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Biologist

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

Summary

This position is located in Zion National Park, Division of Resource Management and Research.

As the Vegetation Program Manager for Zion National Park, the incumbent serves as a principal advisor in the management of vegetation resources and is responsible for the development and implementation of a resource program to protect and restore native plant communities. Program includes non-native plant species control, native plant restoration, and rare and sensitive plant species management.



Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
07/29/2021 to 08/12/2021
This job will close when we have received 75 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$64,649 - $84,049 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Zion National Park
Springdale, UT
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position with up to two overnight stays per month.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid if the selectee lives outside of the local commuting area and is otherwise eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation. Employer paid and reimbursed relocation expenses are considered taxable income. The NPS does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Employees should consult professional tax, legal and accounting advisers regarding concerns about the financial implications.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
IM-1539-ZION-21-11180960-ST
Control number
609192100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position.

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Duties

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  • Oversee operation of Zion native plant nursery, including a greenhouse, shadehouse, and seed increase field.
  • Oversee invasive plant management program.
  • Work closely with Zion environmental coordinator and other park staff to ensure projects are in compliance with environmental laws and policies pertaining to vegetation.
  • Carry out program administrative duties including submitting funding proposals, programming of funds, developing work plans, schedules, cost estimates, and preparing accomplishment reports.
  • Negotiates cooperative and interagency agreements and other cooperative instruments needed to effectively carry out resource stewardship goals.
  • Develops and maintains effective working relationships with related groups, agencies, and the public to encourage and facilitate cooperative regional management strategies.
  • Oversee geographically complex invasive species and/or habitat restoration projects including planning, SOP (standard operating procedure) development, field work and record keeping.
  • Supervises permanent, seasonal, volunteer, and other personnel involved in the vegetation program, but less than 25% of the time.

AREA INFORMATION: Zion National Park is located in southwestern Utah. The climate is generally hot with daytime temperatures averaging 95 to 100 in the summer and 55 in the winter. Nighttime lows range from 65 in the summer to 30 in the winter. Minimal shopping is available in Springdale, Utah located (2) miles from Park Headquarters. Full range of shopping, medical, dental, religious and recreational facilities are available in Hurricane (25 miles), St. George, (45 miles) and in Cedar City, Utah (63 miles). Elementary school (grades K-5) is available in Springdale with bus service provided. Junior high and high school is available in Hurricane with bus service provided. Dixie State University is located in St. George and Southern Utah University is located in Cedar City. Government housing is not available.

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.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • 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.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to two (2) nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • Applicants must be at least (1) 18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/12/2021-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 qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by the close of the announcement:

Basic Education Requirement:

Successful completion of a 4 year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major or specific course requirements in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines.
-OR-
A combination of education and experience which includes courses equivalent to a major, as described above (typically 24 semester hours is considered equivalent to a major in a field of study), plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must have been sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skill, and abilities required to perform General Biologist work, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4 year course of study with a major study in one of the appropriate fields.

-AND-

EXPERIENCE: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include duties such as: participating in the planning and execution of ecological or biological studies or programs which may include habitat restoration, invasive species management, or native plant propigation with a limited number of variables; performing established, standardized tests and analyses on a broad range of biological samples; conducting studies using established fact-finding and evaluation procedures; conducting long-term monitoring of biological or ecosystem components ; design, develop, test, and implement scientific monitoring protocols; developing scientifically credible protection, mitigation, and restoration projects; or developing and carrying out statistically valid data collection protocols. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: PhD or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a PhD or equivalent graduate degree in a field that is directly related to biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience: Experience and education should be computed as percentages of the overall requirements and must equal 100% when combined. Only graduate education in excess of the first 2 years is creditable when combined. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your school transcript(s) if qualifications are based on education. One year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) is considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full- time graduate study.

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

This notice is being issued to recruit personnel to occupations for which a severe shortage of candidates exists and/or a critical hiring need has been identified. To assist in filling these positions, OPM has granted agencies "Direct Hire Authority".

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Assignments may be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, volcanoes, caves, firelines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is considered by the organization as well qualified. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible.

If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

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.

Applicants will be evaluated based on how well they meet the qualification requirements.

Upon receipt of the completed application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure basic qualification requirements are met.

This vacancy will be filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under this Authority. All qualified applicants, as determined by the SHRO, will be referred for consideration. While managers and supervisors are not required to conduct interviews, it is highly recommended that they do so in order to assess the competencies of each applicant.

If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied.

If a determination is made that an applicant has inflated qualifications or experience on the resume, consideration for the position will be denied, as per OPM regulations.

National Park Service

The Department of the Interior (DOI) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission.

Please visit find a park for additional park information.

Agency contact information

Meredith Hanson
Phone
303-987-6681
Email
meredith_hanson@nps.gov
Address
Zion National Park
State Route 9
Springdale, UT 84767
US

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