The purpose of the position is to perform a wide variety of interrelated or nonstandard biological science technical support assignments in one, or more, of the following program areas: wildlife, fisheries, or plants.

Duties

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area: The Biological Science Technician serves in the Natural Resource/Land Management Program of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a partnership-based national park in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. The incumbent will help lead on the beaver inventory, monitoring and assessment program that the park is conducting in coordination with researchers from the University of Minnesota. Additional projects include participating in a variety of other bird/insect/wildlife inventory and research such as: frog acoustic monitoring, dragonfly mercury surveys, otter and waterbird surveys, climate change/habitat research and other projects as they arise. Occasional assistance with the park's land restoration and climate change adaptive projects may be required. The incumbent will implement established natural resource management projects and field research by following instructions and standardized procedures to collect and organize field data. The incumbent will ensure adequate quality control of data collected samples. Recording all data collected and providing preliminary assessment and classification of the information will be expected. The incumbent will provide technical information, ensure quality control, and solve logistical or operational problems within the scope of the incumbent's knowledge and authority. The incumbent will also provide assistance and training opportunities for volunteers to participate in natural resource wildlife, bird and insect field research. Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway: The Biological Science Technician serves in the resource stewardship and education division of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN). The incumbent will plan, organize, schedule, and execute a wide variety of established natural resource management projects. The incumbent will be responsible for assisting and leading field crews conducting terrestrial restoration projects and may assist with aquatic monitoring projects focused on zebra mussels, native mussels, native fish, and invasive plant species. The incumbent will assist with bat monitoring, deploying, and retrieving acoustic monitors from the field, and down/uploading the data to the appropriate site as per the bat protocol. The incumbent will make field observations of natural resource conditions and assist with vegetation monitoring and invasive plant treatments. The incumbent will implement established natural resource management projects and field research by following instructions and standardized procedures to collect and organize field data. The incumbent will ensure adequate quality control of data collected samples. Recording all data collected and providing preliminary assessment and classification of the information will be expected. The incumbent will use various computer programs and databases for data entry and managing and manipulating digital images. The incumbent will perform field and laboratory analysis of collected samples. The incumbent will provide technical information, ensure quality control, and solve logistical or operational problems within the scope of the incumbent's knowledge and authority. The incumbent will advise and provide instruction for other employees and volunteers how to conduct field tasks safely and efficiently. Work will be focused on projects related to invasive plant control, habitat restoration, plant and animal inventory and monitoring, and database management. For all positions applicants must be able to obtain a Motorboat Operator Certification Course (MOCC) or Motorboat Operator Instructor Certification Course (MOICC) after entrance on duty date.

Requirements

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-12/28/2023-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. To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least one or all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level in the federal service. Specialized experience for Biological Technician GS-05 is that experience which demonstrates that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include conducting biological field studies and surveys and assembling the information. Follow standardized procedures to collect data on Wildlife, Fisheries, or plants. Use statistical methods and procedures to perform testing of field data collected. Installs, operates, and maintains resource management equipment (tools, sampling and monitoring, photographic, and laboratory equipment) prepares graphs, charts, and illustrations for reports and technical publications relating to biological management activities. -OR- EDUCATION: Have successfully completed a full four (4) year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of scientific or technical courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture or mathematics. At least six (6) semester hours are directly related to the position such as botany, forest ecology, silviculture, plant ecology, as wildlife biology, zoology, ornithology etc. IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must document your course work and/or degree completed in your resume or other application materials you submit. You must submit a copy of your transcripts that identifies for each course the college or university, semester or quarter hours earned, grade received, and date completed. If you are qualifying based on education and you do not submit specific course work information as described previously, your application will be rated not qualified for consideration. (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected). You must include transcripts. -OR- COMBINATION: Have a combination of specialized experience as described above and education as described above which total 100percent. Only education beyond the 60 semester hours above high school is considered qualifying when combined with specialized experience. Thirty semester hours beyond the first 60 is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. For example, 6 month of specialized experience (50% of the specialized experience requirement) and 90 semester hours with at least 12 semester hours related to the position and three (3) hours directly related to the position (50 % of the education requirement) would be considered qualifying. NOTE: If you are qualifying based in part, upon education, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts. You must include hours per week worked. 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. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.

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 Midwest-West Regional Human Resources Office 246 S Chicago Street Hot Springs, SD 57747 US
• Name: MWR HR West Team
• Phone: 402 661 1986
• Email: [email protected]