Skip to main content
U.S. flag

Interdisciplinary Biologist, Ecologist or Fishery Biologist (Ocean Programs Coordinator)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Alaska Regional Office Natural Resources Division
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in Alaska Regional Office, in the Natural Resources Division.

This is a permanent, career or career-conditional position in the competitive service.

Government housing is not available for this position.

This position may be duty stationed in Anchorage, AK or anywhere in the United States, with approval of supervisor.

This job is concurrently open to merit candidates as #AK-1537-24-AKRO-12176232-ST.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO 11/8/23

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open date: 10/20/2023
Closed date: 11/08/2023
Location
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Salary
$47.20 - $67.38 per hour

Salary range represents lowest rate for rest of US and highest for Anchorage. Alaska duty stations will also include locality and 2.01 or 3.53% COLA.

Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Announcement number
AK-1537-AKRO-24-12176233-DE
Control number
755881500

Videos

Duties

Help

The Ocean and Coastal Program Manager (OCPM) for the Alaska Region of the National Park Service (NPS) is the technical expert for the Region on marine resource management. The Alaska Region faces numerous challenges in the marine and coastal environment in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea tied to climate change, subsistence use, visitation, shipping, coastal erosion, and others. The OCPM will serve as a critical resource to individual parks, the regional director, and national NPS working groups and teams. In addition, the OCPM will serve on a variety of external working groups and teams, scaling from local to international. Given the scope of the challenges we collectively face, critical partners include other federal agencies, the State of Alaska, Native entities, universities, NGOs, and others. The OCPM will be a leader in the collaborative stewardship of our ocean and coastal resources.

The OCPM will work specifically with parks as they develop ocean and coastal research and monitoring programs as a technical expert and facilitate partnerships and collaboration. In addition, the OCPM will strive to not only stay current on marine science but also ensure traditional knowledge is incorporated into decision-making and invest in information sharing with local communities as part of project development and resource management. This is especially important relative to subsistence issues related to marine mammal and fish harvest. The OCPM will serve as a mentor to interns, fellows, and other early career professionals and be an engaged member of the Natural Resources team in the Alaska Regional Office. This position will report to the Natural Resource Team Lead.





Requirements

Help

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.
  • 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.
  • This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing based on the collateral duty requiring firearms in the back-country or other locations for non-law enforcement reasons such as protection from animals and operation of small motorcraft.
  • Current driver's license required.
  • 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 5 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

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/08/2023-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.

To qualify for the GS 0401 Biologist position you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EDUCATION: degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must include a copy of your transcripts.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience:
Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must include a copy of your transcripts and hours worked per week in your resume.


To qualify for the GS 0408 ECOLOGIST position, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
EDUCATION: Degree: 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.

To qualify for the GS 0482 FISHERY BIOLOGIST position, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
EDUCATION: Degree: major in biological science that included: At least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology; and At least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields. (Excess course work in aquatic subjects may be used to meet this requirement when appropriate.) You must include a copy of your transcripts.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience:
courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in the animal sciences, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must include a copy of your transcripts and hours worked per week in your resume.

In addition to the individual requirements listed above, you must also meet the following:

EXPERIENCE: 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). This experience includes activities such as: coordinating and/or facilitating integrated research programs in natural and/or ocean sciences; experience in scientific research and resource management; working knowledge of business practices and experience managing agreements and cooperative projects. You must include hours worked per week in your resume. You must include hours per week worked.

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.

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.

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.

Alaska currently does not have a state income tax.

In the event of an accident while traveling in a government aircraft, the payable benefits of a private life insurance policy may be affected.

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 scuba diving, swimming, standing, walking, climbing and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur on boats or 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 area including rocky terrain, coastline, caves, estuaries, marine systems and in coastal streams. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible. Boating in open ocean and in bays will be required. Travel, up to 10 days per months, may be required by this position certain times.

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 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:
  • Administration and Management
  • Knowledge Management
  • Oral Communication
  • 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 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 or http://www.nps.gov/akso/index.cfm for additional park information.

Agency contact information

Carolyn Byrd
Phone
(907) 887-3925
Email
carolyn_byrd@nps.gov
Address
Alaska Regional Office
240 W 5th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at National Park Service, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.