Interdisciplinary Research Ecologist, Fish Biologist (Assistant Unit Leader)

Summary

What General Information Do I Need to Know About This Position?

Salary: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.

GS-12: $86,962 (Step 01) to $113,047 (Step 10)

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Duties

As an Assistant Unit Leader of the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit, some of your specific duties will include:

• Plans, conducts, and directs research related to fish, wildlife, or ecological resources, with application to contemporary science, policy and management needs.
• Conducts research that is cooperator driven and provides scientific basis for management and policy decisions.
• Serves as subject matter expert in fish ecology, providing leadership and guidance to government and private agencies and university representatives through participation in meetings, conferences and work groups.
• Disseminates research results via final reports, peer-reviewed print scientific journals, online scientific journals, books, book chapters or other outlets. Makes presentations on findings to scientific and conservation organizations.
• Serves as graduate faculty member, contributing to both the research, graduate student mentorship, and teaching mission of the university.
• Works closely with Cooperators of the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit to help meet collective diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.
• Operates a government vehicle as an incidental driver.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Key Requirements:

1. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
2. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
3. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
4. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
5. Selectee must provide a valid state driver’s license & safe driving record.

Are There Any Special Requirements for This Position?

• You will be required to operate a government-owned or leased vehicle in the performance of your official duties. Applicants for this position must meet the following requirements: (1) possess a valid State license, and (2) possess a safe driving record. If selected, you will be required to provide proof of a valid State license & a copy of your driving record.
• Because this position requires travel for official business, you will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
• The successful applicant will be required to maintain a graduate faculty appointment with the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and participate on university and graduate committees, advise graduate students and post-doctoral scientists, and other tasks that are shared by departmental faculty. You will work closely with Cornell University, State (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation), Federal (U.S. Geologic Survey and Fish and Wildlife Service), and non-profit (Wildlife Management Institute) Cooperators.
• If selected for this position, you may be required to file one or more financial statements upon reporting and annually, some of which may be subject to public disclosure.
• A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant’s successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.

Qualifications

DEFINITIONS:

Undergraduate Education: A year of undergraduate education is 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent of college study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent was a prerequisite.

Graduate Education: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.

Experience: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows: 2 years = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

This position is interdisciplinary and may be filled with either of the occupational job series listed. You must meet the educational requirements of at least one of these occupational series, in addition to the Ph.D. requirement listed below, in order to be considered for this position.

Basic Education for Research Ecologist, GS-0408:

Applicants must meet the following to satisfy the basic education requirement for Ecologist, all grade levels. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree in biology or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours or the equivalent in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours or the equivalent in ecology, and 12 semester hours or the equivalent in physical and mathematical sciences.

Basic Education for Research Fish Biologist, GS-0482:

Applicants must meet the following to satisfy the basic education requirement for Research Fish Biologist, all grade levels. Research Positions: Applicants must show that they have a degree with major study in biology, zoology, or biological oceanography that included at least 30 semester hours in biological and aquatic science and 15 semester hours in the physical and mathematical sciences. This course work must have included:

• At least 15 semester hours of preparatory training in zoology beyond introductory biology or zoology in such courses as invertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, histology, physiology, embryology, advanced vertebrate zoology, genetics, entomology, and parasitology; and
• At least 6 semester hours of training applicable to fishery biology in such subjects as fishery biology, ichthyology, limnology, oceanography, algology, planktonology, marine or fresh water ecology, invertebrate ecology, principles of fishery population dynamics, or related course work in the field of fishery biology; and
• At least 15 semester hours of training in any combination of two or more of the following: chemistry, physics, mathematics, or statistics.

Ph.D. REQUIREMENT:

In addition to meeting at least one of the Basic Education Requirements described above, in order to receive consideration for this position, applicants must also possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Fish Biology, Ecology, Fisheries Management, or a closely related field of study appropriate for this position.

To verify the Ph.D. requirement, transcripts or verification from the university registrar must be submitted that clearly state: Ph.D. awarded, major, and date of conferral. Failure to provide this information will result in your application receiving no further consideration.

QUALITY RANKING FACTOR:

This vacancy announcement has a Quality Ranking Factor. Possession of the following factor is not required in order to meet the minimum qualifications. Applicants who possess this factor may be ranked above those who do not:

Possession of a (1) A Ph.D. that is directly related to fish biology and ecology, fisheries science and management, or conservation and management of aquatic ecosystems and species; (2) demonstrated ability to build an applied research program focused on the ecology of inland waters and marine coastlines; fisheries science and management; conservation and management of aquatic species; dynamics of large lake and coastal ecosystems; food web ecology; or habitat and species restoration; (3) demonstrated ability to effectively employ a strong quantitative toolkit in applied research, which may include use of frequentist or Bayesian approaches, hierarchical modeling, occupancy modeling, capture-recapture, integrated population modeling, spatial modeling, machine learning and deep learning, or network modeling; (4) demonstrated ability to teach a university-level course focused on fisheries population dynamics, dynamic management of aquatic ecosystems, or quantitative/spatial modeling; (5) capacity to conduct and facilitate collaborative research at both local and regional scales in partnerships with state, federal, and university research scientists to address aquatic-focused management and conservation questions, such as spatial and temporal responses of populations, communities, and/or ecosystems to environmental stressors such as climate change, intense storms, sea-level rise, invasive species, hydrologic alterations, contaminants, and off-shore wind development; and, engaging with diverse stakeholders to inform aquatic ecosystem management and policy decisions through scenario planning, decision science, and/or adaptive management; and, (6) experience in successfully designing, planning, and conducting laboratory and field research resulting in effective, peer-reviewed synthesis.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

• 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.
• Foreign Education: 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: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .

