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Physical Scientist/Ecologist (aquatic)

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

Summary

This position is located in Interior Regions 1, 2, and 4, in the Inventory and Monitoring Division.

This will be a Career/Career Conditional appointment.

Open to the first 100 applicants or until 11/26/2019 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
11/19/2019 to 11/26/2019
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$54,095 to - $70,319 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Athens, GA
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
SE-1618-SERO-20-10640187-DE
Control number
552112900

Duties

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The employee will serve as stream habitat monitoring lead for the National Park Service, Southeast Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network (SECN) based in Athens, Georgia. This position is chiefly responsible for the implementation and oversight of stream habitat monitoring within the SECN. The incumbent is responsible for coordinating, and participating in, the collection of stream habitat data and other samples as needed (e.g. water chemistry, continuous monitoring loggers, and macroinvertebrates), and evaluation of quality assurance compliance.

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. 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.
  • 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 5-12 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/26/2019-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.

Basic Requirements Ecology Series, 0408:

Degree: biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences.

Basic Requirement General Physical Science Series, 1301:

Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

- AND -

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). This experience includes activities such as: Scheduling and implementing stream habitat monitoring fieldwork and overall monitoring effort, Maintaining surveying equipment (i.e., Total Station, GPS, range finders, etc.) and all material components associated with monitoring effort, Training rotating/seasonal field staff and other SECN technicians on stream habitat monitoring field methods, Communicating and coordinating monitoring effort with park staff and insuring that fieldwork is conducted safely and efficiently, Managing, processing, and analyzing data collected during field visits, Producing routine annual reports with basic statistics and summary figures for the monitored streams to inform network and park staff of resource condition, Providing GIS and spatial data management assistance in support of a variety of terrestrial and aquatic inventory and monitoring efforts. You must include hours per week worked.

-OR-

EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least master's or equivalent graduate degree, or two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. You must include transcripts.

-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

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 incumbent must possess the physical strength and stamina to perform this work under environmental conditions commonly found in the Southeastern United States. Field work will require hiking or climbing over rolling or rocky terrain highly vegetated areas, exposure to adverse weather conditions such as heat and humidity, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Lifting and carrying heavy objects to and from field sites is routines. A significant portion of time will aslo be spent in an office setting, and involve data management, documentary research and report writing.

Working Conditions: Work in this position will involve both field work and office work. The employee is occasionally exposed to moderate discomfort such as extremes of heat and cold, and inclement weather during field trips or data collections.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

ICTAP/CTAP: 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 rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies. 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.

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.

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.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
  • Attention to Detail
  • Ecology
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application
  • Writing

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