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Wildlife Biologist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located in the Pacific Northwest Region, Region 6 on the Umatilla, Malheur or Wallow-Whitman National Forest in Pendleton, OR.

Responsible for managing the programs for Wildlife, Threatened, Endangered, Sensitive Wildlife Species (TES), and provides programmatic guidance for all wildlife & TES resource activities on the Forest.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Marin Palmer at 971-275-2335 and marin.palmer@usda.gov.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/21/2023 to 11/28/2023
Salary
$82,830 to - $82,830 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Pendleton, OR
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel with overnight lodging will be required for meetings, trainings, workshops, and field/site visits and reviews.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
24-R6-GVA-12207790-DP-BE
Control number
761437400

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Duties

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  • Serves as the Forest wildlife representative and provides overall leadership, coordination, planning, and implementation of the wildlife and TES programs.
  • Reviews and provides guidance for the development of wildlife management plans and/or habitat management plans to ensure adherence to established laws, regional and local policies, and Forest Service regulations and standards.
  • Inspects habitat improvement projects for compliance with approved plans and recommends habitat protection or improvements.
  • Serves as the budget coordinator in assigned program areas and leads development of the budget and annual program of work.
  • Participates on interdisciplinary teams for evaluating the impact of Forest Service or non-Forest Service activities on National Forest System lands.
  • Conducts and monitors special studies on the habitat of unique, rare, threatened and endangered species.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

Basic Requirement:
GS-0486 Wildlife Biologist Education Degree: biological science that included: At least 9 semester hours in such wildlife subjects as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research courses in the field of wildlife biology; AND At least 12 semester hours in zoology in such subjects as general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology, parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects (Excess courses in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where appropriate.); AND At least 9 semester hours in botany or the related plant sciences.

Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), with at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects, 12 semester hours in zoology, and 9 semester hours in botany or related plant science, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement
For the GS-12: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as one or more of the following: Studied, planned, and proposed wildlife management activities and coordinated/implemented approved resource management plans such as habitat improvement projects; planned and conducted studies/projects, follow-up investigations, and evaluations, and recommended preventative or mitigative actions based on these studies; and/or prepared environmental assessments based on analysis of study findings on the effects of management activities on wildlife resources.

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.

Your resume must clearly document the following for each block of work experience; the beginning day, month and year the work assignment started and ended; the hours worked per week; position title, and series and grade if applicable; and description of duties performed. This information must be provided for each permanent, temporary, or seasonal appointment/work assignment or volunteer work and should be clearly documented as a separate block of time. Incomplete, inaccurate, or conflicting work history may not be credited for qualifications purposes. This can result in an applicant not being considered for the position.

Education

There is no substitution of education for specialized experience.

Additional information

The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/

This is a bargaining unit position and is represented by either NFFE, AFGE, or NAGE.

This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. You will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Individuals with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12207790

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