chemistry, geophysics, or civil engineering to making observations, taking samples, operating instruments, assembling data from source materials, analyzing and interpreting data, and reporting findings orally and in writing. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT, GS-09

One full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of qualifying specialized experience for this grade level include: 1) acquiring or analyzing hydrological data to determine the condition and restoration needs of watershed habitats; 2) developing recommendations to rehabilitate or enhance watershed habitats; 3) providing written or oral briefings, reports, etc., on results of hydrologic studies, or other hydrologic work of similar complexity. NOTE: To qualify under this option, your resume must contain sufficient detail to prove you have one year experience performing these duties.

OR

Successful completion of two or more full years of graduate education in an accredited college or university leading to a Master's, or equivalent degree in in Hydrology or an equivalent field directly related to this position. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition, 36 semester hours is considered as satisfying the requirement for two years of full- time graduate study. NOTE: To be found qualified under this option, you must submit transcripts (official or unofficial) to verify your education.

OR

Combination of qualifying specialized experience as described in response A and qualifying graduate education as described in response B that equals 100 percent of the GS-09 requirement when computed as percentages and combined. To combine education and experience, convert quarter hours to semester hours by multiplying by the fraction 2/3. Then, divide your number of graduate semester hours in excess of 18 by 18 (or the number your school uses to represent one year of graduate education). Divide months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. These two numbers must equal 100 percent when combined. NOTE: To qualify under this option you must submit transcripts to verify your education and include proof of your experience in the text of your resume.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT, GS-11

One full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of qualifying specialized experience for this grade level include: 1) acquiring and analyzing hydrological data to determine the condition and restoration needs of watershed habitats; 2) making data-based recommendations for projects to rehabilitate or enhance watershed habitats; 3) coordinating remedial/restorative actions for stream, riparian or wetland restoration projects with partners, agencies or other stakeholders; 4) providing written or oral recommendations, reports, etc., on results of hydrologic studies (e.g., watershed condition investigations, hydrologic studies, surface-ground water interactions, etc.) or other hydrologic work of similar complexity. NOTE: To qualify under this option, your resume must contain sufficient detail to prove you have one year experience performing these duties.

OR

Successful completion of a Ph.D. (or have three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D.) in Hydrology or equivalent field directly related to this position. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition, 54 semester hours (81 quarter hours) is considered as satisfying the requirement for three years of full- time graduate study. NOTE: To be found qualified under this option, you must submit transcripts (official or unofficial) to verify your education.

OR

Combination of qualifying specialized experience as described in A and qualifying graduate education as described in B that equals 100 percent of the requirement when computed as percentages and combined. To combine education and experience, convert quarter hours to semester hours by multiplying by the fraction 2/3. Then, divide your number of graduate semester hours in excess of 36 by 18 (or the number your school uses to represent one year of graduate education). Divide months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. These two numbers must equal 100 percent when combined. NOTE: To qualify under this option you must submit transcripts to verify your education and include proof of your experience in the text of your resume.

IMPORTANT: Human Resources is not permitted to "read between the lines," make assumptions about, or infer what duties you performed in your work history. To ensure that we can credit your experience, we recommend that you update your resume to specifically address the duties shown above. One year of experience refers to full-time work. Your resume must include the number of hours worked per week.


The Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA),P.L. 114-47, allows certain individuals who currently or formerly were under time-limited competitive appointments at certain land management agencies to compete under merit promotion procedures: Must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited appointment with a land management agency.Must have served under 1 or more time limited appointments by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years; AND Must have performed at an acceptable level.
Former appointees. You must submit ALL SF-50s and performance information for each period of temporary/term employment that qualifies for LMWFA.

Public Land Corps (PLC) Hiring Authority: You must provide a copy of the Certificate of Eligibility for Non-Compliance Hiring Based for Public Land Corps Service. (1) In order to be eligible for PLC non-competitive status, a former member of the PLC must provide documentation, as part of their application, verifying their eligibility and meeting the following criteria minimum of 640 hours of satisfactory service that included at least 120 hours through the PLC.

Education

PROOF OF EDUCATION: All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s) and grade point average or class ranking. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours 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) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

To register or verify your registration go to the Selective Service System at https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx

FWS has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval. More than one position may be filled from this announcement.

A PCS Move is authorized as follows: travel and relocation expenses including reimbursable real estate expenses will be authorized in accordance with the Federal travel regulations excluding contractor-provided home sale. All moving expenses are taxable.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application: 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.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the basic qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you meet the basic qualifications your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience which resulted in you being listed in the highest quality category, you may lose consideration, or be assigned to a lower quality category for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

KNOWLEDGE OF HYDROLOGIC CONCEPTS, PRINCIPLES, AND PRACTICES
SKILL IN INCORPORATING HYDROLOGY WITH RELATED FIELDS TO DEVELOP ACCURATE MODELS
ABILITY TO REVIEW AND INTERPRET HYDROLOGIC DATA
ABILITY TO USE COMPUTER APPLICATIONS AND PROGRAMS TO DEVELOP AND USE HYDROLOGIC MODELS
ABILITY TO PLAN AND CONDUCT COMPLEX HYDROLOGIC INVESTIGTIONS ON SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT OR ACQUISITION PROJECTS
SKILL IN LIAISING WITH STAKEHOLDERS
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE VERBALLY
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE IN WRITING


If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming 5-point veterans' preference, you must attach a copy of your DD-214 showing you were honorably discharged. If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must attach an SF-15," Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" in addition to the proof required by that form.

Career Transition Assistance Program Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) : These programs apply to employees who have been or may be involuntarily separated (e.g. reduction in force, declining to relocate/transfer outside their local commuting area) from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet ICTAP or CTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP or CTAP eligibility (e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal or Removal Notice; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; or Removal and most recent performance appraisal.). For more information visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.