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Interdisciplinary Biologist/Ecologist/Physical Scientist (Ecosystem Modeler)

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

Summary

This position is located in Everglades National Park, in the South Florida Natural Resource Division.


Open to the first 100 applicants or until 10/25/2023 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
09/25/2023 to 10/25/2023
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$73,639 to - $136,440 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Homestead, FL
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
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
SE-1628-EVER-23-12130794-DE
Control number
750976300

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Duties

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Conduct an intricate hydrologic and climate change applied research program that involves complex resilience and sustainability issues in a large watershed while using a diverse set of methods, tools, and approaches, including a combination of field-based studies, laboratory experiments, and modeling.

Lead and participate in all assigned aspects of large scale restoration projects implementing the Resist, Accept, and Direct (RAD) framework and providing technical recommendations as appropriate. Assess how the selected restoration project will potentially mitigate the effects of climate change.

Routinely analyze climatological and hydrologic models results from climate change perspectives and provide guidance on current and planned water management activities.

Communicate with peers and non peers to disseminate the results from the technical analysis. Prepare technical reports and factsheets to provide sound answers to inquiries from managers.

Coordinate with other scientists on collaborative investigations.

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 may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to 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 discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • 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 will be required to complete a one-year trial period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1 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.
  • The position to which you will be appointed is subject to a financial disclosure reporting requirement and you will be required to complete a new entrant Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of your appointment.

Qualifications

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.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/25/2023-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

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 REQUIREMENT FOR 0401: successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelors or higher degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor or higher degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR 0408: 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/45 quarter hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester/14 quarter hours in ecology and 12 semester/18 quarter hours in physical and mathematical sciences.

BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR 1301: successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in 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 combination of education and experience with education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement for each series, you must also possess the specialized experience for the position:

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level:


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). Examples of qualifying experience include:1) partnering with other scientists to conduct climate change applied research projects in a large watershed using a diverse set of methods, tools, and approaches, including a combination of field-based studies, laboratory experiments, and modeling, 2) downscaling climate model outputs, acquiring downscaled datasets, identifying the best subset of climate models for local-scales and projecting impacts of climate change on a large scale ecosystem using regional-scale hydrologic and ecological models, 3) analyzing climatological, hydrologic and ecological models output results from climate change perspectives. 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. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take education percentage. 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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level:
EXPERIENCE:
At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of qualifying experience include: 1) conducting climate change applied research projects in a large watershed while using a diverse set of methods, tools, and approaches, including a combination of field-based studies, laboratory experiments, and modeling, 2) downscaling climate model outputs, acquiring downscaled datasets, identifying the best subset of climate models for local-scales and projecting impacts of climate change on a large scale ecosystem using regional-scale hydrologic and ecological models, 3) analyzing climatological, hydrologic and ecological models results from climate change perspectives, 4) assessing climate vulnerabilities and risks of a large ecosystem, and 5) conducting research focusing on hydrologic processes and extremes spanning multiple spatial and temporal scales to examine how climate change affects the timing and intensity of storms, floods, droughts, and heat waves. You must include hours per week worked.

To qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level:
At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of qualifying experience include: 1) conducting an intricate climate change applied research program that involves complex resilience and sustainability issues in a large watershed while using a diverse set of methods, tools, and approaches, including a combination of field-based studies, laboratory experiments, and modeling, 2) downscaling climate model outputs, acquiring downscaled datasets, identifying the best subset of climate models for local-scales and projecting impacts of climate change on a large scale ecosystem using regional-scale hydrologic and ecological models, 3) analyzing climatological, hydrologic and ecological models results from climate change perspectives and providing guidance on current and planned water management activities , 4) assessing climate vulnerabilities and risks of a large ecosystem, 5) coordinating with different agencies to establish consensus, and 6) conducting research focusing on hydrologic processes and extremes spanning multiple spatial and temporal scales to examine how climate change affects the timing and intensity of storms, floods, droughts, and heat waves.You must include hours per week worked.

Education

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.

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.

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 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 is typically performed in an office setting with no special physical demands. However, work may also be performed in the field which involves periods of walking, bending, climbing, or driving motor vehicles to worksites. The work may also involve some overnight travel for training, meetings, and site visits.

Working Conditions: The work involves intermittent exposure to moderate risks, discomforts, and unpleasantness such as: high noise levels, infectious materials, or toxic or irritating chemicals; travel in safety approved small aircraft and watercraft; high winds and low or high temperatures; infestation of dangerous reptiles or poisonous plants, snakes, or insects; adverse weather conditions; noxious fumes; flammable liquids; or radiation.

The work involves performing tasks in close proximity to rotating heavy mechanical and electrical machinery and may involve working within confined spaces for extensive periods of time. Special safety precautions such as protective clothing and gear are necessary. Safety precautions and protocols are observed at all times and the scientist complies with safety instructions and regulations and ensures individual and others' safety by promptly reporting unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, and accidents to the supervisor.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework following the agency policy 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 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:
  • Communications and Media
  • Computer Skills
  • Hydrology
  • Mathematical Reasoning
  • Research
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Technical Competence

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 resume review panel. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

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