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Fish Biologist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in Region 6, on the Pacific Ranger District of the Olympic National Forest in Forks, WA.

The incumbent plans, administers, and provides professional expertise in fisheries programs. Provides expertise and assistance in fishery resource management.

For additional information about the duties of the position please contact Tammy Hoem at (360) 878-4374 or tammy.hoem@usda.gov

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
03/23/2020 to 03/27/2020
Salary
$52,905 to - $83,210 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Forks, WA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position for meetings and required trainings.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
20-R6-10756557-G-RK
Control number
563427400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current permanent federal employees with competitive status, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP and VEOA eligibles, Farm Service Agency permanent county employees, 30 percent or More Disabled Veterans, Certain Former Overseas and Foreign Service Employees, Military Spouses, Interchange Agreement and Other Miscellaneous Authorities, People with Disabilities, Peace Corps and VISTA, Reinstatement, Public Land Corps, Resource Assistant Program, and VRA eligible candidates.

Duties

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  • Duties listed below are at the full performance level.
  • Develops plans related to the protection and management of aquatic resources, including fish passage, stream inventory, stream productivity, stream utilization, endangered or sensitive species, and habitat improvements or rehabilitation programs.
  • Provides recommendations relating to fishery resource/fish habitat requirements, other management activities, including streamside/riparian area and watershed protection.
  • Participates in management investigations and surveys necessary for protection, restoration and enhancement of fish habitat.
  • Develops detailed project documents for sale area improvement.
  • Recognizes problems that may develop and recommends preventative or mitigative actions. Develops detailed project documents as required.

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

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 course descriptions as necessary.

Basic Requirement:
GS-0482 Fish Biologist
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 science that included at least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology; and at least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields. (Excess course work in aquatic subjects may be used to meet this requirement when appropriate.)
OR
Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in the animal sciences, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

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:

For the GS-09: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include one or more of the following: As an advanced trainee, collected field data on fish habitats and other aquatic resources for preparation of maps and management plans using all types of sampling equipment; classified habitats and determined stream conditions for fisheries; and, conducted aquatic habitat/fish inventories; OR

A master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related; OR

An appropriate combination of specialized experience and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

For the GS-11: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include one or more of the following: Coordinated limited studies of fishery populations; and prepared a variety of written reports or limited environmental analyses. Participated on interdisciplinary teams and prepared environmental analysis reports. Served as a leader of fish habitat improvement projects and habitat inventory and monitoring programs; OR

3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (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.

Education

See above for education requirements.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP 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/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies 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. 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.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website

PROMOTION POTENTIAL: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied or guaranteed.

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

.

Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination will be made at the time of job offer.

This is a bargaining unit designated position represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government Housing is not available.

Daycare facilities are not available.

This position is eligible for telework.

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

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:

  • Fishery Biology
  • Organizational Awareness
  • Partnering
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Project Management


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/10756557

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