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Marine Habitat Resource Specialist, ZP-0401-3 (Direct Hire)

Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This is a Direct Hire Public Notice. Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration.

Category Rating, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to this Public Notice.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
05/08/2019 to 05/14/2019
Salary
$62,236 - $111,122 per year
Pay scale & grade
ZP 3
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Mobile, AL
Arcata, CA
Long Beach, CA
Gulf Breeze, FL
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Up to 5% of domestic travel may be required for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
4 - If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you may be non-competitively promoted if you perform successfully and if recommended by management.
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
NMFS-HC-2019-0004
Control number
532897300

Duties

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This position is located in the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS), Office of Habitat Conservation (OHC) with many vacancies in Silver Spring, Maryland; Seattle, WA; Arcata, CA; Long Beach, CA; Galveston, TX; Charleston, SC; St. Petersburg, FL; Baton Rouge, LA; Mobile, AL;  Pascagoula, MS; Miami, FL; Panama City, FL; and Gulf Breeze, FL.  

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) administers NOAA’s program to manage living marine resources for commercial and recreational use. The program provides services and products to support fisheries management operations; international fisheries affairs; fishery development, trade, and industry assistance activities; protected resources and habitat conservation operations; and the scientific and technical aspects of NOAA’s marine fisheries resource programs.

An opportunity is available to join the NOAA Restoration Center, a division of the Office of Habitat Conservation within NMFS. The Restoration Center restores and promotes responsible stewardship of the nation’s coastal, marine, and migratory fish habitat. The Restoration Center focuses on four priority habitat restoration approaches, where we can have the biggest impact to fishery production, including opening rivers, reconnecting coastal wetlands, restoring shallow corals, and rebuilding shellfish populations.  

As a Marine Habitat Resource Specialist, you will perform the following duties:

  • Provide guidance to develop or implement technically sound, effective habitat restoration by assessing the impact of habitat restoration actions, developing environmental compliance documentation, and ensuring that restoration actions meet applicable environmental compliance laws.
  • Identify restoration actions that meet program priorities and align with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s goals and responsibilities under authorities such as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Oil Pollution Act.
  • Manage financial assistance awards and restoration projects to ensure programmatic and technical goals are being met.
  • Collaborate with project and program partners such as financial assistance (e.g. grant) award recipients, project principal investigators, technical monitors, state and federal natural resource trustee agencies, and other agency personnel to coordinate and advance habitat restoration efforts.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of restoration efforts through monitoring and reporting. 

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National to apply.
  • Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
  • Must be suitable for Federal employment.
  • Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
  • Qualifications requirements must be met by closing date of announcement.
  • If selected, required to complete OGE Form 450 financial disclosure.

** Category Rating, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to this Public Notice.

This position requires a Public Trust Security Clearance.

This position will be filled under the DOC Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). This system replaced the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band. 
The ZP-3 is equivalent to the GS-11/12.  

* A one year probationary period may be required.

* Payment of relocation expenses is not authorized.

* Payment of relocation incentives may be authorized.

* Payment of recruitment incentives may be authorized.

* This position is not in the bargaining unit.

College Transcript:  If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume.  You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work.  An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Applicants must meet ALL application requirements, to include a complete online resume, by 11:59 p.m. EASTERN TIME (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards.  This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position may be filled in either of the below series. Each series requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of specialized experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. You MUST meet one of the following basic education requirements:

To qualify for the 0401 series:

A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

OR

B. Combination of education an experience: courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in the animal sciences, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service.  Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.  This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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.

To qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11 level:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

  • Developing and implementing habitat restoration activities that address human impact and coastal/wetlands development on marine, estuarine, and anadromous fish habitats; and
  • Evaluating restoration program or project actions for their ability to meet environmental goals and financial requirements.

OR

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION:  3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading towards a Ph.D. degree,  Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a related discipline appropriate to the position.

OR

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of related graduate level education and specialized experience.

NOTE: Only graduate education in excess of two full years is qualifying for a combination of education and experience.

Additional information

CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible if it is determined that they have met the minimum qualifications for the position.  Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management’s Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Career Transition Guide.  

CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

  1. A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice).
  2. A copy of your SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action”, noting current position, grade level, and duty location;
  3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:                   

  1. A copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; notice of disability annuity termination; certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement;
  2. A copy of your SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action” documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc;
  3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

NOAA participates in e-Verify.  E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.

How you will be evaluated

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

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.

We will review your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position.

Veteran’s Preference does not apply to direct hire recruitment procedures.

Any selections made under this notice will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current Federal employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the civil service.




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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Agency contact information

​Sarah Maher
Phone
​703-259-9362
Email
sarah.maher@noaa.gov
Address
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
WFMO Staffing Division
601 East 12th Street
Room 1713
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
United States

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