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Wildlife Biologist

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our greatest natural resource.

These locations are at multiple BLM Offices through out the state of California. You're encouraged to research the location best suited to your needs prior to submitting the application.

We expect to fill several vacancies throughout California.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/20/2023 to 01/03/2024
Salary
$57,118 to - $89,835 per year

Listed salary is based on the Rest of U.S. pay scale. Final salary will be determined based on duty location and applicable locality pay scale.

Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Bakersfield, CA
Barstow, CA
El Centro, CA
Galt, CA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Travel and relocation expenses will be paid consistent with the Federal Travel Regulation, Chapter 302, and Departmental policy. Selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. See "Other" section for additional information on 2017 Tax Cuts as related to PCS.
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
CAMP-23-12248560-AA
Control number
767219900

Duties

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  • GS-09: Assisting in preparing, evaluating and conducting biological analysis of land and water resource projects.
  • Working closely with and assisting senior specialist with coordinating and consulting with Tribal, State, special interest groups and other federal agencies.
  • Serving on interdisciplinary teams where in collaboration with other specialists writes and reviews biological input to environmental assessments, biological assessments, and development of protective stipulations, and resource management plans.
  • Participating in monitoring wildlife development projects by providing input to interdisciplinary reports, environmental assessments and protective stipulations for threatened and endangered species.
  • GS-11: Reviews the recommendations and data input from the Field/District offices on wildlife issues.
  • Works closely with the Lead Wildlife Biologist in the District/State Office on coordination with local interest groups, Tribal Councils, and other Federal agencies.
  • Serves on district/field level interdisciplinary teams responsible for writing and reviewing multi-field office required biological input to environmental/biological assessments, development of protective stipulations, and resource management plans.
  • Is responsible for identification of impacts to wildlife habitat and Threatened and Endangered species by other resource activities.
  • Assisting in designing and implementing habitat improvement and restoration projects, specifically in wetlands, riparian forest, oak savanna and woodland habitats.
  • Conducting wildlife (i.e. waterfowl and shorebirds, raptors) and habitat (i.e. wetland, riparian, oak woodland) surveys.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Be sure to read the 'How to Apply' and 'Required Documents' Sections.
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
  • Direct Deposit Required.
  • Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
  • Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
  • May require a one year probationary period.

Qualifications

In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the qualification requirements - please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

For GS-09: In addition to meeting the education requirement, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-07 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples: Planning and conducting wildlife field inventories and monitoring studies. Interpreting data and assisting in preparing wildlife management plans. Preparing reports. Recommending habitat management practices.-OR- Education: Two years of graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree in wildlife biology or a directly related field.- OR- Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

For GS-11: In addition to meeting the education requirement, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-09 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples: Preparing wildlife portions of environmental assessments. Analyzing surface use proposals on Threatened & Endangered Species. Planning and conducting wildlife field inventories and monitoring studies. Interpreting data & preparing wildlife management plans.-OR- Education: Three years of graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in wildlife biology or a directly related field.- OR- Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

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.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level.

Physical Demands: The individual works in an office setting, however, in order to gather samples and complete monitoring activities, the individual frequently may be required to walk or ride vehicles over rough terrain, perform duties that require recurring bending, crouching, stooping, reaching or lifting. Work may also include lifting of moderately heavy items, such as equipment and samples.

Work Environment: Much of the work is performed in an office setting, however, frequent field work is necessary to complete the work involving outdoor exposure. Outdoor exposure involves some discomfort in extremes of temperature or inclement weather. The incumbent may be subjected to hostile wildlife, chemical and physical hazards

Education

This position has a positive education requirement which requires that you have a degree in biological science that includes:

  • At least 9 semester hours in such wildlife subjects as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research courses in the field of wildlife biology; AND
  • At least 12 semester hours in zoology in such subjects as general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology, parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects (Excess courses in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where appropriate.); AND
  • At least 9 semester hours in botany or the related plant sciences; -OR-
  • A combination of education and experience -- equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), with at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects, 12 semester hours in zoology, and 9 semester hours in botany or related plant science, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
You must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. If your degree is from a Foreign Institution See Foreign Education.

Additional information

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 90 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service

Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid by the Department of the Interior. Any travel, transportation and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the responsibility of the selected employee.

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.


This announcement is being advertised concurrently under number CAMP-23-12248560-AA, which is open to all qualified persons. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

BLM may use certain incentives, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract high quality applicants.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document, you do not have in electronic form; view the following link for information regarding an Alternative Application

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 your application materials reflect the qualification requirements of this position.

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be contacted for an interview.

Your answers to the online questionnaire will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

  • Ecology
  • Restoration Ecology
  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competence
  • Wildlife Biology


In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals. Applicants must have a performance rating of at least the equivalent of fully successful to be eligible for promotion or placement. Applicants may provide a copy of a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months. If the applicant is unable to provide a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months, the applicant may provide a written explanation as to why.

In addition to submitting your application and required documents, this position requires successful completion of an additional assessment which includes an initial review of your application by Human Resources and a structured resume review completed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME). The SME review measures the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the duties of the job.

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.

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