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Ecologist

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

Summary

This position is located in Channel Islands National Park, in the Natural Resource Management Division.

**ANNOUNCEMENT EXTENDED TO 03/11/2022 from 03/08/2022**

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
03/02/2022 to 03/11/2022
Salary
$51,444 - $98,970 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Ventura, CA
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PW-1547-CHIS-22-11398232-DE
Control number
639028600

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Duties

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  • Leads Channel Islands National Park's long-term ecological kelp forest monitoring program to determine the status of living marine resources. Incumbent safely conducts and leads a team of scientific divers utilizing SCUBA and surface-supplied air diving on multi-day offshore dive trips to collect data on abundance, distribution and size of over 100 species of marine taxa including fish, invertebrates and algae using a variety of established monitoring protocols.
  • Conducts and oversees record keeping and all aspects of data management including data collection, entry, management, and quality control at all levels.
  • Applies knowledge of marine ecology while utilizing computers, database and statistical software to prepare data and conduct complex statistical analysis of long-term complex datasets to write field reports, technical reports and scientific peer reviewed publications.
  • Coordinate, develop and nurture collaborations and partnerships with State, Federal agencies, universities, and stakeholders too accomplish all aspects of long-term monitoring and marine resources management.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

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.
  • 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.
  • If you are a new employee 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 15 nights per month.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
  • 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.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-03/11/2022.

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 EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: Successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in 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 must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences. You must include a copy of your transcripts at the time of application.
- AND -
SELECTIVE FACTOR: This position performs open water and scientific diving, and a current SCUBA diving certification from a recognized organization such as (1) Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI); (2) National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI); OR (3) scientific diving certification from an organization such as American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS); AND I have a minimum of 250 cold water open ocean kelp forests dives logged; AND I am able to meet all Department of the Interior, National Park Service diving standards within 30 days of entrance on duty is required. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position.
- AND -
To qualify for this position at the GS-07 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) assisting with inventory and monitoring related water resource studies using established procedures; carrying out statistically valid data collection protocols for the monitoring of water resources; performing data collection using the latest automated technology such as stream gauges and electronic data collectors; assisting with analysis of water resource data; preparing reports regarding the results of inventory, monitoring, and research activities; assisting with ecological or water resources programs with similar activities on adjacent lands; identifying water resource research needs and supporting oversight for research projects. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate level education in directly related to water resources including but not limited to biology, ecology, zoology, marine biology, or fisheries biology. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: Bachelor's degree (with major study in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry or another field of study directly related to the duties of this position) and superior academic achievement. (1) Class Standing: rank in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision; OR (2) Grade-Point Average: earn a grade-point average of (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on the transcript, or as computed based on four years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final two years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B " or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field, or the required courses completed during the final two years of the curriculum. Note: grade-point averages will be rounded to the one decimal place, for example, 2.95 = 3.0, 2.94 = 2.9, and 3.45 = 3.5; OR (3) Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society: elect membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. Freshman scholastic honor societies cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. NOTE: to be found qualified under this option, you must submit transcripts (official or unofficial) or other documentation to verify that your education meets Superior Academic Achievement.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts.
-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) conducting some aspects of a subtidal biological marine monitoring using SCUBA and/or surface-supplied air techniques such as monitoring abundance and distribution of algae, invertebrates and fish, data entry and quality control, setting up and managing field equipment associated with biological monitoring of subtidal natural resources. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree at an accredited college or university in biology, ecology, zoology, marine biology, or fisheries biology. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts.
-AND-
To qualify for this position at the GS-11 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-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) conducting all aspects of a subtidal biological marine. Manage natural resources related to fisheries or aquatic organisms under such mandates as the ESA, National Environmental Policy act, Clean Water Act or the California Environmental Quality Act. Use SCUBA and/or surface-supplied air techniques such as monitoring abundance and distribution of algae, invertebrates and fish, data entry and quality control, setting up and managing field equipment associated with biological monitoring of subtidal natural resources. For example, experience conducting, coordinating, leading, and administering subtidal marine inventory and monitoring programs for a variety of species and executing a wide variety of field techniques pertaining to monitoring marine species in an underwater environment. Experience includes conducting remote field marine biological monitoring utilizing SCUBA and/or surface-supplied air to conduct protocols such as quadrats, band transects, random point contacts, fish transects, fish counts, video counts: following established protocols; managing complex biological data using computer software (such as Microsoft Access, SQL, Excel, and Word); and analyzing and presenting complex long-term data sets utilizing software such as R. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree at an accredited college or university in biology, ecology, zoology, marine biology, or fisheries biology. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts.

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.

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.

Additional information

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.

Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

Physical Demands: The work requires some physical exertion such as long periods of standing; walking over rough, uneven or rocky surfaces; recurring bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, reaching or similar activities; and recurring lifting of moderately heavy items.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and occasionally outdoors with moderate risks.

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.

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 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:
  • Ecology
  • Fishery Biology
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Research
  • Teaching Others
  • Writing


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessments, including a panel resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

National Park Service

The Department of the Interior (DOI) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission.

Please visit find a park for additional park information.

Agency contact information

David Kushner
Phone
(805) 658-5773
Email
david_kushner@nps.gov
Address
Channel Islands National Park
1901 Spinnaker Drive
Ventura, CA 93001
US

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