This position is located in the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), Conservation Biology (CB) Division, with one vacancy in Seattle, WA or Newport, OR. This is a term appointment not to exceed 13 months/years with possible extensions up to a total of 10 years without further competition. Appointment to this position will not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

Duties

As a Research Social Scientist you will perform the following duties: Collaborate with a team of social, ecological, and biophysical scientists within the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to develop comprehensive social, economic, cultural, and coupled social-ecological analyses for ecosystem-based fisheries management on the U.S. west coast. Research and examine the impacts of climate, commercial and recreational fishery management regulations, and other factors on fishing behavior, fisheries, and coastal fishing communities. Contribute to ecosystem status reports, climate vulnerability assessments, and related decision-support materials. Coordinate and facilitate participatory research, qualitative modeling and scenario planning activities to support climate models and inform proposed management strategies. Support the incorporation of social science research findings into the Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI) Decision Support tools, management strategy evaluations, and stock and ecosystem assessments. Draft grant proposals to secure supplementary funding for research endeavors. Create a variety of basic materials to communicate research findings. Document and archive research methodologies and data to ensure replicability. Participate on regional and national working groups pertaining to CEFI, ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM), integrated ecosystem assessments (IEAs), and other relevant topics. Contribute to the formulation of amendments to fishery management and ecosystem plans by providing analytical insights and data to support the evaluation of the social and/or economic impacts of proposed management alternatives. Ensure that socio-economic sections of fishery management plan amendments adhere to the best available scientific standards.

Requirements

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: EDUCATION: Degree: behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience: that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. To qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Participating in the investigation of economic or social impacts for ecosystem or fisheries research efforts; and Gathering data on economic or social information for reports or documents related to living marine resource management. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Master's or equivalent graduate degree. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and professional experience. Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Note: Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience.

Education

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation

Contacts

• Address NOAA Office of Human Capital Services (OHCS) 1315 East West Hwy SSMC4 Silver Spring, MD 20910 US
• Name: Applicant Inquiries
• Email: [email protected]