Interdisciplinary Biologist

Job Description (Please follow all instructions carefully)

Summary

Salary Information :

The salary range listed is based on the associated pay tables as determined by the . See the Additional Information section for more information.

First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.

This job is open to

Duties

As a Climate Adaptation Service Scientist within the National Climate Adaptation Science Center in the Midwest or Northwest Region, some of your duties will include:

Serve as senior project member integrating information on climate, ecological process, landscape conditions and management options available to resource managers. Provide advice, interpretation, and training to resource managers and other professionals in the application or modification of established standards, methods, and
procedures to ensure adequate treatment and thorough consideration of anomalous study conditions or situations. Develop and maintain close collaborations with federal, state, Tribal and other natural resource professionals to ensure alignment of projects with their priorities and effective dissemination of results. Operate a government vehicle as an incidental driver.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Key Requirements:

Applicants must be U.S. Citizens. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information. Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record. Are There Any Special Requirements for This Position? This vacancy is limited to the first 40 applications received and will close at midnight Eastern Time on the day this application limit is reached regardless of the closing date specified in this vacancy announcement. Any application received prior to midnight Eastern Time of the day the application limit is reached will be accepted and considered. You are strongly encouraged to submit all required supporting documents at the time of application should the vacancy close earlier than stated in this announcement due to the applicant limit being reached. Supporting documents will not be accepted once the vacancy announcement closes. You will be required to operate a government-owned or leased vehicle in the performance of your official duties. Applicants for this position must meet the following requirements: (1) possess a valid State license, and (2) possess a safe driving record. If selected, you will be required to provide proof of a valid State license & a copy of your driving record. Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued. A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination. Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.

Qualifications

DEFINITIONS:

Undergraduate Education : A year of undergraduate education is 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent of college study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent was a prerequisite.

Experience : One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows: 2 years = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)

Graduate Education: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.

This position is interdisciplinary and may be filled in either of the occupational job series listed. You must meet the educational requirements of at least one of these occupational series, in additional to the Minimum Requirement listed below in order to be found qualified and referred for consideration.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT :

GS-0401--BASIC REQUIREMENT : Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Biologist occupational series.

A. Degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position; ORB. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above (24 semester hours or the equivalent in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position), plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in "A" above. (CLICK FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE).

GS-1301--BASIC REQUIREMENT : Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Physical Scientist occupational series:

A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours or the equivalent in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics; OR

B. A combination of education and experience--education equivalent to one of the majors shown in "A" above (24 semester hours or the equivalent in physical science, engineering, or mathematics) that included at least 24 semester hours or the equivalent in physical science and/or related engineering science as described above, plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in "A" above. (CLICK FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE).

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

GS-12 : In addition to meeting on of the Basic Education Requirements stated above, applicants must meet the following to qualify for this grade level:

Possess at least one year of appropriate professional experience that is in or directly related to the duties of the position to be filled is qualifying if it is equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service and if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide technical support and advance conduct of applied research on climatic change, direct and indirect effects of weather and climate, and climate adaptation for natural and cultural resources of interest, including: past and future climate scenarios at relevant spatial and temporal scales; the effects of climate on species, cultural resources, ecosystems and processes; uncertainty on the effects of climate to priority resources; sensitivity and adaptive capacity of priority resources; integrated climate-ecosystem response models; and the assessment of adaptation strategies. Examples of such experience in this area of science may include: 1) independently planning and executing complex natural resource biological or physical science studies and investigations, which usually involved intensive investigations into recognized phenomena. 2) modifying and adapting standard biological techniques, processes, and procedures; 3) serving as a technical resource on scientific issues. This work typically involved conventional methods and techniques though it required going beyond clear precedents and required adapting methods to the problems at hand and interpreting findings in terms of their scientific significance. At this level, scientists have the ability to independently perform scientific work of considerable difficulty.

GS-13 : In addition to meeting on of the Basic Education Requirements stated above, applicants must meet the following to qualify for this grade level:

Possess at least one year of appropriate professional experience that is in or directly related to the duties of the position to be filled is qualifying if it is equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service and if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide technical support and advance conduct of applied research on climatic change, direct and indirect effects of weather and climate, and climate adaptation for natural and cultural resources of interest, including: past and future climate scenarios at relevant spatial and temporal scales; the effects of climate on species, cultural resources, ecosystems and processes; uncertainty on the effects of climate to priority resources; sensitivity and adaptive capacity of priority resources; integrated climate-ecosystem response models; and the assessment of adaptation strategies. Examples of such experience in this area of science may include: 1) planning, executing, and reporting on original biological or physical science studies or ongoing physical science studies requiring a fresh approach to resolve new problems. 2) developing new or significantly modified biological techniques, methods, or criteria; 3) analyzing and interpreting scientific project data with novel and obscure problems 4) providing advisory, planning, or reviewing services as a technical specialist on a biological or physical issue. The complexity of the work typically required extensive modification and adaptation of standard procedures, methods, and techniques, and the development of totally new methods and techniques to address novel or obscure problems for which guidelines or precedents were not substantially applicable. At this level, scientists have wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment to perform scientific work of marked difficulty and responsibility.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

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.

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