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Ecologist

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Inflation Reduction Act
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Resource Division at Colonial National Historical Park, in Yorktown, Virginia. Additional information about the area can be found in the "Duties" section.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
12/02/2024 to 12/09/2024
Salary
$73,572 to - $95,641 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Colonial National Hist Park
Yorktown, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term - Initial appointment is for 13 months and may be extended for up to 4 years.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
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
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
NPS-IRA-25-12627511-DE
Control number
821661400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens, Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) in the local commuting area.

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Duties

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This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment expecting to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of four years, or more based on any changes to regulations governing the number of years term appointments may last, without further competition. Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

The National Park Service retains the right to extend the duration of this appointment after selection and/or appointment, based on changes to the regulation governing the number of years term appointments may last. This change, which may be made at the agency's sole discretion and without further competition, shall not be construed or interpreted as the granting of a right to a selectee or employee to such an extension. No extension to a term appointment shall be granted to a selectee/employee to an amount of time that exceeds the maximum number of years authorized under any present or current regulation, unless such regulation expressly allows such action.

Major Duties Include:

  • Coordinate and conduct climate monitoring field activities (snow, precipitation, temperature, glaciers, ocean acidification).
  • Analyze and summarize climate data for reports, publications and management actions.
  • Assist in the development and implementation of limnological, marine and climate related research projects.
  • Prepare documents and reports related to inventory and monitoring of current and projected conditions.

Colonial National Historical Park is in the Virginia Tidewater Region between the James and York Rivers, and is approximately 3 hours south of Washington, DC. The Park, consisting of 8,677 acres, administers two of the most historically significant sites in English North America: Historic Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607 and Yorktown Battlefield, the final major battle of the American Revolutionary War in 1781. These two sites represent the beginning and end of English colonial America and are connected by the 23-mile scenic Colonial Parkway. Colonial NHP has a variety of natural resources including extensive wetlands, forest, fields, shorelines, and streams, as well as rare, threatened, and endangered plants and animals. The nearby cities of Williamsburg, Newport News, and Hampton offer a wide variety of rental units and residences for sale or rent, as well as other municipal services, including schools and colleges.

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 may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to 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 discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • 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 overtime.
  • You will be required to complete a one-year trial period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 2 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.
  • 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 the closing date of this announcement-12/09/2024-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.

Basic Requirement:
A 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 submit a copy of ALL your college level transcripts. Failure to include your transcripts will make you ineligible for this position.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following OPM's Qualification Standards by close of the announcement:

Specialized 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). Specialized experience is experience that equips the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. 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 includes but is not limited to: designing and implementing aquatic, terrestrial, or climate scientific monitoring programs through data collection, analysis, and reporting; working on preparation of vegetation or aquatic management resource action plans and strategies needed to successfully manage and protect natural ecosystems and environmental conditions; analyzing portions of the ecosystem components and processes within a diversity of natural communities to determine the effects of management activities; assisting in developing and implementing mitigation solutions to actions resulting from adverse effects on natural resources. You must provide hours/week and to/from dates (mo/yr) on your resume.

-OR-
Education:
Three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field of study directly related to the position to be filled (biology, ecology, natural resource management, etc.). You must submit a copy of ALL your college level transcripts. Failure to include your transcripts will make you ineligible for this position. NOTE: 1 year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study.

- OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. Note: only graduate education in excess of 2 years is creditable. To combine education and experience, first divide your total months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond 2 years (36 semester hours) by 18. Add the two percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must submit a copy of ALL your college level transcripts. Failure to include your transcripts will make you ineligible for this position.

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.

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 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.

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, volcanoes, caves, fire lines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible.

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:
  • Customer Service
  • Ecology
  • Oral Communication
  • Project Management
  • Technical Competence
  • Written Communication

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