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Hydrologic Technician

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are temporary and may not exceed 1039 hours (six months) in a service year. They may be terminated sooner or extended depending on management needs.

Selectee(s) may be moved between duty stations within park boundaries.

Positions/grades may not be filled at every duty station.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
12/30/2024 to 01/08/2025
Salary
$23.88 to - $34.50 per hour

Plus a 3.21% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA)

Pay scale & grade
GS 6 - 7
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
King Salmon, AK
Port Alsworth, AK
Location Negotiable After Selection
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
75% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - 1039 hours
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
AK-1537-LACL-25-12654921-DE
Control number
826012100

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), Reemployment Priority List (RPL)

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Duties

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Please select ALL duty stations you are interested in working at during the application process. If you are interested in working at all duty locations, also select "location negotiable after selection" when you apply. You will only be considered for the duty location(s) that you select when you apply.

The typical season for these positions is April through October, but varies during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, and funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: April, 2025.

The National Park Service (NPS) serves as a steward for the preservation of America's national parks and their resources. In 1998, the NPS initiated a natural resource Inventory and Monitoring Program. The purpose of the program was to develop a baseline inventory of significant natural resources in national parks and to monitor these natural resources over time. The program now includes more than 270 national parks organized into 32 networks. The Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN) consists of five Alaskan parks (Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, Alagnak National Wild River, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve). The SWAN is hiring 1-2 positions for our seasonal crew, which is responsible for implementing a freshwater monitoring protocol in the field. The protocol covers a range of water quality and water quantity parameters (e.g., temperature, pH, turbidity, stage, discharge) measured in lakes and streams using various types of equipment (e.g., sondes, temperature loggers, pressure transducers, ADCPs). The crew will also implement SWAN air quality and freshwater contaminants protocols. Previous motorized boat handling experience is a plus. For more information regarding SWAN monitoring, please see https://www.nps.gov/im/swan/monitoring.htm. Some specific duties of the job include:

  • Collecting various types of hydrologic data in the field using standard methods, practices, and procedures;
  • Using judgment to adjust the methods, practices, and procedures, when necessitated by conditions in the field;
  • Calibrating, programing and troubleshooting electronic water quality/quantity data recording devices;
  • Using standard computer software to input, organize and summarize data;
  • Using a specialized database to store, correct, and grade data;
  • Undertaking quality control procedures to identify gaps and inconsistencies in data;
  • Producing preliminary reports and informal presentations summarizing routine phases of water quality investigations; and
  • Working with diverse individuals under a variety of conditions, including remote wilderness settings.
Additional GS-07 duties:
  • Conducting basic statistical and spatial analyses;
  • Producing technical and non-technical written reports and oral presentations summarizing routine phases of water quality investigations; and
  • Motivating, guiding, and training others in order to accomplish goals.
Physical Demands: The work is partially sedentary with prolonged standing, walking, stooping, and bending often required. Heavy items (e.g., equipment up to 50 pounds) must be lifted or moved on a routine basis.

Working Conditions: Work is performed in both an office setting, which is typically well lighted and ventilated, and in the field, where the incumbent may encounter adverse weather conditions, steep or uneven terrain, and other nuisances.

Government housing is available.

Please visit find a park for additional park information.

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 submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment based on the collateral duties of motorboat operation and carrying a firearm in the back-country or other locations for non-law enforcement reasons such as protection from animals. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
  • 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 may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, and overtime.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 20 nights per month.
  • 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-01/08/2025-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 number of hours worked per week, full-time, or part-time. If you indicate part-time, you MUST indicate the number of hours worked per week so that your qualifying experience can be prorated for credit.

To qualify for this position at the GS-06 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sector) that is directly related to the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience for this position include the following: collecting field data for water-focused projects or studies; calibrating, programing, maintaining, and troubleshooting hydrologic monitoring equipment such as water quality sondes; using computer software applications (including specialized hydrologic database software) to store, retrieve, organize, and summarize data; and communicating water-focused monitoring results, orally and in writing. You must include hours worked per week.

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

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level in Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sector) that is directly related to the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience for this position include the following: collecting field data for water-focused projects or studies; calibrating, programing, maintaining and troubleshooting hydrologic monitoring equipment such as water quality sondes; using computer software applications (including specialized hydrologic database software) to store, retrieve, organize, and summarize data; communicating water-focused monitoring results, orally and in writing; and performing preliminary statistical and spatial analyses on hydrologic datasets. You must include hours worked per week.

-OR-

EDUCATION: At least one year (18 semester hours or equivalent) of graduate level course work. Coursework must be directly related to the position. You must submit transcripts.

-OR-

A COMBINATION OF SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours, or equivalent, earned towards a graduate degree and divide by 18 semester hours, or equivalent. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours worked per week and submit transcripts.

Volunteer 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.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-06 grade level of this announcement.

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.

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

Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. All travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the sole responsibility of the selected employee.

Alaska currently does not have a state income tax. Salary and COLA subject to annual review and adjustment.

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

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 1039 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 1039 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1039 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.

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.

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) and the responses you provide on the application questionnaire. 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
  • Hydrology
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Manages and Organizes Information
  • Technology Application
  • Leadership (GS-07 only)
In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

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