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Research Ecologist (Assistant Unit Leader)

Department of the Interior
Geological Survey
This job announcement has closed

Summary

What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position?

Salary: $76,721 (Step 01) to $99,741 (Step 10); NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01. 

This position is being advertised concurrently with the following announcements:

Open to current or former Federal employees: DEN-2020-0271

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
05/19/2020 to 06/18/2020
Salary
$76,721 to - $99,741 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
Logan, UT
FEW vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - Overnight travel of an average of up to 5 nights per month may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation has been authorized.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
15 - The full performance level for a Research position is GS-15; however, promotion eligibility is dependent upon the scientific contributions of the incumbent as evaluated by a peer panel.
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Announcement number
DEN-2020-0270
Control number
568640800

Duties

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As an Ecologist within the Utah Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, some of your specific duties will include:

  • Planning, conducting, and directing research related to fish, wildlife, or ecological resources, with application to contemporary science, policy and management needs.
  • Conducting research that is cooperator driven and provides scientific basis for management and policy decisions.
  • Serving as subject matter expert in fish and wildlife ecology, providing leadership and guidance to government and private agencies and university representatives through meetings, conferences and work groups.
  • Disseminating research results via final reports, peer-reviewed print scientific journals, online scientific journals, books, book chapters or other outlets.
  • Serving as graduate faculty member, contributing to both the research, graduate student mentorship, and teaching mission of the university.
  • Operating a government vehicle as an incidental driver. 
Desirable candidates will possess the following: In addition to the basic qualifications, the incumbent will have demonstrated abilities and experience developing and conducting basic or applied research on 1) developing and applying wildlife-habitat interaction models at landscape scales, including the design and evaluation of habitat restoration actions; 2) assessing linkages between nutritional/physiological status in wildlife and landscape-scale demographic patterns; and 3) uncovering linkages between habitat structure/dynamics and wildlife vital rates, including the context of changing climates and urbanization patterns.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  • Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
  • More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
  • Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.

Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?

  • Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment.  Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
  • Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.
  • A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
  • Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.
  • If selected for this position, you may be required to file one or more financial statements and/or a procurement integrity certification of compliance upon reporting and annually, some of which may be subject to public disclosure.

Qualifications

ECOLOGIST-GS-0408-12:

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Applicants must meet A below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Ecologist, all grade levels.

A. 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 biology or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours or the equivalent in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours or the equivalent in ecology, and 12 semester hours or the equivalent in physical and mathematical sciences.

Ph.D RequirementIn addition to meeting the basic education requirements described above, in order to receive consideration for this position, you must also possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in wildlife science or a closely related field of study appropriate for this position.  

GS-12:  

A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a directly related field of study appropriate for this position is qualifying at the GS-12 level. 

To verify the Ph.D requirement, transcripts or verification from the university registrar must be submitted that state that clearly state:  Ph.D awarded, major, and date of conferral;   Failure to provide this information will result in your application receiving no further consideration.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

  • 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.  
  • Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .

Additional information

  • Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
  • Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.
  • USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations.
  • The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
  • DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
  • THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

How you will be evaluated

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

--Vacancy Related Questions: As part of the online application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge skills, abilities and/or competencies:

1. Scientific Knowledge
2. Program/Project Management 
3. Written Communication 
4. Interpersonal Communication 

--Basis of rating:  Category rating will be used in the ranking and selection process for this position. The quality categories are Best Qualified, Well Qualified, and Qualified. You will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you are eligible, your on-line responses to the application questions will determine your placement in the appropriate quality category described above. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.


--NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.


To preview questions please click here.

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