This position is a Fish Biologist, GS- 0482-7/9 working in Ellsworth, ME for the R5-Green Lake National Fish Hatchery.

Duties

As a Fish Biologist your duties will include but are not limited to the following: Performs a variety of operational tasks and applies standard methods and practices relating to daily hatchery operational activities including fish cultural activities, disease control, collection, care, treatment, and spawning of brood stock; incubation of eggs; feeding, cleaning, and sample counting of fry and fingerlings; cleaning of raceways and tanks; distribution of eggs, fry, and fingerlings; and the tagging and marking programs. Conducts visual and microscopic examinations of fish for diseases and parasites. Collects, monitors and analyzes a wide variety of water management parameters and biological data including but not limited to: nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, alkalinity, pH, hardness, dissolved oxygen, total gas pressure, nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide, temperature, turbidity, zoo plankton, phytoplankton, and aquatic insects levels inside production ponds. Participates in and assists in the development of project plans and methods to conduct assessments of aquatic species populations and/or their habitats using a wide variety of conventional methods. Establishes and maintains cooperative relationships with personnel from other Federal, State, Tribal, and local government agencies; conservation partners and organizations; and other civic entities to coordinate fish production activities (i.e. releasing juvenile fish, exchanging gametes from various stocks of listed fish, and transferring fish, etc.), and to disseminate information.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• 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.
• Driver’s License: This position requires the incumbent to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of their official duties. Selectee must hold and maintain a valid state driver’s license throughout their employment in this position.
• Commercial Driver’s License: This position requires the incumbent to obtain and maintain a valid commercial driver’s license during their employment in this position.
• Uniform: Official U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uniform is required.
• 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 12/30/2024 will be considered. In order to qualify for this position you must possess both the Basic Requirement and Minimum Qualification. Basic Requirement: Degree: major in biological science that included: 1) At least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology; AND 2) At least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields. (Excess course work in aquatic subjects may be used to meet this requirement when appropriate.). OR Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in the animal sciences, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Minimum Qualification [GS-07] One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility equivalent to grade GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is described as: assisting with biological initiatives related to the management of fish and aquatic resources; collecting data and biological information concerning fish populations or fish culture techniques; and assisting with the preparation and presentation of data relative to fishery resources. OR A bachelor's degree AND meet one of the Superior Academic Achievement Provisions. 1. Maintained a grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 3.0 or higher) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. - OR - 2. Maintained a grade-point average "B+" (a GPA of 3.5 or higher) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. -OR- 3. Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university, or major subdivision. -OR- 4. Am a member of a national honor (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Please submit a college transcript(s) showing your grade point average for all four years of undergraduate study, including all transferred courses. NOTE: GPA's are rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honor society. OR One year (18 semester hours) of graduate education in biology or a closely related field which provided me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully complete the work of the position. Minimum Qualification [GS-09] One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility equivalent to grade GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience may include: 1) Performs a variety of operational tasks and applies standard methods and practices relating to daily hatchery operational activities; 2) Assists in the development of diagnostic protocols and recording experimental fish culture data; 3) Writes reports on study findings and recommendations for peer-reviewed publications; 4) Assists with the implementation of the hatchery outreach program by providing tours, maintaining the hatchery visitor center, and conducting fishing events on and off-site. OR 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in a discipline directly related to the position. OR A combination of specialized experience and graduate education as described above that, when combined, equals 100% of the total requirement. 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 Record of Rating: All applicants must be performing at a fully successful level or higher in order to be considered for this position. Applicants must provide a current rating of record dated within the past 18 months at the fully successful or higher level. Applicants who do not have a current rating of record available must provide a reason and certify that their performance is acceptable, and they have not been advised that their performance is currently at an unacceptable level.

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 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. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Shared Certificates:
Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests:
If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here:
https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

Contacts

• Address
• Name: Human Resources Staffing Division
• Email: [email protected]