Job opening: Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Salary: $46 696 - 74 250 per year
Published at: Sep 20 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
This position is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist, GS- 0401-7/9 working in either Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Chubbuck, Idaho; or Boise, Idaho for the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office (Region 1).
This position is also open to Recent Graduates under announcement R1-23-12123331-LL-RG. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.
Duties
Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office is comprised of three geographically distinct offices located in Boise, Chubbuck, and Coeur d'Alene. These three offices work collaboratively with our Federal, state, tribal, and private partners to conserve, protect, and enhance listed species in Idaho. The office is responsible for various Ecological Services issues such as contaminants, endangered species conservation, energy projects, migratory birds, and conservation agreements. The incumbents will closely coordinate and work collaboratively with Federal partners (e.g., U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Army Corp of Engineers), State agency partners, Native American tribes, academia, and non-governmental organizations to identify opportunities to conserve and protect Federally listed species. These are developmental positions designed to prepare employees for the full performance level work (GS-11). The primary purpose of these positions is to provide biological support on a variety of issues relating to restoration and conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats. Responsibilities may include:
Activities Pursuant to section 4, 7, and 10 of the Endangered Species Act. Work focuses on writing biological opinions and related consultation documents, developing or assisting in the development of classification packages, recovery planning, species status assessments, recovery and candidate agreements and associated regulatory compliance, and habitat conservation plans.
Conducting a wide variety of biological and ecological assessments involving complex land and water resource development actions and impacts.
Requirements
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
- Resume (See "Required Documents"). Failure to provide ALL required information on your resume will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is provided on resume.
- Eligibility and Supporting documents - You will ONLY be considered for the eligibilities that you select "yes" to AND submit the required supporting documentation, as listed in the Required Documents section.
- Merit promotion applicants must meet time-in-grade requirement as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
- Suitability for employment, as determined by background investigation.
- Driver's License: Selectees MAY be required to possess and maintain a valid State driver's license at all times during their tenure.
- Probationary Period: Selectees may be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
- Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service. To verify registration visit SSS.gov.
Qualifications
Only experience and education obtained by 10/04/2023 will be considered.
In order to qualify for this position you must possess both the Basic Requirement and Minimum Qualification.
Basic Requirement:
A. Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree in the biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Minimum Qualification [GS-7]:
1. One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility equivalent to grade GS-5 in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: assisting higher-level biologists conduct investigations/studies to determine impact of actions on fish and wildlife resources and threatened/endangered species; working with professional biologists to conduct field investigations on wildlife biology/ecology; collecting, analyzing, and assessing biological and ecological data; assisting in implementing laws, regulations, and policies involving natural resource issues. NOTE: Your resume must contain sufficient information in these areas to be found qualified.
OR
2. One year of graduate-level education from an accredited college or university in wildlife biology, ecology, or a directly related field appropriate to this position or superior academic achievement (S.A.A).
OR
3. A combination of education and experience as described in 1 and 2 above which together equals 100% of the requirement.
Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A) is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.
Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
Grade-point average (G.P.A.)-- Applicants must have a grade-point average of:
3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.
Minimum Qualification [GS-9]:
One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility equivalent to grade GS-7 in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience may include: conducting biological or ecological investigations to determine the impact of various land and water development projects upon the fish and/or wildlife resources of an area; reviewing permit applications; assisting in developing comprehensive fish and/or wildlife management plans; preparing portions of draft biological opinions/assessments as required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA); reviewing biological portions of environment assessment/impact statements or resource planning reports; implementing biological work and/or habitat preservation and development work for endangered, threatened, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; and implementing federal environmental laws (i.e., Endangered Species Act, specifically Sections 7 and 10; Clean Water Act; Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act; National Environmental Policy Act), regulations, and policies involving natural resource issues. NOTE: Your resume must contain sufficient information in these areas to be found qualified. OR
Completion of two years of progressively higher-level graduate education at an accredited college or university leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in wildlife biology, ecology, or a directly related field appropriate to this position. OR
A combination of education and experience as described in 1 and 2 above which together equals 100% of the requirement.
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.
Time In Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet both eligibility and qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the JOA. Specifically,
i. Area of Consideration.
ii. Time-in-grade (TIG) requirements as specified in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
iii. Time after competitive appointment as specified in 5 CFR 330.502.
iv. Qualification requirements outlined in OPM's Qualifications Standards for General Schedule Positions or for Federal Wage System (FWS), wage grade positions, applicants are evaluated using the OPM Job Qualification System for Trades and Labor Occupations and the job element examining method
Your SF-50 will be used to confirm you meet all requirements
Education
PROOF OF EDUCATION: All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), degree conferred/awarded or type of degree being pursued (ex. undergrad, graduate (masters, PhD, etc,.), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.
PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.
GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours 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) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education. For further information, visit:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html
Contacts
- Address Division of Human Resources
Division of Human Resources
Eastside Federal Complex
911 NE Eleventh Avenue
Portland, OR 97232
US
- Name: Human Resources Staffing Division
- Phone: 000-000-0000
- Email: [email protected]