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Biological Science Technician

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in Christiansted National Historic Site, in the Resource Management Division.

Temporary position not-to-exceed 1039 regular hours in a service year. This appointment may be terminated sooner or extended based on the needs of management.

Open to the first 100 applicants or until 04/16/2021 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/12/2021 to 04/16/2021
Salary
$35,265 to - $45,847 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Location
Christiansted, VI
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - 1039 Hours
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
SE-1630-CHRI-21-11073956-DE
Control number
598123200

Duties

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The duty station for this position is located at Christiansted National Historic Site (CHRI) on the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to CHRI, this position provides Biological Science Technician services for Buck Island Reef National Monument (BUIS) and Salt River Bay National Historical Park & Ecological Preserve (SARI). The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

  • Implementing natural resource management projects, conducting field observations, data collection, and analysis/reporting for both terrestrial and marine resources, year round, in a tropical environment.
  • Conducting field operations for a wide range of terrestrial and marine research projects in a safe and reasonable manner.
  • Monitoring and data collection for wildlife including threatened/endangered species (sea turtles, marine mammals, birds, lizards, etc.), fisheries and coral monitoring (trap or hook and line census, in-water visual census by snorkel or SCUBA), exotic plant and animal treatment and monitoring.
  • Maintaining resource management equipment (tools, electronic equipment, traps, boats, SCUBA dive gear).
  • Providing education and outreach to the public about park resources and research projects.
  • Position requires 3 months of working a primarily nocturnal schedule (nesting sea turtle monitoring) and 3 months of diurnal schedule (marine & terrestrial projects).
  • Position requires Recreational Rescue Diver Certification (physical exam, training, and electronic dive log) and certified and/or documented training and experience operating boats (up to 28' in length) in open ocean conditions.

Physical Demands: The work requires physical exertion such as regular and recurring walking, hiking, or climbing over wet, rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces, bending, crouching, stooping, lifting or reaching to observe, collect, or record field data; or in some situations the work may require physical exertion to scuba dive or operate a boat. Heavy items (e.g., equipment and packs up to 50 pounds) must be lifted and carried on a routine basics.

Working Conditions: The work is performed in an office or outdoors. The work performed involves regular and recurring exposure to extreme weather conditions and terrain, poisonous plants, biting insects, and wild animals.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
  • You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1-3 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-04/16/2021-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience.

- AND -

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-0404-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as:

Experience must have been related to the work of the position for which application is made. The specialized experience required for some positions in this series is normally work performed in a controlled environment. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

  • Research activity or control program work.
  • Nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment.
  • Work comparable to that with a large dairy farm where production records, animal environment, and sanitary conditions were kept in accordance with modern dairy practice.

Farming experience that was not performed in a controlled environment, or experience as a laborer who was not responsible for planning and scheduling his/her own work, but only performed assigned tasks, would not qualify as specialized experience.

-OR-

EDUCATION: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as those shown above for GS-3. At least 6 semester hours of courses must have been directly related to the position to be filled. The successful completion of a full course of study of at least 12 months in a school for clinical laboratory technicians may be substituted for the 1 year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level for positions involving microbiology and biochemistry technician work

-OR-

Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

Volunteer Experience: 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

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire


Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 or 1730 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).

If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.

Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.

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

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your responses to the online assessments completed during the application process. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):
Attention to Detail, Botany, Customer Service, Customer Service, Fishery Biology, Flexibility, Influencing/Negotiating, Integrity/Honesty, Interpersonal Skills, Learning, Quality Management, Self-Management, Stamina, Stress Tolerance, Teamwork, Technology Application, and Wildlife Biology


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

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