Clarification from the agency

This position will be filled under the Office of Personnel Management's Direct Hire Authority and is open to all United States citizens and U.S. nationals. Veteran's preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply. All qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration for this position.

As a Biologist Senior Forensic Scientist - Ornithologist your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

• Serves as primary investigator to address research problems of fundamental interest and extraordinary difficulty that influences the activities of other scientists in Government, academic institutions, private industry, and other international organizations.
• Addresses complex research topics that often require exploration of novel techniques and state of the art technologies, and may require unconventional or novel designs, often with an interdisciplinary approach.
• Serves as the lead on research to support the wildlife forensic program. Activities include study design, collection, and evaluation of morphological population data; statistical analysis, including data processing, assessing data quality; and processing data for use in validation experiments, further analyses, and scientific presentations and publications.
• Independently conducts forensic examinations of highly complex and difficult evidence items utilizing judgment in improving upon existing methods and procedures and developing novel analytical methods such that they apply to nonstandard items.
• Provides expert technical assistance to law enforcement staff as needed for identification of wildlife parts and products in the form of photographic identification or physical identification.
• Provide expert advice and technical assistance to other professionals, agencies, tribal groups, and educational institutions on analytical techniques and applied research accomplishments across a variety of disciplines.
• Assists staff with arranging collections of fish and wildlife tissues to augment the forensic tissue and reference collection.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service. To verify registration visit SSS.gov.
• Resume and supporting documents (See How To Apply).
• Suitability for employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Drug testing position: Selectees tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.
• Medical Requirements: Selectees must pass a pre-employment medical examination and may be subject to post-employment medical examinations to determine if they are maintaining the fitness standards for this position.
• Probationary Period: Selectees may be required to successfully complete a probationary period.

Qualifications

Only experience and education obtained by 09/08/2022 will be considered.

In order to qualify for this position you must possess both the Basic Requirement and Minimum Qualification.

Basic Requirement:

1. Completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a Bachelor's or higher degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or a discipline related to fish and wildlife biology OR
2. Appropriate combination of education and experience that included completion of courses equivalent to a major field of study (24 semester hours) as in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education comparable to that normally acquired through the completion of a full four-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.

Minimum Qualification GS-13
One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility equivalent to equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of experience may include conducting examinations and analyses of a wide variety of wildlife-related evidence items to identify avian species; researching and developing new or modified examination methods and procedures to examine,
identify and compare wildlife-related evidence items; and preparing analytical reports and technical information for oral presentation or publication in peer reviewed journals.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

All applicants who submit a complete and legible application by the closing date of this vacancy announcement {or cut-off} will have their qualifications reviewed to determine if they possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the work of this position.

• Knowledge of project planning and design for complex analyses that will be applied in a forensic context.
• Skill in coordination and preparation of research projects in the form of oral presentations and written publications sufficient to present complex and novel analytical materials, as well as associated facts and recommendations to a variety of audiences, including both scientists, policy makers, and the general public.
• Knowledge of the principles, theories, and techniques of phylogenetic taxonomy, Evolutionary theory, wildlife forensics, animal behavior, and/or ecology in an interdisciplinary framework sufficient to perform independent casework analyses with minimal oversight.
• Skill in presenting scientific data related to fish and wildlife species of conservation interest to a variety of audiences including scientific peers, law enforcement staff, judicial staff, policy makers, and the general public.
• Knowledge of phylogenetic systematics, principles of taxonomic identification, and principles of evolutionary theory as applied to species and individual identification.

Applicants eligible for priority consideration under DOI's Career Transition Assistance Program/Plan, employees eligible under the Interagency Career Transition Plan (ICTAP). Eligible candidates on the Reemployment Placement List (RPL). A qualified and eligible permanent DOI employee may be selected before an ICTAP eligible.