This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Pacific Islands Region (PIR) with one vacancy in Hilo, HI; Honolulu, HI; Kihei, HI; or Pago Pago, American Samoa. This position is also announced under vacancy number NOS ONMS-25-12644857-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.

Duties

As a Research Ecologist, you will perform the following duties: Carry out the planned implementation of a sanctuaries research monitoring and assessment programs and plans. Support the development of proposals to internal and external Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to obtain funds. Review and implement studies, establish milestones and budgets from planning through design, implementation, and execution. Coordinate program operations and schedule activities. Plan, implement, and participate in multi-day, multi-disciplinary cruises, including vessel preparation, multi-sector participant coordination, and logistics. Review or conduct research, monitoring and characterization plans, and apply natural resource and biological background to help inform on resource protection and management strategies, activities, policies, regulations, management plans, and programs for the sanctuary site, in order to conserve, protect, enhance, restore, investigate, and manage sanctuary resources. Carry out reviews of the assigned science area, based on the science needs of site and system-wide priorities. Ensure partners and project participants meet established requirements for implementation, collection, tracking and reporting, and communication and documentation of findings and results. Work with professional communities and partners to document new methods, requirements, and objectives. Suggest and recommend strategies to overcome significant resource or environmental problems. Prepare and make presentations to Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) staff and site or regional leadership and provide technical leadership on routine conservation issues. Synthesize complex scientific information and prepare reports, presentations, and assessments, to include Condition Reports, peer-reviewed journals, and ONMS website material. Represent ONMS at meetings, conferences, and professional organizations.

Requirements

Qualifications

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: May require fieldwork with a minimum of 2 weeks per year. Incumbent will need to travel to a variety of regional locations to conduct field work, meet with collaborators, collect and evaluate data, and participate in scientific presentations. May require SCUBA license certification. Some locations may require the incumbent to collect and process marine-related field data; coordinate and manage access to data collected or managed by the sanctuary. Plan and execute SCUBA operations to collect field data.; Plan, coordinate and/or execute marine field research from conception to peer-reviewed publication including project planning, and other sanctuary logistics to support operations and plans. PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: This position has physical requirements. Fieldwork requires the incumbent to live on board and work on research vessels in the marine offshore environment for up to 21 days at a time which can include rough seas and inclement weather. While at sea, the incumbent will be required to stand for long periods of time, bend/stoop and lift up to 40 lbs. unassisted. Perform non-cruise tasks such as driving a truck loaded with research equipment to vessel; requires ability to lift gear and delivering/picking up equipment from vessels. 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. To qualify for the 0408 series: EDUCATION: BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following basic education requirements: Degree: biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences. 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 Requirements 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 research, monitoring, characterization, or assessment activities related to environmental and marine issues, or the diversity of habitats, rare and protected species and related ecological relationships (e.g. participating in the planning and development of research projects, conducting research projects, conducting field operations, assessment reporting, etc.); Collaborating with marine and natural resource planners, regulators or marine industry stakeholders to mitigate conservation issues; and Supporting the development or dissemination of scientific and technical papers, reports or information (e.g. peer-reviewed journals, publications, articles, education material, scientific reports, etc.) through data analysis, assessments or reporting of information related to one or more of the following; marine habitats, living resources, water quality, or economic information. 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.

Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. 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]