The Pacific West Region is recruiting for summer seasonal Biological Science Technician (Plants), GS-0404-5/6/7 positions intended to assist permanent staff with vegetation monitoring and whitebark pine monitioring field work. Open to the first 250 applicants or until 12/18/2023 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Duties

Multiple positions will be filled at multiple locations. Pay rates, start dates and amount of travel required will vary based on duty location. Mount Rainier NP: Ashford, WA (GS-05/06 Only), Longmire, Packwood, WA Olympic NP: Port Angeles, WA (GS-06/07 Only) These seasonal positions cover plant-related work in three different fields at Mount Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park: greenhouse work supporting extensive restoration efforts, including plant propagation and seed collection from native subalpine meadow and forest plants (GS-05/06) vegetation inventory and monitoring work including long-term monitoring in forest and alpine or subalpine environments. These positions require extensive off-trail travel and backcountry camping (GS-05/06/07) resource management work including forest monitoring and tree health assessments, and recreational impact monitoring (GS-05/06/07) All positions will require ability to identify native plant taxa, follow written and verbal protocols and record detailed field data, including spatial data collection. All positions include outdoor work in all seasonal conditions within the park, and occasional to frequent travel on and off-trail. Additional duties for the GS-06 level: Temporarily acts as Crew Leader as assigned. Temporarily serves in a leadership role with respect to compiling and organizing data needed to document work progress and findings as assigned. Additional duties for the GS-07 level: Serves as Crew Leader and supervises several seasonal Biological Science Technicians in the performance of assigned tasks. Communicates regularly with supervisor to prioritize work and develop work schedule. Serves in a leadership role with respect to compiling and organizing data needed to document work progress and findings and writing reports. Train and Lead field crews in establishing and measuring whitebark pine monitoring plots in backcountry locations. The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period for these positions is April to May but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: Mid-April 2024

Requirements

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by 11:59 EST when the 'applicant cut-off' is reached (which may be sooner than 12/18/2023). 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: 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). This experience includes activities such as: 1) collecting scientific data on vegetation; 2) implementing/assisting with vegetation inventories, studies, and surveys; 3) participating in site rehabilitation through soil preparation, native seed dispersal or collection, live planting and weeding; 4) performing a variety of manual, mechanical, chemical, or bio-control methods in planned management of plants; or 5) nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment; monitoring or controlling vegetation pests or diseases. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least four years of progressively higher-level undergraduate coursework leading to a bachelor's degree or equivalent undergraduate degree 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. At least 6 semester hours of courses must have been directly related to the position to be filled. 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 semester hours (or equivalent) earned towards a bachelor's degree, in excess of 60 semester hours, and divide by 60 semester hours (or equivalent). Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week worked and transcripts. To qualify at the GS-06 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-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: 1) implementing vegetation inventories, studies, and surveys; 2) participating in site rehabilitation through soil preparation and native seed collection; 3) performing a variety of manual, mechanical, chemical, or bio-control methods in planned management of plants including introduced or noxious weed species or native species; and 4) collecting, organizing and performing quality control of scientific data related to vegetation. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one year of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree with a major study in a directly related field such as biology, plant science, ecology, botany, or agriculture. 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 semester hours (or equivalent) earned towards a directly related graduate degree and divide by 18 semester hours (or equivalent). Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week worked and transcripts. To qualify at the GS-07 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-06 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: 1) participating in site rehabilitation through soil preparation, native seed collection, broadcast or drill seeding, native plant salvage, and/or planting of native plants for upland and/or wetland restoration; 2) setting-up and managing environmental monitoring equipment; 3) conducting field surveys and vegetation mapping in remote locations to document and assess plant presence, abundance, reproduction, management issues, and population dynamics using established protocols and use of standard scientific equipment (such as GPS); 4) managing and summarizing, vegetation data using computer software (such as Microsoft Access, Excel, Word, ArcGIS, Pathfinder Office, or comparable); and 5) leading a field crew in vegetation management or control work. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one year of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree with a major study in a directly related field such as biology, plant science, ecology, botany, or agriculture. 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 semester hours (or equivalent) earned towards a directly related graduate degree and divide by 18 semester hours (or equivalent). Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week worked and 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. ICTAP/CTAP Statement: 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.

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.

Contacts

• Address PWR Seasonal Recruitment 333 Bush Street Suite 500 San Francisco, CA 94104 US
• Name: Alexis Brooks
• Email: [email protected]