These positions are located at Yosemite National Park in California and North Cascades National Park in Washington State. One position is available at each National Park.
Duties:
Support the NPS wildland fire program of work, including the planning and implementation of fuels treatments, analyzing effects of wildland fires, and applying a science-based adaptive management approach to wildland fire across a network of Parks.
Present information as a representative of an organization or agency at meetings, conferences, or symposia, regarding scientific studies, such as ecological monitoring.
Conduct ecological monitoring of vegetation and soils impacted by fires, and articulate ecologically sound objectives to strengthen and facilitate the land management planning process.
Assist in analyzing fire spread models, fire danger levels, and implementation of risk-based decision support systems for fire management.
Collect, analyze, report, and interpret the ecological impacts of fire suppression, prescribed fire, or wildfires for managers.
Document trends in large landscapes impacted by wildfires, fire suppression, or prescribed fire, and utilize fire ecology information to inform the adaptive management process.
Develop and review fire management plans, and cultural or natural resource management plans to ensure compliance with environmental laws.
Requirements:
U.S. Citizenship required.
Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
You may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle.
Work may require travel by fixed-wing or rotorwing aircraft.
You may be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
Subject to frequent extended travel up to 14 or more nights per month particularly during fire season, and you must obtain a government charge card for travel.
You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
Government housing may be available on a bid system basis.
Qualifications:
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement 07/05/2024 unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.
Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience.
For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.
Basic Requirement:
Required OPM Education Requirements for 0408 Ecology Series:
Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement as defined below. For more information on the qualifications for this position, go to: OPM GS-0408 Ecology Qualifications
Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-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.
Specialized Experience Requirement:
For the GS-09: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service.
Examples of qualifying specialized experience include duties such as: inventorying and compiling data on ecosystem components, such as vegetation or wildlife habitat; monitoring and reporting interactions between grasslands, deciduous forests, and rangelands, caused by environmental factors; or studying the structure and interactions of populations of species in a land area.
OR
Substitution of Education for Experience: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited educational institution concentrated in a field that is directly related to the work of this position, such as in restoration ecology, rangeland ecology, wildlife ecology, ecology, or other directly-related subject matter.
OR
Equivalent combination of such education and experience. For example, I have six months of the specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), and 27 semester hours or 41 quarter hours of appropriate directly related graduate education (50 percent of the education requirement).
For the GS-11: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 in the Federal service. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include duties such as: planning and implementing studies of ecosystem components, such as vegetation or wildlife habitat; developing and carry out scientific protocols monitoring environmental factors, such as grasslands, deciduous forests, rangelands, and the interactions between them; or studying and reporting on the structure and interactions of populations of species in a land area.
OR
Substitution of Education for Experience: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Coursework must be directly related to position being filled which is forest inventory and analysis.
OR
An appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education described above. Only graduate education beyond what is required for a master's degree is creditable for this combination, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.
You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".
Volunteer Experience: 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.
Education:
To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your 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.