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Physical Scientist

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, in the Resource Management Division. The incumbent serves as a technical advisor in the physical sciences and is responsible for program development and implementation related to abandoned mineral lands, non-federal natural gas operations, geology, soils, hydrology, and related fields and activities.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
09/12/2023 to 10/03/2023
Salary
$69,107 to - $89,835 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Glen Jean, WV
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Term - NOT TO EXCEED: 4 YEARS.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
NE-1612-NERI-23-12120179-ST
Control number
748358200

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Duties

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MAJOR DUTIES MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING:

  • Coordinates an abandoned mineral lands mitigation, restoration, and monitoring program for two park units.
  • Coordinates oversight of non-federal natural gas operations and ensures compliance with federal regulations and agency policies for one park unit.
  • Builds relationships and collaborates with other federal agencies, state agencies, and non-governmental organizations to plan, fund, and implement complex mitigation and restoration projects to protect resources and human health and safety.
  • Identifies research needs, prepares requests for proposals, and provides oversight for research projects.
  • Designs, develops, tests, and implements scientific monitoring protocols to identify, evaluate, and do long-term monitoring of physical and abiotic resources and conditions.
  • Writes new monitoring documents that define monitoring techniques and develops methods for future refinements of protocols.
  • Develops and carries out statistically valid data collection protocols for the monitoring of physical resources and the results of protection, mitigation, and restoration projects.
  • Performs data collection using the latest automated technology such as field electronic data collectors; and carries out quality control checks on data entry performed by others.
  • Conducts analysis of complex data; determines and documents the significance of findings.
  • Prepares management and scientific reports regarding the results of protection, mitigation, restoration, inventory, monitoring, and research activities. Summarizes new information for use by the scientific community, park staff, cooperators, and partners.
  • Incorporates appropriate technology to provide comprehensive and scientifically sound answers to inquiries from managers and others.
  • Uses automatic methods of data collection, analysis or illustration; inputs data into digital form and uses computer applications for data
    analysis, manipulation, and presentation.

NOTE: Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid if the person selected for the position is from outside the local commuting area and is otherwise eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses under the Federal Travel Regulations. Please read Federal Travel regulations 302-2.6 for requirements on relocation eligibility and relocation expenses entitlements.

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.
  • DIRECT DEPOSIT: Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • TIME-IN-GRADE: 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.
  • DRIVER'S LICENSE: 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.
  • UNIFORM: You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • WORK SCHEDULE: You may be required to work evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: 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 complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/03/2023-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

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.

YOU MUST MEET THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS AND MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE GS-11 GRADE LEVEL.


BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

A.) Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics;

OR

B.) Combination of education and experience which included courses equivalent to a major in any of the fields listed in A above that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science plus appropriate experience or additional education.


GS-11 GRADE LEVEL QUALIFICATIONS: 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). This experience includes activities such as: (1) assessing conditions and hazards of abandoned mine sites and features, such as portals, impoundments, structures, and spoil piles, and developing mitigation recommendations to protect resources and human safety; (2) planning, implementing, and monitoring projects to mitigate, reclaim, or restore sites in order to reduce safety hazards and resource impacts from past mineral exploration, extraction, and processing; and (3) working with staff from other federal, agencies, state agencies, and non-governmental organizations to plan, fund, and implement complex projects. YOU MUST INCLUDE HOURS PER WEEK WORKED.

OR


EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a directly related field of study. YOU MUST INCLUDE TRANSCRIPTS.

OR

Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. YOU 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.

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

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.

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, 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, fire lines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.

TELEWORK: 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.

CTAP/ICTAP: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) 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 eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP. 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. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

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:

  • Geotechnical Engineering
  • Partnering
  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Project Management
  • Written Communication


The occupational questionnaire includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

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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