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Geographer/Biologist/Physical Scientist/Cartographer

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Mall and Memorial Parks
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent is responsible for the development, management, coordination, and implementation of the Geographic Information System (GIS) for one or more parks. The interdisciplinary nature of this position requires the programmatic integration of the knowledge of biological and physical resources, digital cartography, and geography to the development, analysis, and use of geographic and relational databases that are pertinent to the park resources and themes.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
12/20/2024 to 01/03/2025
Salary
$55,924 to - $107,590 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
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
NC-1616-NAMA-25-12645911-DE
Control number
825519300

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Duties

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The major duties of the position Geographer/Biologist/Physical Scientist/Cartographer include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Document, analyze, and integrate the management of natural and cultural resources using GIS.
  • Prepares GIS plans, data dictionaries, project proposals, and GIS-related contract and agreement specifications.
  • Develop user interface for data input.
  • Collect GIS data in field.
  • Prepares written documents on GIS matters.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

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.
  • 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.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/03/2025-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 QUALIFICATIONS: If you do not meet these basic requirements, you will be considered not qualified and will not receive consideration for this position.

-AND-

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

GS-07 EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must include all of the following activities: 1) Using 3D modeling; 2) Mapping; and 3) Surveying.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one (1) full year of Graduate Education, with a major that is related to the duties of this position. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Superior Academic Achievement: To qualify, you must have successful completed a bachelor's degree in a field directly related to the duties of this position AND meet one of the following Superior Academic Achievement provisions: (1) Class Standing: rank in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision , such as College of Liberal Arts or School of Business Administration, based on the completed courses; OR (2) Grad-Point Average: earn a grade-point average of (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field, or the required courses completed during the final two years of the curriculum. Note: grade-point averages will be rounded to the one decimal place, for example, 2.95 = 3.0, 2.94 = 2.9, and 3.45 = 3.5; OR (3) Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society: elected membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. Freshman scholastic honor societies cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:GS-09 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 must include all of the following activities:
  • Intermediate experience using Geographic Information System (GIS) and/or Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. Intermediate experience includes both obtaining existing and creating new geospatial data from non-digital sources for the design, creation, and revision of maps, charts, and related cartographic products and geospatial parcel databases.
  • Develops custom map products under supervision from more experienced GIS staff.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two (2) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree, with a major that is related to the duties of this position. You must include transcripts .-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess all of the following minimum qualifications by 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). This experience must include all of the following activities: 1) using Geographic Information Systems (GIS); and (2) Using models that utilize GIS data.
-OR-
E
DUCATION: Successful completion of three (3) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, with a major that is related to the duties of this position. You must include transcripts.--OR--Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts.

You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies". Experience listed as full-time will be credited at 40 hours per week.

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 ยง575.102 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.

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 work is often sedentary but field work occasionally requires some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, walking over rough, muddy, uneven, swampy or mountainous terrain; recurring periods of bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, reaching or similar activities; and recurring lifting of moderately heavy items weighing up to 50 pounds. Computer work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and use computers for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is primarily performed indoors in a climate controlled office environment. Outdoor work may occur in hot, cold, humid, or dry weather conditions. Outdoor work may also be required
during periods of rain, snow, sleet, fog or other adverse weather conditions.

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:
  • Data Management
  • Information Management
  • Technical Competence


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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