This Internship position may involve specific administrative task/work assignments and a variety of activities and assignments, and working with technical and professional staff in support of office programs and activities to gain practical work experience. Interns may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to permanent employment.

Duties

MISS: The Biological Science Technician serves in the resource management division of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS), a partnership-based national park in Minnesota. 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 assist on a regular basis the field biologist in landscape restoration activities that include invasive species removal and control and re-introduction and care of native plant species. The incumbent will assist in providing technical information, ensure quality control, and solve logistical or operational problems within the scope of the incumbent's knowledge and authority. MISS has a growing volunteer program including the Habitat Restoration Event (HRE) program; the incumbent will assist in providing advice, assistance and training to support the park's volunteer programs on tasks such as treatment and removal of invasive and exotic species, and landscape restorations including planting and caring for native plant species. PIPE: Serves as a Biological Science Technician with the Natural Resource Management Division under the guidance of the Natural Resource Program Manager. The incumbent will be responsible for organizing, scheduling, and executing a wide variety of established natural resource management projects. Specifically, this position is responsible for coordinating and leading a Youth Conservation Corp field crew conducting habitat restoration and invasive plant control activities throughout the park. Practical knowledge of a wide range of ecological concepts, on-the-ground restoration skills and ability to work well with staff and a diversity of park partners is required. The control of non-native plant species involves the use of a variety of methods, including herbicides, hand-pulling, and mechanical removal with weed wrenches and loppers. This will include some monitoring which will require the ability to identify newly introduced species to the park and to distinguish native species vs. nonnative. The incumbent will use computer software applications (e.g., Access, Excel, Word, ArcGIS etc.) and GPS/GIS equipment to enter, process, assemble, and summarize data, and create reports and recommendations from natural resources projects. This position involves physically demanding work in difficult field conditions (heat/humidity, biting insects, poisonous plants, etc.) and uneven terrain. Additional duties may include work on other resource-related projects such as water quality monitoring, plant or animal surveys, and assisting the Interpretation Program.

Requirements

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-02/16/2024-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 qualified specialized experience. To be eligible for this pathways position you must: Be enrolled in a degree seeking program. Be enrolled on one half (½) time basis. Have a minimum 2.0 grade average. Attending an accredited education institution. Provide transcripts with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Be enrolled for the next semester/quarter following the period of this vacancy. To qualify for this position at the GS-4 grade level, you must possess at least one or all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least six (6) months general experience and six (6) months of specialized experience for a total of one year of experience. In making this claim, I understand that General Experience is (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation; and that Specialized Experience is experience which demonstrates that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position Examples of qualifying specialized experience include assisting in conducting biological field studies and surveys and assembling the information. Follow standardized procedures to collect data on condition of resources. Use statistical methods and procedures to perform routine testing of field data collected. Assist in vegetation and soils mapping. Develop improved methods of controlling weeds and plant diseases or other related work etc. (I understand that excess specialized experience can substitute for general experience; but excess general experience cannot be substituted for required specialized experience). You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two years of education above high school in an accredited educational institution (60 semester hour or 90 quarter hours) which included at least 12 semester hours 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, wildlife biology, zoology, ornithology etc. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, posses six (6) months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirements for this position and grade level) combined with one year of education as outlined above (50% of the education required to qualify), which included at least six (6) semester hours of scientific or technical courses, such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least three (3) semester hours of courses must be directly related to this position. Examples of directly related courses are biology, botany, ecology, environmental science, or natural resource management. 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.

You will NOT be considered under Pathways unless you provide supporting information from your school. Documentation may be provided in letter format from your academic advisor, school counselor, admission office, etc. to prove enrollment OR it may be provided in the form of several official documents from your school such as a copy of your official transcripts and a copy of your class schedule for next semester. Copies of documents from your school website are acceptable if they contain all relevant information as listed above. Letters from advisors or other school officials must be on school letterhead.

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
• Email: [email protected]