Biologist – Direct Hire Authority

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/18/2024-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 qualified specialized experience. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has basic requirements required by the Office of Personnel Management. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. It is recommended to upload any and all transcripts you have to justify this requirement (under grad, grad, etc.). Applicants must meet one of the following before the close of the announcement. EDUCATION: Successfully completed a course of study leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree that included a major field of study in biology, ecology, environmental science, natural resource management, botany, chemistry, agriculture, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. -OR- COMBINATION: A combination of education and experience with courses equivalent to a major described above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Note: The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation. AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To qualify for this position at the GS-11 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-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities related to natural resources related to plants/vegetation, such as: Independently planning and conducting comprehensive vegetation studies; modifying and adapting standard techniques, processes, and procedures; serving as a technical resource/expert on vegetation management issues; developing and preparing portions of resources management plan and specific action plans; developing and maintaining liaisons/working relations; following established protocols, coordinating natural resources strategies/programs to achieve broad ecosystem protection strategies; assisting in negotiating cooperative/interagency agreements; testing and implementing scientific monitoring protocols to identify, evaluate, and do long-term monitoring; conducting inventories to determine statistically valid plot; conducting scientifically credible protection, mitigation, and restoration projects to prevent resource damage, to restore and/or maintain the integrity of critical habitats, native plant and animal communities, managed landscapes, and physical resources, and to minimize human activities that impact resources; conducting analysis of standard data; preparing management and scientific reports; preparing environmental assessments (EAs) for projects; leading/supervising and training others. You must include hours worked per week. -OR- EDUCATION: Successfully completed three years (54 semester hours or 81 quarter hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a PhD or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited educational institution concentrated in a field that is directly related to the work of this position, such as, in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to this position. You must include transcripts. -OR- COMBINATION: A combination of specialized experience and graduate-level coursework. To determine if you qualify under this combination, first determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the specialized experience required; then determine your education as a percentage of the graduate education required. Only graduate education in excess of the first two years (36 semester hours or equivalent) is creditable for this combination. Then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent. You must include transcripts. 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. You must include hours worked per week.
This position is located in Grand Canyon National Park, in the Science and Resource Management Division. This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment expecting 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.