Biologist/Ecologist

Description:

This employee supports the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station located in Redding, CA. The selectee will perform work in the field of biology, participating as a member of a team working to evaluate effects of forest management activities on biological, ecological, and physical processes.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact at Matthew Dickinson at matthew.b.dickinson@usda.gov.

Requirements:

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

Work Experience: Your resume must clearly document the following for each block of work experience; the beginning day, month and year the work assignment started and ended; the hours worked per week; position title, and series and grade if applicable; and description of duties performed. This information must be provided for each permanent, temporary or seasonal appointment/work assignment or volunteer work and should be clearly documented as a separate block of time. Incomplete, inaccurate or conflicting work history may not be credited for qualifications purposes. This can result in an applicant not being considered for the position.

This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series listed below.
Basic Requirement for Biological Science series (0401):
Degree: successful completion of a full four year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
A combination of education and experience that included 24 semester hours in course work in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, AND experience sufficient to demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation that is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field needed to perform the work of the occupation.

Basic Requirements for Ecology series (0408):
Degree: successful completion of a full four-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in 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.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Minimum Qualifications for GS-9 Grade Level:
At least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service. To qualify, your resume must reflect ALL of the following: Planning biological science related field and/or laboratory data collection projects. Leading biological science/forest ecological assessment related data collection crews and completing quality control on data collections. Compiling, summarizing, analyzing, and mapping biological science related datasets.
OR
2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree, or master's or equivalent graduate degree with a thesis or coursework related to forest ecology, forest biology, or forest wildlife science research activities.

OR
A combination of specialized experience and graduate level education described above. Only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify for this grade level. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

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.