Biological Science Technician

Job Description (Please follow all instructions carefully)

Summary

Positions are TEMPORARY, not to exceed 1039 hours in a service year. Locations are at multiple park and have multiple focuses, such as Plants/Wildlife.

This is an open continuous 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), 12/8/2023.

This job is open to

Duties

Assateague Island National Seashore (Berlin, MD): Assateague Island National Seashore is located on the Atlantic coast of Maryland and Virginia, approximately 130 miles east of Washington, DC. The area is largely rural, with numerous small towns and the seaside resorts of Ocean City, MD and Chincoteague, VA nearby. Complete shopping and medical services are available, as are public and private schools. The small city of Salisbury, MD is about 30 miles west of the headquarters area and has shopping centers, a university and a large hospital. Summers are hot and humid, with high temperatures commonly in the 90's. Winters are mild with little snow and daytime temperatures usually above freezing.

GS-06 Wildlife: As a field technician for wildlife management program, the incumbent will work assisting permanent park staff to coordinate and independently complete daily field activities including the control and enhancement of wildlife populations, pest species management, threatened species management, population inventory and assessment, habitat restoration and threat mitigation. The GS-6 position must be familiar with all primary tasks and take responsibility to provide training, safety, function, oversight, quality control, repair, and alternative actions to other staff when supervisors are not on site. The technician will also conduct QA/QC and metadata requirements for all aspects of data collection and work output.

GS-05 Wildlife: As a field technician for wildlife management programs, the incumbent will work under permanent park staff to carry out field activities including the control and enhancement of wildlife populations, pest species management, threatened species management, population inventory and assessment, habitat restoration and threat mitigation. The primary focus of this position will be related to a breeding population of federally threatened shorebirds and other species of management concern. The technician will collect field observation data for resource monitoring programs evaluating terrestrial wildlife populations, habitat dynamics, ecological processes, and public recreation issues.

GS-05 Plant: The Biological Science Technician will work primarily with plants at Assateague Island National Seashore. The technician will survey for and treat invasive plant infestations manually and/or with herbicides. The technician will assist permanent park staff with conducting vegetation surveys and implement various resource management inventory and monitoring activities. The technician prepares and applies herbicide chemicals and maintains application equipment; maintains detailed records of field activities; uses global positioning systems (GPS) equipment to record spatial and attribute data; processes data; and produces summary maps and reports.

Grade 05 Pay Scale: $18.06 per hour
Grade 06 Pay Scale: $20.14 per hour

Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP (Fredericksburg, VA): Fredericksburg, Virginia is approximately 45 miles south of Washington, D.C. and 60 miles north of Richmond, Virginia. The colonial and Civil War history of the area, as well as many recreational opportunities on local waterways and natural areas make the Fredericksburg area a popular tourist destination. The park's battlefields and historic structures span four counties in the Fredericksburg area, with the highest population density being in the City of Fredericksburg, Stafford County and Spotsylvania County areas. Many options for schools, shopping, dining, cultural opportunities, and medical care and childcare are easily accessed. Within a short drive from these growing populations centers, you will find yourself in the more rural and scenic Virginia countryside. The local climate is temperate, with hot and humid summers and relatively mild winters.

Assignments consist of performing a variety of standardized technical support and technical issues associated with the work. Contacts include technical and professional employees within the park unit, the Regional Office and other parks. Collecting data for use by others in wildlife, fisheries, or plants program/project operations. Assists in the preparation of reports, plan, use standard statistical methods and procedures in performing routine and recurring testing of the field data. Participates in the capture of wildlife, applies visual and radio tags and gathers physiological and spatial data on wildlife. This position requires physical exertion such as walking or climbing over wet, rough, uneven and rocky surfaces. Regular and recurring field work involves exposure to extreme weather conditions and terrain.

Grade 05 Pay Scale: $20.54 per hour

Requirements

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 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 will 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 shift work. Government housing may be available. The ability to obtain and maintain Herbicide Applicators License for Biological Science Technician Plants

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-05/03/2024-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 of qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience must have been related to the work of the position for which application is made. The specialized experience required for some positions in this series is normally work performed in a controlled environment. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Research activity or control program work; Nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment; Work comparable to that with a large dairy farm where production records, animal environment, and sanitary conditions were kept in accordance with modern dairy practice. performing or assisting with work relating to the various components of ecosystems or their subparts (i.e., vegetation, air and water quality, wildlife and endangered species, insect and disease infestations, exotic and non-native species management, patterns and impacts of visitor use, etc.); assisting with biological resource management and assessment activities using established protocols and standard scientific equipment and that included responsibility for data entry and data management using standard software programs. Farming experience that was not performed in a controlled environment, or experience as a laborer who was not responsible for planning and scheduling his/her own work, but only performed assigned tasks, would not qualify as specialized experience. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. (Note: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to 1 year of specialized experience.) For example, 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and 3 years of college study from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education) which included at least 12 semester hours of related coursework as described above (50% of coursework required). The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

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

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in federal service (obtained in either public or private sectors). Experience must have been related to the work of the position for which application is made. The specialized experience required for some positions in this series is normally work performed in a controlled environment. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Research activity or control program work; Nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment; Work comparable to that with a large dairy farm where production records, animal environment, and sanitary conditions were kept in accordance with modern dairy practice. performing or assisting with work relating to the various components of ecosystems or their subparts (i.e., vegetation, air and water quality, wildlife and endangered species, insect and disease infestations, exotic and non-native species management, patterns and impacts of visitor use, etc.); assisting with biological resource management and assessment activities using established protocols and standard scientific equipment and that included responsibility for data entry and data management using standard software programs. Farming experience that was not performed in a controlled environment, or experience as a laborer who was not responsible for planning and scheduling his/her own work, but only performed assigned tasks, would not qualify as specialized experience. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate education in an accredited educational institution (18 semester hours) in coursework directly related to the work of this position (such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, natural resource management). You must include transcripts.
-OR-
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, 6 months of specialized experience (50% of experience requirement), and 6 months of graduate education as described above (50% of education requirement). The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. 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.

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an 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 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.

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