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Supervisory Biological Scientist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located at the Pacific Northwest Research Station in Portland, OR. These employees serve as Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) State Coordinators for the data collection team.

There are two positions available.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Summer Dunn at 503-808-2071 or

summer.l.dunn@usda.gov

.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/08/2020 to 01/14/2020
Salary
$68,309 to - $88,801 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Portland, OR
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - Travel 10 or more times per year. Overnight travel may be needed to attend training, conferences, meetings, and site visits.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Entitlements for payment of basic moving expenses, as required and to the extent allowed by the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) 302-3.101, are authorized for eligible applicants changing duty station when the change meets the distance tests as provided in FTR 302-1.1 and 302-2.6. No additional allowances are authorized.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
20-RES-10690512-FS-KR
Control number
555964900

Duties

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  • Take an active role in promoting field crew safety (proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), aviation operations, safety briefings, etc.).
  • Coordinate the collection of data on: forest type; stand size and stand age; land-use and ownership; natural and anthropogenic treatments and disturbances; tree attributes; shrubs and herbaceous vegetation; insects and disease; and soil hydrology.
  • Collaborate with information management staff to set-up, test, and fix errors with data collection software and hardware.
  • Develop, organize, and provide trainings to field staff to ensure quality data collection.
  • Conduct surveys to obtain information on the effects of land management operations, land use, natural disturbances, and climate change on forest health and tree species populations, biomass, growth, harvest, and mortality.
  • Participate on Forest Inventory and Analysis task teams to develop and implement forest inventory protocols and information management systems and promote data collection consistency.
  • Plan and organize studies, or projects for a natural resource program, including cost/benefit analyses, methods to be used, timing, and coordination of staff both internal and external to the organization.
  • Assures that safety and health hazard analysis and emergency action plans are completed as required.
  • Establish performance requirements, and communicate performance elements and expectations to employees.
  • Perform administrative and human resources management functions such as recommending promotion of employees, and participating in recruitment and hiring of applicants for vacant positions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Subject to one year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide university course descriptions as necessary.

Basic Requirement:

GS-0401:
Degree: Successful completion of a full 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
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major field of study that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Related course work generally refers to courses that may be accepted as part of the program major.
OR
Combination of education and experience that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, AND experience sufficient to demonstrate that I possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation that 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 needed to perform the work of the occupation.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
0401 Series:

Degree: Successful completion of a full 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
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major field of study that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Related course work generally refers to courses that may be accepted as part of the program major.

OR
Combination of education and experience that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, AND experience sufficient to demonstrate that I possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation that 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 needed to perform the work of the occupation.

In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional education and/or experience are required for the grade(s) specified

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

GS 11 Level: One year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-09). To qualify at this grade level, your experience as documented in your resume must include 4 out of 5 of the following:

--Conducting studies on the effects of land management operations, land use, natural disturbances, and climate change on indicators of forest health and tree species populations, biomass, growth, harvest, and mortality.
--Interpreting standard procedures and ensuring that collected forest data is in compliance with established protocol.
--Assisting with training forest inventory personnel to follow established guidelines in order to obtain multi-resource information.
--Assisting in coordinating analytical quality assurance by developing and implementing project management procedures, activities, and infrastructure, and designs tools and planning templates.
--Planning and assigning work to staff including prioritizing tasks, reviewing work and evaluating performance; and offering regular feedback on performance.

OR
Applicants must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (with coursework directly related to position being filled);

OR
An appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education
(beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.).

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.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary and term employees the opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years and the last temporary or term appointment must have been with the Forest Service. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status (such as LWOP) is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.

Selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. Questions should be directed to the Travel help Desk, 877-372-7248, Option 1, or email

asc_tos@fs.fed.us

.

Information on special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, and individuals with disabilities may be found
on the USAJOBS website.

The work regularly requires some physical exertion such as long periods of standing; walking over rough, uneven, or rocky terrain; recurring bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, or reaching; or recurring moving, lifting and carrying of moderately heavy items.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government Housing is not available.

Daycare facilities are not available.

This position is eligible for telework and other flexible work arrangements.

This announcement may be used to fill one or more positions.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the competencies listed below:

  • Forest Management
  • Managing Human Resources
  • Project Management
  • Quality Assurance
  • Research
  • Workforce Environment


Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.

If you meet the qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified, you will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities must meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10690512

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