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Biologist

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

Summary

This position is being advertised concurrently under Merit Promotion announcement #: IM-1539-ROMO-22-11269024-ST.

This position is located in Rocky Mountain National Park, in the Resource Stewardship Division.


Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
10/21/2021 to 10/22/2021
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$47,895 - $76,160 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Location
Rocky Mountain National Park
Estes Park, CO
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
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
11
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
IM-1539-ROMO-22-11269023-DE
Control number
618057500

Duties

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Develop and maintain knowledge of past and on-going research and science through a variety of communication types to internal and external audiences. Uses computer software such as adobe creative suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premier Pro etc.) to design publications, brochures, posters, videos, and podcasts. Develop and maintain written and audio-visual content for the Continental Divide Research Learning Center and RMNP website using CMS (Content Management System). Plan, coordinate, and facilitate workshops and conferences to share information among park staff, cooperating agencies, and scientific collaborators. Draft written science-based products such as succinct fact sheets, research briefs, summary reports, newsletter and magazine articles, and peer reviewed manuscripts. Management of the Research Learning Center Field Station. This includes providing logistical support to researchers and guests by assisting with housing reservations, providing connections to other park staff, acquiring and maintaining equipment and supplies, and providing area orientation for project personnel.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying of 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 concentrated and trite 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 rocky terrain, artic environments, and forests. Flying in fixed and rotary wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.

Area Information: Established on January 29, 1915, Rocky Mountain National Park is a living showcase of the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. The park embraces 415 square miles of pristine, uninhabited mountains in north-central Colorado and, as such, is one of the most spectacular, yet easily accessible high mountain areas in North America. With elevations ranging from 7,800 feet at park headquarters to 14,259 feet at the summit of Longs Peak, the park has glacier-sculptured valleys, rugged gorges, alpine lakes, and vast areas of alpine tundra. Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved continuous road in the United States, stays above tree line for 11 miles and reaches 12,183 feet in elevation. Elk, deer, bighorn sheep, moose, coyotes, and smaller animals are found throughout the park, as well as threatened and endangered species, such as the Greenback Cutthroat Trout and Boreal Toad. Due to the park's easy accessibility to the Front Range communities of Colorado, Rocky experiences over 4 million visitors annually. This position will be filled on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. The nearest community is Estes Park, CO, which has K-12 schools, a post office, restaurants, medical facilities, and grocery stores. Denver, CO which has a major airport, cultural events, and several professional sports teams is a two hour drive away.
Government housing may be available on a temporary or permanent basis. Housing assignments are made through a bid process.

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 operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also 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 disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
  • 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 occasionally. 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.
  • You will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 on an annual basis.
  • 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-11/03/2021-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.

To be eligible for this position, you must meet both the basic requirement and the qualifying specialized experience and/or education as well as selective factors as described in the occupational/assessment questionnaire and as outlined below.

BASIC REQUIREMENT (ALL GRADES): This occupation has a specific basic requirement to be met by the close of the announcement. It is your responsibility to show how you satisfy the course requirements for this series. You must submit your college transcripts that demonstrate the requirements with your application. Failure to include your transcripts will make you ineligible for this position. Official transcripts will be requested, if selected.

Successfully completed a full four-year course of study at an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to this position.
-OR-
A combination of education and experience that included course work equivalent to a major plus appropriate experience or additional education.

- AND -

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of specialized experience include: assisting with developing science communication products for review by supervisor or in an education or classroom setting such as developing a science based newsletter; writing science based content for wide audiences; utilizing scientific principles, methods, and processes used to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry including study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; or assisting with developing, testing and implementing scientific monitoring protocols to identify, evaluate, and do long-term monitoring of natural resources. Experience equivalent to the GS-5 may be professional work at the developmental or trainee level. Lower graded technician/assistant work alone is not qualifying for this series. You must provide hours/week and to/from dates (mo/yr) on your resume.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one year of progressively higher-level graduate education from an accredited educational institution concentrated in a field that is directly related to the work of the position to be filled, such as in ecology, biology, zoology, botany, natural resource management; or other directly related subject matter. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester (27 quarter) hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study. You must provide transcripts that demonstrate graduate level coursework.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, I have six months of the specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), and 9 semester hours or 14 quarter hours of appropriate directly related graduate education (50 percent of the education requirement). The total percentage must equal at least 100%. You must provide transcripts that demonstrate graduate level coursework.
-OR-
Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.): be in the upper third of my graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR I have a GPA 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum, or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in my major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; OR I am a member in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. You must provide transcripts that show GPA or class standing and/or documentation that supports national scholastic honor society membership.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE:
At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of specialized experience include: developing a science-based newsletter, writing science-based content for wide audiences, developing videos on science or resource-based content; develop, test, and implement scientific monitoring protocols to identify, evaluate, and do long-term monitoring of natural resources. Experience equivalent to the GS-7 may be professional work at the developmental or trainee level. Lower graded technician/assistant work alone is not qualifying for this series. You must provide hours/week and to/from dates (mo/yr) on your resume.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited educational institution concentrated in a field that is directly related to the work of the position to be filled such as ecology, biology, zoology, botany, natural resource management; or other directly related subject matter. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study. You must provide transcripts that demonstrate graduate level coursework.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience. For example, I have six months of the specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), and 27 semester hours or 41 quarter hours of appropriate directly related graduate education (50 percent of the education requirement). The total percentage must equal at least 100%. You must provide transcripts that demonstrate graduate level coursework.

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.

One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.

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.

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.

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

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

Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

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

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

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11269023, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position.

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. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed below that are required to successfully perform the job.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Communications and Media
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Partnering
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Research
  • Self-Management
  • Teamwork
  • Writing
  • Decision Making
  • Reading
  • Reasoning
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:
  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.

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

Heather Quint
Email
heather_quint@nps.gov
Address
Rocky Mountain National Park
1000 Highway 36
Estes Park, CO 80517
US

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