This position is located in Biscayne National Park, in the Natural Resource Management Division. This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment 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. Open to the first 100 applicants or until 08/15/2023 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Duties

POSITION INFORMATION: 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 ten years. Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service. The National Park Service retains the right to extend the duration of this appointment after selection and/or appointment, based on changes to the regulation governing the number of years term appointments may last. This change, which may be made at the agency's sole discretion and without further competition, shall not be construed or interpreted as the granting of a right to a selectee or employee to such an extension. No extension to a term appointment shall be granted to a selectee/employee to an amount of time that exceeds the maximum number of years authorized under any present or current regulation, unless such regulation expressly allows such action. DUTIES: As a Biologist based in Biscayne National Park's Habitat Restoration Program, some of your duties will include: Coordinating, scheduling, and implementing a wide variety of coral reef restoration and conservation activities in the park to improve resource conditions following disturbances from storms, vessel groundings, marine debris, diseases, etc. Restoration projects may include marine debris removal, coral salvage, coral outplanting, coral larval propagation, and coral disease intervention. Implementing statistically valid data collection protocols for the monitoring of marine plant and animal communities and the results of restoration and conservation projects. Leading team decisions on several possible courses of action at different stages of multiple projects (e.g., site selection, project techniques, appropriate equipment, logistics, etc.). Analyzing, mapping, and reporting on ecological data for coral reef restoration and conservation activities and projects. Representing the park on stakeholder task groups, project teams, or similar organizations. Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with a wide variety of individuals and/or groups including co-workers, project personnel, cooperating scientists from universities and other agencies, and other partners. Identifying marine organisms (e.g., corals, fish, turtles, seagrasses, macroalgae, invertebrates) of the Western Atlantic/Caribbean region. The position requires the frequent use of SCUBA and snorkeling/free-diving and small (

Requirements

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/15/2023-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. Selective Factors - Boat Operation Certification and SCUBA Diving Certification This position requires demonstrated training and experience operating and crewing small vessels (up to 28' in length) with twin outboard engines in open ocean conditions. You must submit documentation of how you meet this requirement. Documentation may include but is not limited to: Motorboat Operation Certificate Course (MOCC) certificate or equivalent, such as a State or US Coast Guard issued boating certification. -AND- Scuba Diving Certification. This position requires that you possess an American Association of Underwater Scientists (AAUS) SCUBA diving certification or equivalent (Advanced Open Water certification or higher) from an accredited national institution and have at least 50 scientific dives. You must submit documentation of how you meet this requirement. - AND - BASIC REQUIREMENT: Successfully completed a full four-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of stud in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to this position. -OR- A combination of education and experience that included course work equivalent to a major (i.e., 24 semester hours) in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or a discipline closely related to biology; PLUS appropriate experience or additional course work. The quality of the combination demonstrates that I possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of this position and is comparable to that normally acquired through the completion of a full four-year course of study with a major as described above. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. -AND- To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least 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-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Assisting professional staff in planning and implementing field research, restoration, and monitoring projects in coral reef ecosystems, including but not limited to rare, threatened, and endangered species; Utilizing SCUBA and snorkeling/freediving to complete field activities related to the management, monitoring. and/or restoration of a variety of submerged marine resources; Assisting professional staff in planning and implementing ecological restoration projects in coral reef, seagrass, and/or coastal forest habitat to improve resource conditions following disturbances from storms, vessel groundings, marine debris, diseases, etc.; Providing logistic support and area orientation for contract or cooperating scientists; Coordinating and providing work direction and guidance to lower graded technicians, interns, students, and volunteers in gathering field data, including proper and safe handling of equipment and tools and operation of motorized vehicles and boats (up to 28' in length). You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college or university in a field directly related to biological science, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry or related disciplines. One year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) is considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full- time graduate study. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of months of experience at the GS 07 grade level and divide by 12, then multiply by 100. Then take the number of semester hours completed and divide by 36. Multiple the resulting decimal by 100. Add the percentages together. 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 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:
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 on all competencies. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR 575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.

Contacts

• Address Biscayne National Park 9700 SW 328 Street Homestead, FL 33033 US
• Name: Jessica Armenta
• Email: [email protected]