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Biological Science Technician (Wildlife) Bears

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Pacific West Region (Interior Regions 8,9,10 and 12) - Yosemite National Park
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located in Yosemite National Park, in the Resource Management and Science Division.

The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period for Yosemite National Park is April-May, but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: April 2022.

Open to the first 250 applicants or until 11/29/2021 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
11/22/2021 to 11/29/2021
This job will close when we have received 250 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$15.10 to - $24.49 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 4 - 6
Location
Yosemite National Park, CA
8 vacancies
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - Not to exceed 1039 hours
Work schedule
Multiple Schedules
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PW-1548-SR-21-11252720-DE
Control number
620867700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

The Pacific West Region is recruiting for TEMPORARY seasonal positions not to exceed 1039 hours work in a service year. Dates of employment will vary between park sites depending on funding, weather conditions and visitation. Within regulatory limitations, the length of initial appointment may be shortened or extended depending on work availability and funding.

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Duties

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GS-4 Level: The incumbent's duties include: assisting with trapping, tagging, collaring, translocating or euthanizing bears involved in conflicts with humans and tracking bears; recording capture and patrol data, collecting numbers, distribution, reproductive success, habitat use, survival and behavior of various animal species including those species legally classified as threatened, endangered or sensitive; using GPS technology to navigate and collect data; following instructions and standardized procedures.

GS-5 Level: Incumbent's duties include: assist wildlife biologist with wildlife management including bear and other large carnivore speciies; trapping, tagging, collaring and tracking bears. Participates in park's bear management program including the capture, data collection, and translocation or euthanizing of bears involved in conflicts with humans and using firearms to fire nonlethal rounds at large mammals to move them out of developed areas. collects data on numbers, distribution, reproductive success, habitat use, survival, and behavior of various animal species, especially those species legally classified as threatened, endangered, or sensitive; contacts park visitors to provide information about wildlife issues and to correct problems that may lead to human-wildlife conflicts; enters collected data into computer files and assists with statistical analyses; coordinates activities of volunteers, contractors, researchers, and other personnel involved in wildlife projects; and prepares correspondence and presentations regarding wildlife projects.

GS-6 Level: The incumbent serves as an assistant field lead in support of the Bear Management Program under supervision of that program's lead managers. S/he provides technical assistance to design and implement bear and other wildlife management actions to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, usually in developed areas of the park. These actions include: patrolling to detect bears and food storage violations, usually at night; capture and anesthesia of bears to tag, fitting radio and GPS collars, and collect physiological data; euthanizing bears that are a clear threat to human safety; using firearms to fire nonlethal rounds at large mammals to move them out of developed areas. The incumbent participates in technical meetings; s; drafts documents such as technical reports, environmental assessments, research or contract proposals, and management reports; resents proposals, results, and management issues associated with wildlife species.

Yosemite National Park, California, known worldwide for its spectacular natural beauty is the backdrop for this position. Sitting astride the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the park covers 1,182 square miles of varied wilderness ecosystems, from river valleys to alpine meadows to lofty 13,000 foot high peaks. Yosemite Valley is located 208 miles from San Francisco, 81 miles from Merced, and 94 miles from Fresno. Shopping, medical, postal and laundry services are available in the park. Elevation at the Valley floor is approximately 4,000 feet and 2,200 feet in El Portal. The park is open year-round with the majority of activities occurring during the busy season March through October.

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 will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use. GS-05/06 ONLY.
  • You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
  • You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.
  • Travel, transportation & relocation expenses will not be paid. Relocation expenses will be the employee's responsibility.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by 11:59 EST when the applicant cut-off is reached (which may be sooner than 11/29/2021).

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.

SELECTIVE FACTOR: This position performs strenuous work with large carnivores, primarily bears, and therefore the following experience is required.

  • Ability to Perform Strenuous Duties (All Grade Levels) - working in extreme weather conditions, walking over rough terrain, carrying loads up to 50 pounds and working at night.
  • Specialized Experience with Large Carnivores (All Grade Levels) - tracking. trapping, tagging and collaring large carnivores with radio telemetry, qualifying species are coyotes, wolves and bears.
  • Specialized Experience with Anesthesia and Preparing Pharmaceutical Mixtures (GS-6 Grade Level Only) - experience with preparing the specified mixtures for wildlife, qualifying species are bears, wolves and coyotes.
  • Specialized Experience with Shotgun Hazing (GS-6 Grade Level Only) - experience using a shotgun with less than lethal rounds.
Candidates who do not meet the requirements by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. Indicate this type of experience within your resume.

To qualify for this position at the GS-04 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
EXPERIENCE: At least 6 months of general work experience AND 6 months of specialized work experience. Qualifying specialized work experience must include: assisting wildlife biologists with wildlife management including bear and other large carnivore species; trapping, tagging, collaring, and tracking large carnivores with radio telemetry (Qualifying species: Cougars, Coyotes, Wolves, and Bears); writing reports on data collected; assisting in wildlife capture and immobilization; and organizing and preparing wildlife capture equipment. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 2 full years of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 12 semester hours in any combination of scientific or technical courses such as wildlife management, biology, animal husbandry, chemistry, botany, entomology, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. The coursework MUST include at least 6 semester hours in wildlife management courses. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the amount of completed post high school education requirement and convert it to a percentage. Then take the number of months of full time general experience and specialized experience and convert them into a percentage of each. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 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-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: assisting wildlife biologists with wildlife management including bear and other large carnivore species; trapping, tagging, collaring, and tracking large carnivores with radio telemetry (Qualifying species: Cougars, Coyotes, Wolves, and Bears); writing reports on data collected; assisting in wildlife capture and immobilization; and organizing and preparing wildlife capture equipment. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 4 full years of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of scientific or technical courses such as wildlife management, biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. The coursework MUST include at least 6 semester hours in wildlife management courses. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. Only education completed above the first 60 semester hours will count towards the qualifying amount of required education. You must include transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-06 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-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: assisting wildlife biologists with wildlife management including bear and other large carnivore species; trapping, tagging, collaring, and tracking large carnivores with radio telemetry (Qualifying species: Cougars, Coyotes, Wolves, and Bears); writing reports on data collected; assisting in wildlife capture and immobilization; and organizing and preparing wildlife capture equipment. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full year (18 semester hours) of graduate level education leading towards a Master's Degree with a major study in any combination of scientific or technical courses such as wildlife management, biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the amount of qualifying education and convert it to a percentage of the full 1 year requirement. Then take the number of months of full time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

ICTAP/CTAP Statement:
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.

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

Questions about this Job:
Yosemite National Park

Caitlin Lee-Roney
Caitlin_lee-roney@nps.gov
(209) 347-0518

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 or 1730 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).

If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.

The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.

Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.

Physical Demands: The work requires physical exertion as a regular and recurring walking, hiking, or climbing over wet, rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces, bending, crouching, stooping, lifting or reaching to observe, collect, or record field data, or in some situations the work may require physical exertion to scuba dive or operate a boat. Heavy items (e.g., equipment and packs up to 50 pounds) must be lifted and carried on a routine basis.

Working Conditions: The work is performed in an office or outdoors. The work performed involved regular and recurring exposure to extreme weather conditions and terrain, poisonous plants, biting insects and wild animals.

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.

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.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. 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 two categories:

  • 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:
  • Data Management
  • Leadership GS-05 and 06 only
  • Oral Communication
  • Technical Competence GS-06 only
  • Wildlife Biology

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