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Ecologist

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

Summary

This position is located in Mesa Verde National Park, in the Natural Resources Division.

Serves as a technical advisor in ecology to apply a systems approach to the study and analysis of organisms and ecological relationships. Responsible for program development and implementation.

For additional information about the position and/or location, please contact Paul Morey at 970-529-5002 or paul_morey@nps.gov

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/03/2024 to 06/10/2024
Salary
$72,553 to - $94,317 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
Mesa Verde National Park, CO
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 to attend meetings and/or training or travel to project sites.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy. Employer paid and reimbursed relocation expenses are considered taxable income. The NPS does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Employees should consult professional tax, legal and accounting advisors regarding concerns about the financial implications of a Permanent Change of Station (PCS).
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
IM-1496-MEVE-24-12430828-DE
Control number
793831500

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Duties

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Duties:

  • Develops and prepares major sections of the park resources management plan that require the application of ecological principles.
  • Develops and maintains liaisons and effective working relations with related groups and individuals, agencies and the public in order to encourage and facilitate cooperative regional management strategies.
  • Negotiates cooperative and interagency agreements and other cooperative instruments needed to effectively carry out resource stewardship goals.
  • Designs scientific monitoring protocols to identify and do long-term monitoring of ecosystem components, such as flora and fauna, and ecological processes.
  • Controls Invasive plants using mechanical and chemical techniques.
  • Prepares environmental assessments (EAs) for projects in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Evaluates EAs and environmental impact statements prepared by other federal agencies or groups for impacts on park resources.

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.

Work Environment: 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.

Area Information: Located in Southwest Colorado, Mesa Verde National Parkwas established in 1906 to preserve and interpret the archaeological heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo people. For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 26 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the past while also highlighting contemporary connections. This World Heritage Site and International Dark Sky Park is home to over a thousand species, including several that live nowhere else on earth. Nearby Yucca House National Monument is managed under Mesa Verde. It is an undeveloped NPS unit and protects a large unexcavated valley pueblo.

On average Mesa Verde hosts 500,000+ visitors per year. Area residents and visitors enjoy world-class outdoor recreational opportunities including skiing, mountain biking, hiking, rafting, camping, hunting, and fishing in the region. Nearby public lands include the San Juan National Forest, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument and other areas in the Tres Rios District of the Bureau of Land Management. The local towns of Cortez, Mancos, Dolores, and Durango provide a range of housing, dining, and shopping opportunities, and both Durango and Cortez have regional airports. Mesa Verde and the nearby communities are great places to work and live.

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 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.
  • 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 on an occasional basis. 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.
  • Required to obtain and maintain a Pesticide Use Applicator's License within 6 months of entrance on duty.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-06/10/2024-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.

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's Federal General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Basic Requirement:
GS-0408:
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.

In addition to the basic requirement, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by the close of the announcement.

GS-11: 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 specialized experience include: Served as a technical advisor on applying an ecological systems approach to the study and analysis of organisms and ecological relationships; Researched and interpreted laws, regulations, policies and guidelines regarding the monitoring of ecosystems and natural resources, including endangered and exotic species; Developed plans or strategies to carry out resources management or science programs in a cost effective, efficient, timely, and professional manner; Managed the collection and summation of data utilizing scientific data acquisition and analysis standards, methods, and recording techniques. 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 (coursework directly related to position being filled - such as plant taxonomy, botany, forestry, plant ecology, etc.) NOTE: If qualifying with education, you must submit a copy of your college level transcripts. Failure to include your transcripts will make you ineligible for this position.
OR
COMBINATION: Successful completion of an appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.). To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours or equivalent earned towards a graduate degree, in excess of 36 semester hours, and divide by 18 semester hours or equivalent. Then, take the number of months of experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. 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.

Government housing may be available on a temporary basis but is not guaranteed.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework during the off season 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:
  • Ecology
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application


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.

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