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Ecologist

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

Summary

This position is located in Capitol Reef National Park, in the Resource Management Division.

Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will work from approximately March through January, and you will be in a non-pay status for the remainder of the year.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/12/2024 to 06/24/2024
This job will close when we have received 75 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$49,025 to - $77,955 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Location
Torrey, UT
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—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 - Career-Seasonal (Subject to non-pay)
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9
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
IM-1539-CARE-24-12440322-DE
Control number
795398400

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Duties

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Incumbent will engage in the protection, inventory, monitoring, restoration, and management of natural resources and communities. Assists in the development of restoration and conservation action plans in coordination with supervisor for resilience and recovery of natural communities. Uses input from specialists, past studies and GIS analysis to develop restoration and conservation plans. Leads a wide variety of field activities in support of the natural resource program including inventory and monitoring and restoration of species habitat. Develops and implements restoration activities. Gathers spatial data on natural resources. Creates and utilizes databases and datasets to enter and organize collected field data and uses standard statistical methods in the preparation of reports; enters, retrieves, organizes, manipulates and analyzes data from a geographic information system (GIS) and other information management systems and operates data collection equipment. Recommends avoidance, minimization and mitigation strategies for park activities that impact natural resources.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Area Information

Capitol Reef National Park is located in a remote part of south-central Utah, with the visitor center, park headquarters, and housing located in the Fremont River canyon, 11 miles east of Torrey, Utah (seasonal services only). Major shopping is located in Richfield (75 miles distant). Medical and dental services are available in Bicknell, Utah (20 miles distant) and groceries are available in Loa, Utah (30 miles distant). Park housing is located one block from the visitor center and includes 14 housing units, one of which is a four apartment complex and three are dormitory style houses. No pets are allowed and housing is shared. Park headquarters is at an elevation of 5500' with a climate typical of the Colorado Plateau high desert with hot summers and cold winters. The park was established as a Monument in 1937 and as a Park in 1971 to protect the 100-mile long Waterpocket Fold, a one-sided wrinkle or monocline in the earth's crust. Hiking, photography, star gazing, touring and backpacking are popular activities. Park interpretive themes focus on the complex 275 million year geologic record, rich natural history, Prehistoric Cultural features and Mormon pioneer history, including historic orchards. The park is open year-round with the majority of activities and visitation occurring during the busy season from March to October. The visitor center operation has high visitation in the summer with daily totals of 1,000 to 2,000 people. A large percentage of visitors are international.

Government quarters maybe be available

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.
  • 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 occasionally. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-06/26/2024-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.

To qualify for this job series, you must possess the following basic education requirement by close of the announcement: Successfully completion of 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 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 transcripts.

-AND-
To qualify for this position at the GS-7 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

  • SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-5 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: analyzing natural resource monitoring/data, developing or engaging rangeland, springs or riparian restoration planning, monitoring of water resources, conducting hydrologic investigations, preparing ecology portions of resources management plans for natural resources that requires the application of ecological principles; drafting natural resource specific action plans and strategies needed to successfully manage and protect natural ecosystems and environmental conditions; or prepare natural resource related portions of environmental assessments (EAs) for projects in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. Experience equivalent to the GS-5 may be professional work at the developmental or trainee level. Generally technical work below the GS-7 level is not creditable. You must include hours per week worked.
  • GRADUATE EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of progressively higher level graduate education from an accredited college or university in a field of study directly related to the position to be filled (ecology, biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research, fish and wildlife management, natural resource management, etc.) . You must include transcripts.
  • Successful completion of a combination of graduate education and specialized experience as described above. For example, I have 6 months of specialized experience as described above, and at least 9 semester hours (14 quarter hours) of graduate study as described above. You must include transcripts.
  • Meet the criteria for Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) as evidenced by one of the three following methods: I am in the upper third of my graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR I have a GPA 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum, or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in my major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; OR I am a member in one of the national scholastic honor societies. Degree must be directly related to the position (ecology, biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research, fish and wildlife management, natural resource management, etc.)

To qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

  • SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: analyzing natural resource monitoring/data, developing or engaging in rangeland, springs or riparian restoration planning, monitoring of water resources, conducting hydrologic investigations, preparing ecology portions of resources management plans for natural resources that requires the application of ecological principles; drafting natural resource specific action plans and strategies needed to successfully manage and protect natural ecosystems and environmental conditions; or prepare air and natural resource related portions of environmental assessments (EAs) for projects in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. Generally technical work is not creditable. You must include hours per week worked.
  • GRADUATE EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two years (36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college or university in a field of study directly related to the position to be filled (ecology, biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research, fish and wildlife management, natural resource management, etc.). You must include transcripts.
  • Successful completion of a combination of graduate education and specialized experience as described above.For example, I have 6 months of specialized experience as described above, and at least 27 semester hours (41 quarter hours) of graduate study as described above. Note: Only graduate education in excess of the first year may be used. 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.

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 position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects up to 25 lbs. 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, caves, fire lines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

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:
  • Applies Technology to Tasks
  • Ecology
  • Information Management
  • Research
  • Writing


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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