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Biological Science Technician (Fisheries)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Pacific West Region (Interior Regions 8,9,10 and 12) - Multiple Parks
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Pacific West Region is recruiting for summer seasonal Biological Science Technician (Fisheries), GS-0404- 5 positions intended to assist permanent staff.

The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period is variable due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding.

Open to the first 250 applicants or until 12/04/2024 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/22/2024 to 12/04/2024
This job will close when we have received 250 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$18.96 to - $27.60 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Locations
Baker, NV
2 vacancies
Crater Lake, OR
7 vacancies
Longmire, WA
2 vacancies
Sedro Woolley, WA
2 vacancies
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
Temporary - Not to Exceed 1039 Hours
Work schedule
Multiple Schedules - Full-time or Part-time is dependent on duty location
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
PW-1548-SR-25-12592250-DE
Control number
819935600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

The Pacific West Region is recruiting for TEMPORARY seasonal positions not to exceed 1039 hours work in a service year. Dates of employment will vary depending on funding, weather conditions, and visitation. Within regulatory limitations, the length of initial appointment may be shortened or extended depending on work availability and funding. Under this announcement, we are accepting applications from: 1. All United States Citizens (U.S. Citizens) 2. CTAP/ICTAP Eligibles.

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Duties

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Crater Lake National Park, Crater Lake, OR--View this link for salary. Work season is April-October. Uniform is required. Driving Record is required before Entry on Duty. Travel time includes 2 days per month. Government housing may be available. Telework may be available with supervisor approval and emergencies. You must be able to carry up to 50 lbs.
Great Basin National Park, Baker, NV--View this link for salary. Work season is May-November. Uniform is required. Driving Record is required before Entry on Duty. Travel time includes 7 days per month. Government housing may be available. Telework will be available for emergencies only. You must be able to carry up to 50 lbs.
Mount Rainier National Park, Longmire, WA--View this link for salary. Work season is April-October. Work Schedule includes: weekends, evenings, and overtime. Uniform is required. Driving Record is required before Entry on Duty. Travel time includes 10 days per month. Government housing may be available. Telework may be available by supervisor approval and emergencies. Work includes multi day backcountry travel in mountainous terrain, and stream crossing.
North Cascades National Park, Sedro Woolley, WA--View this link for salary. Work season is May-November. Work schedule includes weekends, evenings, holidays, and overtime. Driving Record is required before Entry on Duty. Travel time includes 16 days per month. Government housing may be available. Telework will be available with supervisor approval and emergencies. Work includes multi day backpacking in mountainous terrain.You must be able to carry a backpack weighing up to 50 lbs.

Major Duties:

  • Perform routine and uncomplicated biological science tasks common to aquatic resource monitoring and management.
  • Follow instructions and standardized procedures to collect, organize, and record freshwater and/or marine observations and data.
  • Assist in planning daily activities and coordinating logistical support needed.
  • Install, operate, and maintain aquatic monitoring equipment (e.g., tools, traps, and sampling, monitoring, photographic, and lab equipment).
  • Use computer programs to compile, store, retrieve, analyze, and report data.
Physical Demands: The work is partially sedentary with prolonged standing, walking, and bending often required. Heavy items (e.g., packs and equipment up to 50 pounds) must be lifted and carried on a routine basis.

Working Conditions: The work is performed in an office, laboratory, and in the field. Field work includes exposure to extreme weather conditions and terrain, pesticides, poisonous plants, biting insects, and wild animals. Laboratory work may involve exposure to hazardous chemicals. Additional condition may include multi day backcountry travel, mountainous terrain, stream crossing, and swift water swimming.

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.
  • Depending on the duty location, you will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • Depending on your duty location, you may be required to work a combination of work schedules, ie. evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime, and shift work.
  • Depending on the duty location, you may 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.
  • At Crater Lake National Park, you may be required to complete a Motorboat Operator Certification Course and operate a motorboat.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home for a number of nights per month dependent on your duty location.
  • 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.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by 11:59 PM (EST) when the applicant limit is reached which may be sooner than the closing date of this announcement-12/04/2024-.

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 position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one year of full-time specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal Service (can be obtained in the public or private sector) that included activities such as: 1) assisting in collecting physical, chemical and nutrient sample profiles in lakes, 2) identifying aquatic or marine fauna (amphibians, fish, invertebrates, etc.); 3) surveying fish populations; and 4) accurately collect and recording biological data in a field setting. You must include hours per week worked.

-OR-

EDUCATION: Successful completion of a full four-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics which included at least 6 semester hours directly related to the position to be filled. You must include transcripts.

-OR-

COMBINATION: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, six months of specialized experience (50% of the specialized experience) and three years of education above high school (50% of the education) would qualify an applicant for this position. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study beyond the second year is equivalent to six months of specialized experience. You must include hours per week worked and transcripts.

ICTAP/CTAP Statement: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special prior­ity selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies.

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

For additional questions about this job, please contact:
Great Basin National Park:
Jonathan Reynolds, Fish Biologist
Jonathan_reynolds@nps.gov
Mount Rainier National Park:
Rebecca Lofgren, Aquatic Ecologist
Rebecca_A_Lofgren@nps.gov
North Cascades National Park:
Hugh Anthony, Aquatic Ecologist
hugh_anthony@nps.gov
Crater Lake National Park:
Joshua Sprague, Fisheries Biologist
joshua_sprague@nps.gov
541-594-3077

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.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).

If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.

The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.

Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.

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 two categories:

  • 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:
  • Fishery Biology
  • Information Technology Research and Development
  • Stamina
  • Technology Application
  • Writing

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