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Research Oceanographer, ZP-1360-4 (MAP)

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

Summary

This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) with one vacancy in Seattle, WA.

This position is also announced under vacancy number OAR-PMEL-2020-0002, which is open to all US Citizens or Nationals. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
01/02/2020 to 01/31/2020
Salary
$96,656 to - $148,488 per year
Pay scale & grade
ZP 4
Location
Seattle, WA
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Up to 15% domestic or foreign travel may be required for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
4
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
OAR-PMEL-2020-0001
Control number
555503600

Duties

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As an Research Oceanographer, you will perform the following duties:

  • As a Principal Investigator, plan, organize, and execute systematic large-scale oceanographic field research programs to collect observational data using a variety of instruments and platforms.
  • Perform scientific analyses using innovative spatial or temporal analysis techniques that resolve critical issues in the understanding of natural ocean phenomena and improvement of ocean climate prediction.
  • Serve as senior expert to an oceanographic research team by developing scopes of work, overseeing technical performance requirements, and providing an authoritative source of technical guidance to ensure that the implementation of studies meets specifications and requirements for the purposes intended.
  • Prepare important scientific papers on physical and interdisciplinary oceanographic research for publication in established peer reviewed scientific journals, including the use of observational data from a variety of sources.

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).
  • Time-in-grade/band must be met by closing date of announcement.

This position requires a Low Risk 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-4 is equivalent to the GS-13/14.

NOTE: 
* A three year probationary period may be required.

* Payment of relocation expenses is not 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.

To qualify for the 1360 series:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements:

EDUCATION:

A. Degree: major study of at least 24 semester hours in oceanography or a related discipline such as physics, meteorology, geophysics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, geology, or biology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of oceanography, physics, geophysics, chemistry, mathematics, meteorology, computer science, and engineering sciences.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Applicants who qualify on the basis of major study in biology or geology must have had at least 6 semester hours in the major directly concerned with marine science or 6 semester hours in oceanography; applicants who qualify on the basis of other physical sciences or engineering must have had differential and integral calculus and at least 6 semester hours in physics.

-AND-

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: 

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-4 or GS-13:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicant must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-3 or GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: 

  • Performing research using data from conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) and other instruments;
  • Analyzing data from scientific spatial or temporal ocean climate research; and
  • Contributing to the development of scientific papers on research findings for publication in established, peer-reviewed scientific journals. 

Education

Substitution of education for specialized experience is not applicable to this vacancy.

Additional information

Well-qualified for CTAP and ICTAP eligibility includes those candidates who have been determined to exceed minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85, but otherwise may or may not be among the highly or best-qualified candidates.  Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management’s Career Transition Resources website at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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.

We will review your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position.  If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions).  However, your resume or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered.  The best-qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

  • Ability to plan, organize, and execute physic of physical and interdisciplinary oceanographic field research.
  • Ability to formulate and conduct innovative physical and interdisciplinary oceanographic research analysis.
  • Ability to serve as an expert to an oceanographic research team and provide and authoritative source of technical guidance.
  • Ability to prepare scientific papers for publication.

Due weight shall be given to performance appraisals and awards in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3), during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.


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