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Interdisciplinary Supervisory Physical Scientist/Geophysicist/Geologist

Department of the Interior
Geological Survey
This job announcement has closed

Summary

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

This is an interdisciplinary position that may be filled as a Supervisory Physical Scientist, GS-1301; Supervisory Geophysicist, GS-1313; and Supervisory Geologist, GS-1350 and is being advertised concurrently with the following announcements:

Open to all U.S. citizens under: USGS-SAC-21-10995470-DE-CS

SUMMARY CONTINUED BELOW IN THE DUTIES SECTION.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/23/2020 to 01/15/2021
Salary
$135,329 to - $170,800 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Anchorage, AK
Menlo Park, CA
Hilo, HI
Vancouver, WA
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel up to 2 nights a month for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
15
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
USGS-SAC-21-10995469-ST-CS
Control number
588016800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to current or former Federal employees w/perm comp status; OR those eligible under a special or noncomp appointing authority (e.g.,VRA, disabled, Pathways Interns & Recent Grads who are elig for noncomp conversion, etc.); OR current or former employees who are serving, or previously served, on temp or term appt in a land mgmt agency; OR veterans with preference or have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after approx 3yrs or more of continuous active service.

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Duties

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SUMMARY (CONTINUED)
There is only one vacancy that may be filled at any of the following locations: Anchorage, Alaska; Menlo Park, California; Hilo, Hawaii; or Vancouver, Washington. The location will be determined when a selection is made.

Salary:

  • Anchorage, Alaska: $141,815 (step 1) - $170,800 (step 10). The selectee will be entitled to a cost of living allowance of 2.86% in addition to the basic salary.
  • Hilo, Hawaii: $130,758 (step 1) - $169,990 (step 10). The selectee will be entitled to a cost of living allowance of 4.42% in addition to the basic salary.
  • Menlo Park, California: $154,687 (step 1) - $170,800 (step 10).
  • Vancouver, Washington: $135,329 (step 1) - 170,800 (step 10).
DUTIES:

As the Center Director for the Volcano Science Center (VSC), some of your specific duties will include:

  • Responsible for multi-disciplinary geoscience studies to mitigate the harmful impacts of volcano hazards by instrumenting and monitoring active, restive, and potentially active volcanoes, preparing volcanic hazards assessments, modeling eruptions and debris flows, studying magma­ water interactions, responding to volcanic crises (national and international), and conducting topical investigations of magmatic and associated hydrothermal processes and products to better understand "how volcanoes work," thus improving predictive abilities.
  • Supervises a staff of technical and support personnel. Plans, assigns and reviews work of assigned personnel.
  • Establishes and maintains both formal and informal contacts with other USGS entities, Federal and State agencies, universities and other research organizations, and the private sector. Plans and conducts meetings and conferences that will further USGS objectives. Represents the VSC at national, international, and regional meetings, seminars, and conferences to advance program goals.
  • Work is performed under the administrative direction of the Regional Director who delegates responsibility for defining problems and strategies, building cooperative relationships and evaluating adequacy of existing programs in order to advance and strengthen the Science Center's activities.

The Volcano Science Center (VSC) is a network of closely-integrated volcano observatories and research centers studying and monitoring volcanoes in Alaska, Hawaii, the Pacific Cascades, Long Valley, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Yellowstone. It also includes a volcano crisis response team partly funded by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance that responds to international volcanic crisis and backs up domestic crises; a volcanic process research and experimental group in Menlo Park/Moffett, CA; a volcanic gas emissions group in Hawaii and Vancouver, WA; and a hydrologic-volcano-debris-flow research group in Vancouver, WA.

The program encompasses a wide variety of scientific and technical disciplines including volcanic petrology and geochemistry, civil engineering, field mapping of volcanoes, geochronology, seismology, electronic telemetry, geodesy, electromagnetic and potential fields geophysics, satellite remote sensing of volcanic phenomena including tracking potentially dangerous ash clouds in the atmosphere and higher, volcano-hydrothermal and volcanic gas emission geochemistry, ''Crisis GIS" databases for volcanic phenomena, local, regional, national and international hazards communications and policy, and outreach. The VSC includes scientists with expertise in all of the above-mentioned disciplines. The VSC infrastructure includes sophisticated scientific · instruments, complex computer hardware and software systems, and internet-based interpretive tools and data-sharing to collaboratively study and interpret volcanic processes.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  1. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  2. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  3. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
  4. This position requires completion of a one year supervisory/managerial probationary period, if one has not previously been completed.
  5. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.

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.
  • If selected for this position, you may be required to file one or more financial statements upon reporting and annually, some of which may be subject to public disclosure.
  • 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 you are a Federal employee applying for a promotion (under merit promotion procedures) you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT FOR GS-1301, PHYSICAL SCIENTIST: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Physical Scientist.

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 physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours or the equivalent in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

B. A combination of education and experience--education equivalent to one of the majors shown in "A" above (24 semester hours or the equivalent in physical science, engineering, or mathematics) that included at least 24 semester hours or the equivalent in physical science and/or related engineering science as described above, plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in "A" above.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT FOR GS-1313, GEOPHYSICIST: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Geophysicist.

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 that included at least 30 semester hours in mathematics (including calculus) and the physical sciences (geophysics, physics, engineering, geology, astronomy, meteorology, electronics, etc.).

B. A combination of education and experience -- at least 30 semester hours in mathematics (including calculus) and the physical sciences (geophysics, physics, engineering, geology, astronomy, meteorology, electronics, etc.), plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in "A" above.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT FOR GS-1350, GEOLOGIST: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Geologist.

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 geology. In addition to the geology course work included in the degree, it must also have included or been supplemented by 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography.

B. A combination of education and experience-course work as shown in "A" above (24 semester hours or the equivalent in geology plus 20 additional semester hours or the equivalent in any combination of courses as specified in "A" above), plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in "A" above.

For GS-15:

In addition to meeting one of the basic education requirements as stated above, applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-15 level:

Possess one year of professional experience that is equivalent to at least the GS-14 level in the Federal service.

Examples of GS-14 level work may include: Investigations that involved highly unstructured problems involving both difficult technology and complex human relations or programmatic issues. The results of these investigations had significant effects over a wide region of the United States, or may have included responsibility for new technology especially critical to the organization's programs. This work involved other recognized senior technical experts asking the scientist for advice or counsel due to his/her personal reputation in the field.

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

Other 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.
Agency Benefits:

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: Program Management, Leadership and Supervision, Flexibility, Scientific Knowledge, Interpersonal Communication, Disseminate Data, and Financial Management.

--Basis of Rating: 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, you will receive a numerical rating based on your on-line responses to the application questions. These responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible.

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and awards during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

--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 the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10995469

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