Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees serving under a Career or Career-Conditional appointment, Land Management eligibles, CTAP.

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This is a Merit Promotion announcement for career and career conditional FWS employees, Career Transition eligibles(CTAP, Current or former time-limited employees eligibles under Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Lead integrated ecosystem management efforts by coordinating refuge management, fisheries management, ecological services, migratory bird programs, Federal Aid, and law enforcement activities. Evaluate management plans, goals, and resource challenges, and determine final actions, timelines, and long-term approaches for ecosystem management.
• Direct policy and staff operations for refuges within the Region by implementing policies, standards, and procedures. Coordinate Regionwide program issues such as refuge management, public use, compatibility reviews, comprehensive planning, and outreach. Develop short- and long-range plans to ensure compliance with laws and policies that govern Service programs, and provide leadership on national and Regionwide program priorities.
• Provide expert guidance on complex scientific, operational, and political matters by preparing position papers, reviewing documents and plans, and making implementation decisions. Build cooperation and maintain communication with groups and agencies such as conservation organizations, industries, civic groups, Federal and State officials, county officials, scientists, and news media. Coordinate with States, Federal partners, Congressional offices, and other stakeholders while leading program outreach activities.
• Manage program resources effectively by estimating and justifying needs for funding, space, supplies, equipment, and staffing. Oversee multimillion-dollar budgets that support programs with rapidly shifting priorities. Identify requirements for special projects or studies performed by staff, contractors, consultants, academics, or field stations. Support field operations, ecosystem teams, and the Regional Director through collaboration with the Regional Office, Assistant Regional Directors, and program staff. Monitor progress, evaluate program performance, and recommend changes to improve goals and outcomes.

Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.

Qualifications

Qualifications:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/18/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized 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 periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. 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.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

1. Degree: Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

   OR

2. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, or at least 30 semester hours in courses, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

   OR

3. Experience: Four years of experience that demonstrated that the applicant acquired knowledge and understanding of one or more of the biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, or related disciplines equivalent to that which would have been acquired through completion of a 4-year course of study as described in A above.

To qualify for this position at the GS-15 grade level:
Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS- 14 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience performing the following: 1) Developing wildlife biology, ecology, and/or habitat management procedures and policies to be implemented and conducted in field station operations; 2) Supervision of staff conducting habitat conservation, maintenance, fire management or public use programs; 3) Diplomatically works with high level officials from Congress, State, and Federal agencies, private organizations, and the news media concerning complex natural resources issues; 4) Exercising direct responsibility for overseeing and implementing budgets that support fish and wildlife conservation. You must include hours per week worked.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

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 assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. 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.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Administration and Management
• Budget Administration
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Wildlife and Fisheries Biology Management Techniques

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 assessment(s), including a structured resume review. This assessment will measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

DUE WEIGHT: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level.