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Botanist

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park
This job announcement has closed

Summary

You will serve as a technical advisor in botany and vegetation management.

Pay will vary based on grade level and location. Pay range listed below:
GS-09: $66,134 to $85,971
GS-11: $69,107 to $104,016

Open to the first 101 applicants or until 09/05/2023 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
08/22/2023 to 09/05/2023
This job will close when we have received 101 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$66,134 to - $104,016 per year

Pay will vary based on location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Locations
Barstow, CA
1 vacancy
Death Valley, CA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - 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
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PW-1547-CMBO-23-12073472-MP
Control number
743983800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This job is open to: 1. Current, permanent Federal employees serving under a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service; 2. Reinstatement Eligibles; 3. I/CTAP Eligibles; 4. VEOA Eligibles; 5. Current or former time-limited employees eligible under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA); 6. former Public Land Corps Eligibles and 7. Military Spouses.

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Duties

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Some of the duties you will perform include, but are not limited to:

  • Develop and implement resources programs dealing with the management and protection of flora, plant communities, and landscapes that are pertinent to the desert environment.
  • Develop and carry out statistically valid data collection protocols for the monitoring of desert plant communities and the results of protection, mitigation, and restoration projects related to listed species and species proposed for listing.
  • In cooperation with others, design, development, testing, and implementing of protocols to identify, evaluate and do long term monitoring.
  • Develop and prepare major sections of the park resources management plan dealing with vegetation management.
  • Identify and implement control methods appropriate to weedy species including mechanical and herbicide application.
  • Implement field methods for monitoring rare plants, analyzing the data, and detecting trends.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

NOTE: Death Valley will be only hiring at the GS-11 level.

More about Mojave: Mojave preserves a diverse mosaic of ecological habitats and a 10,000 year history of human connection with the desert. Offering extensive opportunities to experience desert landscapes, the preserve promotes understanding and appreciation for the increasingly threatened resources of the Mojave Desert. This remote preserve encourages a sense of discovery and a connection to wild places. To learn more, visit: https://www.nps.gov/moja/index.htm

More about Death Valley: Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life thrives here in Death Valley. You can find colorful badlands, snow-covered peaks, beautiful sand dunes, rugged canyons, the driest and lowest spot in North America, and the hottest in the world. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. To learn more, visit: Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Assignments may be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, volcanoes, caves, firelines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.

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
  • You will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
  • 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 or supervisor 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 2 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority..

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by 11:59 PM EST when the 'applicant cut-off' is reached (which may be sooner than 09/05/2023).

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

In order to qualify for this Botanist, you must meet BOTH the Basic Educational Requirement (One of the Options) *AND* meet one of the Minimum Qualification Requirement(s) stated below.

Basic Education Requirement for Botanist GS-0430:

  • Degree: Successfully completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's in the major field of study in botany; or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany. Must provide copies of transcripts.**OR**
  • Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in botany or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany. PLUS appropriate experience or additional course work. The quality of the combination must demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of the position and is comparable to that normally acquired through the completion of a full four-year course of study with a major as described above. Must provide copies of transcripts.
**AND**

GS-09: To qualify at the grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications:
  • EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of Professional 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). This experience includes activities such as: Specialized experience is defined as vegetation management, rare plant monitoring, and weedy species control. You must include hours per week worked. -OR-
  • EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least successfully completed a full 2-years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree, master's or graduate degree equivalent to the major field of study in botany or directly related major to plant science. You must include transcripts. -OR-
  • Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. NOTE: When combining, only graduate education in excess of the 1st year is creditable. The combination may be computed by first determining the total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent of the requirement to qualify for that grade level. You must include hours per week worked and must include transcripts.
**AND/OR**

GS-11: To qualify at the grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications:
  • 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). This experience includes activities such as: study, inventory, monitoring, restoration and management of a broad range of natural resources related to vegetation, exotic and pest plant species, and sensitive plant taxa. You must include hours per week worked.-OR-
  • EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a directly related major such as botany or plant science. You must include transcripts. -OR-
  • Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. NOTE: When combining, only graduate education in excess of the 2nd year is creditable. The combination may be computed by first determining the total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent of the requirement to qualify for that grade level. You must include hours per week worked and must include transcripts.
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.

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.

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, and degree conferral (if applicable). 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

For additional information about Mojave position please contact:
Debra Hughson, Deputy Superintendent
Debra_Hughson@nps.gov
(760) 252-6105

For additional information about Death Valley position please contact:
Kevin Wilson, Aquatic Ecologist, Devils Hole Program Manager
kevin_wilson@nps.gov
(775) 537-0787 Ext 207

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.

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR ?575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.

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 Potential: 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.

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.

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 who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

  • Botany
  • Pest Control
  • Self Management
  • Technical Competence (GS-11 only)
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.

Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

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