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Student Trainee (Biological Sciences)

Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is for a Student Trainee (Biological Sciences), GS-0499-4.

Salary: The salary for each location may vary depending on locality. Locality tables may be found here.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
01/04/2021 to 01/08/2021
Salary
$15.15 to - $22.17 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 4
Locations
many vacancies in the following locations:
Decatur, AL
Whiteriver, AZ
Anderson, CA
Los Banos, CA
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Internships
Work schedule
Multiple Schedules
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
4
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
MR-21-10975974-NM-Path
Control number
588437200

Duties

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Pathways Intern NTE: This is a Pathways Internship Program position not to exceed 1 year. This position may be terminated at any time or may be extended at management's discretion without further competition if the employee remains eligible for employment in the Pathways Intern Program.

This is a Temporary Pathways Student Intern position. This appointment may be extended based on continued needs/funds for the position and the students continued eligibility for the Pathways Program. For information concerning the work schedule (e.g. part-time/full-time) and anticipated duration of the position please visit this link*.

***These positions are not anticipated to start until the timeframe of March-June of 2021. If you will have completed or will be completing all degree requirements before September of 2021 and do not plan on pursuing additional education, you will be found ineligible for this position. If there is no documentation provided with your application materials indicating that you intend on continuing your education past March of 2021, you will be found ineligible for this position.***

Duties of the position may include but are not limited to the following:

Conduct biological surveys, wetland work, and invasive plant management.

Assist in all aspects of the biology and habitat management programs to include water management, invasive species control, prairie vegetation surveys, grassland bird transects, waterbird and other biological surveys.

Assist in various aspects of the biology, habitat, and facility management programs to include biological surveys (4 square mile waterfowl and vegetative) and invasive species management (utilizing chemical, hand pulling and mechanical treatment).

Assist in water management by removing beaver dams, and banding wood ducks.

Assist in all aspects of the biology and habitat management programs to include biological surveys and invasive species management.

Assist in Lake sturgeon culture and care, water quality monitoring and management of warm water fish culture ponds general maintenance.

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
  • Resume and supporting documents (See How To Apply)
  • Suitability for employment, as determined by background investigation
  • You may required to take a drug test for this position
  • You may be required to take a medical exam for this position at your expense
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
  • Must meet Pathways eligibility requirements
  • Selectee will be required to sign a Pathways Agreement form
  • Valid state issued driver's license required
  • Wearing of official U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uniform may be required depending on location selected
  • Must designate a financial institution for direct deposit of pay prior to appointment
  • Selectee may required to obtain a watercraft/boat operators license within 90 days of being hired depending on location selected
  • See Additional Information section for link to additional conditions of employment applicable to each position advertised

Qualifications

Only experience and education obtained by 01/08/2021 will be considered.

OPM's Qualification standard: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/final-groupcoveragequalificationstandardforpathwaysprogramschedule-20d.pdf)

To be eligible for a Pathways Program internship program, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must be a student accepted for enrollment or enrolled in a degree or certificate program on at least a half-time basis and in good standing who will be continuing my education into the next semester have received a notice of acceptance for enrollment. (You are required to submit a copy of your transcript or notice of acceptance.)
  • Enrollment must be with an accredited educational institution or state-approved home school. These may include high schools, colleges, universities, technical, trade, vocational, or business schools, and state approved home school secondary and post-secondary programs.
  • Qualifying certificate programs are post-high school programs equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum.
  • Educational institutions must be accredited by organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. To see if your school is accredited, please isit: http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

Pathways Student Intern: The Department of the Interior Internship Program (Pathways) is designed to provide students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions, from high school to graduate level, with opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school.

Minimum Qualifications at the GS-04 grade level:

Completion of 2 full academic years of post-high school study or an associate's degree (as determined by the educational institution attending). OR

Possess 6 months general experience and 6 months specialized experience. General experience is defined as (1) any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Specialized experience is defined as experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: collecting and assembling biological data, assisting in performing biological studies, assisting in conducting wildlife surveys, providing scientific or outdoor recreation information to the general public and assisting with construction/maintenance on habitat restoration projects; OR

An equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education and experience. To determine qualification based on a combination of education and experience, determine total qualifying experience as a percentage of the above requirement; then determine education as a percentage of the above requirement. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant at the GS-4 grade level.

Education

PROOF OF EDUCATION: All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

To register or verify your registration go to the Selective Service System at https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx

FWS has determined that the duties of this position are not suitable for telework.

Telework: Please see additional information about each vacancy here.

Conditions of Employment: Please see additional information about each vacancy here.

Additional Vacancies: One or more positions may be filled from applications received under this announcement in the advertised office or other U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service offices in the local commuting area.

A PCS move is not authorized.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application: 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.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the basic qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you meet the basic qualifications your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience which resulted in you being listed in the highest quality category, you may lose consideration, or be assigned to a lower quality category for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

Knowledge in a variety of activities including conducting field work, collecting and specimens, water quality data, and habitat measurements, as well as administrative and general maintenance duties as needed.

Knowledge in the processing of field preserved biological specimens, including performing dissections and sample preparations.

Ability to enter field, location, and other biological and resource data, into computerized databases.

Communication skills, both verbal and written.

If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming 5-point veterans' preference, you must attach a copy of your DD-214 showing you were honorably discharged. If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must attach an SF-15," Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" in addition to the proof required by that form.


Unranked list: Applicants who meet basic eligibility criteria are listed by veterans' preference category: 10 percent or more compensable disabled veterans, 10-point preference eligible veterans, 5-point preference eligible veterans and non-preference eligible veterans. Agencies must consider the candidates in the highest preference group first. Agencies cannot select nonpreference eligible veterans until the preference eligible veterans are exhausted or the agency has gone through the proper pass over procedures with respect to the remaining preference eligible veterans
§ 302.302 Examination of applicants.
(a)Eligibility. An evaluation of the qualifications of applicants for positions covered by this part may be conducted at any time before an appointment is made. The evaluation may involve only determination of eligibility or ineligibility or may include qualitative rating of candidates. If the evaluation involves only basic eligibility numerical scores will not be assigned and eligible candidates will be referred in accordance with the procedures described in paragraph (b)(5) of § 302.304.

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