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Seasonal Biological Science Technician (Plants)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Gettysburg National Military Park

Summary

This position is located in a National Park Service organization. The purpose of the position is to perform routine and uncomplicated biological science tasks common to natural resource management

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
12/02/2025 to 03/03/2026
Salary
$22.11 to - $28.74 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Gettysburg, PA
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
Temporary - 1039 Hours; The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period is Apr - Oct, but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: Apr 2026
Work schedule
Full-time
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
Yes
Announcement number
NE-1612-GETT-26-12618155-OC
Control number
851322100

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Duties

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**INITIAL CUT OFF IS Tuesday, 16 December 2025**This is an open continuous vacancy announcement. Applicants will be referred periodically throughout the announcement period. Final application disposition will be completed once all positions have been filled or the announcement reaches the end of the open period stated in the announcement. The first cut-off date is 11:59 pm (est), December 16, 2025.


Duites:
  • Implement established natural resource management projects. Following instructions and standardized procedures, collects and organizes field data.
  • Ensure adequate quality control of data collected. Performs routine and recurring testing of collected samples.
  • Record all data collected and provides preliminary assessment and classification of the information. Seeks assistance for situations not covered.
  • Works with crews managing invasive plants and restoring native vegetation.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Males must meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • Occupancy of government quarters may be required.
  • Government housing may be available
  • You may 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 on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and/or shift work.
  • 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.
  • State pesticide application certification/license is required at for each park listed on the job announcement after entrance on duty date.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-03/03/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

To qualify for this position at the GS-5 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-4 level. Examples of specialized experience may include Utilizing various techniques to gather biological samples; identifying, measuring, or counting organisms of the environment, and recording the data; or performing a variety of behavioral or measured data collection activities in support of field resource management projects.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree or 4 years of successfully completed education above high school with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of scientific or technical courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 6 semester hours of courses must be directly related to Botany/Plants.
-OR-
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You may meet the qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate undergraduate education. Undergraduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position as listed above.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sectors. The OPM Qualification Standards Handbook is available for review at: OPM Qualification Standards.

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.

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.

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.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: 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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

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:
  • Botany
  • Ecology
  • Oral Communication
  • Physical Strength
  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competence

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