Job opening: Wildlife Biologist (Disease)
Salary: $103 409 - 149 465 per year
Published at: Aug 28 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
This position is a Wildlife Biologist (Disease), GS-0486-13 working in one of the four locations listed below for the R9-Natural Resources Program Center.
Duty location: Denver, CO or FT Collins CO or Bozeman, MT or Albuquerque, NM. See Additional Information.
This announcement will close when it reaches 75 applications which may be sooner than the closing date.
Duties
As a Wildlife Biologist (Disease) your duties may include but are not limited to the following:
Prepares issue papers, briefing documents, and provides verbal briefings to upper management regarding wildlife disease situations and findings.
Recommends and drafts policies, regulations, or management action plans to protect wildlife populations and assesses potential effects of wildlife diseases on populations.
Works as a member of the Wildlife Health office team and maintains knowledge of emerging and current regional and national disease outbreaks with potential impact on Refuge programs.
Conducts biological field investigations involving wildlife populations, including population health, disease surveillance, and ecological epidemiology.
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.
- 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 09/03/2024 will be considered.
In order to qualify for this position you must possess both the Basic Requirement and Minimum Qualification.
Basic Requirement:
A. I have a bachelor's degree or higher in biological sciences that include: at least 9 semester hours in such wildlife subjects as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research courses in the field of wildlife biology; and at least 12 semester hours in zoology in such subjects as general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology, parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects (Excess courses in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where appropriate.); and at least 9 semester hours in botany or related plant sciences. NOTE: Transcripts required.
OR
B. I have completed a combination of education and experience: equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), with at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects, 12 semester hours in zoology, and 9 semester hours in botany or related plant science, as shown in A above, PLUS appropriate experience or additional education. NOTE: Transcripts required and Your resume must contain sufficient detail of this level of work, i.e., complete begin/end dates, hours worked per week, duties performed, etc. for each timeframe for consideration.
Minimum Qualification GS-13
I have at least one (1) year of full-time specialized experience comparable to the GS-12 grade level in Federal service that equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience may include experience in applying principles of wildlife health and conservation; apply methods of humane care and use of free-ranging wild animals; experience in applying recent developments in a variety of scientific fields such as microbiology, ecology, epidemiology, anesthesiology, the use of pharmaceuticals and controlled substances, parasitology, wildlife management, and other sciences; developing and analyzing biological study proposals, survey designs, scopes-of-work and implementing biological programs involving natural resources; evaluating diverse animal research protocols for compliance with regulations; and utilizing scientific methods and communicating the results of findings; providing biological advice and guidance to management in the development of management plans and coordinating management activities with involved agencies, researchers and other stakeholders.
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), 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:
Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov)