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Geologist

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

Summary

This position is located in Yellowstone National Park, in the Yellowstone Center for Resources

  • This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of 10-years.
  • Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/05/2024 to 12/12/2024
Salary
$59,966 to - $59,966 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Yellowstone National Park, WY
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 - minimum of 13 months, may be extended to as long as 10 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
Yes
Announcement number
IM-1540-YELL-25-12448967-DE
Control number
822381800

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Duties

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This position serves as a Field Geologist for the Geology Program of Yellowstone National Park. This is a full-time term position located in Mammoth, Wyoming, the headquarters of Yellowstone National Park. The incumbent is under the supervision of the Geology Program manager located in the Yellowstone Center for Resources.
The Geologist will lead a team of physical science technicians, interns and volunteers in rehabilitating and mitigating damage to the park's hydrothermal areas and geologic systems monitoring campaigns. The Geologist's work includes the acquisition, curation and analysis of field data and the support and guidance of the people they supervise. The Geologist will also manage the Geology Program's equipment and laboratory spaces.
Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Lead a team of technicians, interns and volunteers in the Geology Program.
  • Build, deploy and maintain geologic/geophysical monitoring systems in the park.
  • Conducting field mapping and other geologic field work.
  • Manage the Geology Program's equipment and laboratories.
  • Collect, manage and analyze geologic and geophysical data.
  • Compile and disseminate information derived from gathered data.
Physical activities include sitting; standing; working in an office, laboratory, or meeting environment and travel by motor vehicle. Fieldwork will require walking, climbing, and camping within mountainous terrain, sometimes for extended periods, often in inclement or severe weather. Positions require hiking or riding in the backcountry and dangerous geothermal environments for more than 3 miles per day while carrying more than 40 pounds. Bending, lifting objects, and carrying backpacks of variable weights will be required. Occasional travel may be required.

The Yellowstone Center for Resources is located in Yellowstone National Park headquarters, Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming. Elevation at Mammoth is 6,200 feet. Summer temperatures in Yellowstone National Park vary from average lows of 30o F to 40oF to highs between 70oF and 80 oF. Winter temperatures average between 0oF to 20oF during the day but sub-zero temperatures are common.

Many community facilities such as grocery store, a drugstore, motels, and restaurants are available in Gardiner, MT, 7 miles away. A medical clinic is available in Mammoth. All other services are available within 55 to 75 miles of Gardiner, MT.

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 may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle.
  • 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 will be required to complete a one-year trial period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to1 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.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-12/12/2024-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 the GS-1350 series you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

A - Degree: geology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography.
or
B - Combination of education and experience -- course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. NOTE: Acceptable experience may have been gained through geological field or laboratory work that provided a means of obtaining professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of geology and closely related sciences, e.g., geophysics, geochemistry, or hydrology. Such work generally must have involved making close observations, taking samples, handling various types of instruments and equipment, assembling geologic data from source materials, and analyzing and reporting findings orally and in writing.

-AND-

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Work planning and coordination during preparation, compliance, construction, and post-construction monitoring of major infrastructure projects; geologic mapping, field inventory, monitoring, and protection of sensitive paleontological resources; geological evaluation of borehole data; evaluation and interpretation of large geophysical and LiDAR data sets; identification, evaluation, and potential mitigation of geohazards (e.g., rockfalls, debris flows); identification and evaluation of threats and vulnerabilities to resources, infrastructure, personnel, and visitors; provide geological, geophysical, and paleontological data and reports; lead efforts, plan studies, lead and assist field crews, conduct field studies, and collect and interpret geological data. . You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D. in a related field. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
An equivalent combination of specialized experience and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level, related to the position). The education and experience demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

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: During emergency response periods, training of personnel on new equipment, or field work, the scientist may be expected to hike distances of several kilometers over uneven terrain while carrying equipment. Field work may require working in remote field sites with limited to no services. Field work may require the use of proper personal protective gear, working in dusty, hot, humid, and extreme cold environments, occasional off-road driving of 4-wheel drive vehicles, traveling to remote field sites in helicopters or small fixed wing planes, and/or boats. Lifting of equipment and objects weighing up to may be necessary.

Working Conditions: Field work may involve encounters with dangerous fauna and flora, and other wilderness dangers. International field work may be conducted in culturally hostile areas. Geology position with duties that involve subsurface investigation require geologists to work near drill rigs and heavy equipment. Geology positions with duties that involve construction support require geologists to work near heavy equipment and construction hazards. Some work is carried out in proximity to explosives.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework 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:
  • Geology
  • Manages and Organizes Information
  • Partnering
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Project Management


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

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