Additional information

Other Information:

• Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
• Number of Vacancies – There is currently only one vacancy to be filled; however, this announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies if they become available.
• The full performance level for a Research position is GS-15; however, promotion eligibility is dependent upon the scientific contributions of the incumbent as evaluated by a peer panel.
• Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.
• USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations.
• The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
• DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
• The Department of the Interior (DOI) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission.
• THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

Agency Benefits:

• USGS has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework in accordance with the DOI Telework policy and with supervisor approval. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis.
• For additional information on our internal telework policy, please reference the Department of the Interior Telework Handbook at: https://www.doi.gov/telework/policies.
• Working for the U.S. Geological Survey offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; health, life, dental, vision, and long-term care insurance, flexible spending accounts; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

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How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Vacancy Related Questions: As part of the online application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following competencies:

• Conducting Research
• Disseminating Results
• Interpersonal Communication
• Obtaining Grants
• Project Management
• Program / Project Management
• Publishing Results
• Scientific Knowledge
• Teaching
• Written Communication

Basis of Rating:

Category rating will be used in the ranking and selection process for this position. The quality categories are Best Qualified, Well Qualified, and Qualified. You will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you are eligible, your on-line responses to the application questions will determine your placement in the appropriate quality category described above. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible. Veterans’ preference rules for category rating will be applied.

Additional Assessment Required: If you meet the eligibility and basic qualification requirements for this position and score above the cut-score based on your responses to the occupational questionnaire, a subject-matter-expert will perform a structured review of your resume to evaluate your knowledge, skills, abilities, and competences as they directly relate to the duties of this position.

NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.

To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12328898

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How to Apply

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS CONTINUED:

Military Spouse – Submit verification of active duty member of the armed forces (i.e. a copy of your spouse’s orders verifying currently on active duty and verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage); OR verification of the member’s 100% disability (official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs (dated 1991 or later)); OR verification of the member’s death while on active duty (DD-1300 and Death Certificate) AND verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage). Additional information can be found here.

Appointment of Certain Former Overseas Employees – Submit a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action that confirms your eligibility and a performance appraisal from that period. Additional information can be found here.

Peace Corps & VISTA – Former Peace Corps volunteers or VISTA members must submit their Certification of Volunteer Service. Present and former Peace Corps personnel must submit a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action that confirms their eligibility. Additional information can be found here.

White House Staff – Submit proof that you are a current employee serving in the immediate Office of the President or Vice-President or on the White House Staff who has completed at least 2 years of service. Additional information can be found here.

Certain National Guard Technicians – Submit proof that confirms that you were involuntarily separated (other than by removal for cause on charges of misconduct or delinquency); you served at least 3 years as a technician; and are within 1 year of your separation date from service as a Guard Technician. Additional information can be found here.

Public Land Corps (PLC) – Submit the signed Certificate of Eligibility for Noncompetitive Hiring Status (PLC) issued by the PLC Coordinator for the organization where the creditable service was completed. Additional information can be found here.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applications (resume and application questions) for this vacancy must be received on-line via USAJOBS BEFORE midnight Eastern Time (Washington, D.C. time) on the closing date of this announcement. If you fail to submit a complete online resume, you will not be considered for this position. Requests for extensions will not be granted. Most libraries, employment offices, and all USGS personnel offices can provide access to the Internet. If applying online poses a hardship for you, you must speak to someone in the Servicing Human Resources Office listed on this announcement PRIOR TO THE CLOSING DATE for assistance.

Instructions for Applying Online for this Vacancy Announcement: 1) Click the blue “Apply Online” button. 2) If you are not a registered USAJOBS user, please create a new account and follow the instructions to complete your application process. If you are a registered user, login to access your existing USAJOBS profile. 3) As a registered user, select a stored resume and select one or more of your stored documents to attach to your application. 4) Check the “Certification” box and click the “Apply for this position now!” button located at the bottom of the screen. 5) Address the eligibility questions as well as the questionnaire containing questions and/or task statements that address the knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies for this vacancy. 6) Submit required documents. 7) If you experience technical difficulties during the online application process, please contact the USAJOBS helpdesk.

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Agency contact information

Christina Klima Christina Klima

Phone

3032369568

Email

[email protected]

Address

NEW YORK CF AND WRU

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive

Mail Stop 600

Reston, VA 20192

US

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Next steps

If you are rated as one of the most highly qualified candidates, you will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. We expect to make a selection within 30-45 days of the closing date of this announcement. You will be notified via email of the outcome. You can also go to “My Account” within USAJOBS to review your Application Status.

Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.

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