Biological Science Technician

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - This is a Merit Promotion announcement for current career and career conditional U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees, Career Transition eligibles (CTAP), U.S. Fish and Wildlife current or former time-limited employees eligible under Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Assist in the planning and implementation of wildlife censuses and surveys and recommend wildlife management practices. Assists in planning multifaceted wildlife studies by contributing ideas, determining research methods, establishing practical procedures for accomplishing and reporting the work and determining other needs, such as costs, equipment and personnel.
• Assists Wildlife Biologists and Senior Technician in the routine maintenance of the captive Puerto Rican Parrot flock.
• Assist in the wild population studies and monitoring activities related to the management of the wild Puerto Rican Parrot flock including accurate record keeping and management of computerized databases. Captures, applies visual and radio tags, and gathers physiological and spatial data on wildlife.
• Operates light trucks, vehicles, and various other equipment such as generators, radios, radio tracking equipment, water monitoring equipment, global positioning systems and cameras.t.
• Assist and supports in interagency recovery efforts including activities related to the Puerto Rican Parrot wild population in the Karst region and Maricao State Forest.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.

• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• You must pass a physical examination.
• You may need to complete a statement regarding your physical ability.
• You must be able to complete a Wildlife Radio tracking training program.
• You will be required to work on weekends and holidays. Might be required to work overtime and night shifts.
• You may be required to travel to other sites in Puerto Rico.
• You will be required to take tree climbing training and climb trees above 50 feet.
• You will be required to take chain saw training.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probationay period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/29/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Selective Placement Factors: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified.

• Fluent in Spanish and English

AND

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
Minimum Qualification [GS-05]

1. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level or higher in the Federal service related to wildlife management. Examples of qualifying experience include (1) assist with studies and surveys; (2) collecting and recording biological, physical, or environmental data in wildlife habitat; (3) organize biological data, or other work directly related to the duties or the position. NOTE: Your resume must contain sufficient information in these areas to be found qualified. OR
2. Successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 6 semester hours of courses must have been directly related to the position to be filled (e.g. wildlife management). OR
3. A combination of education and experience as described in 1 and 2 above which together equals 100% of the requirement

Minimum Qualifications [GS-06]

1. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level or higher in the Federal service related to wildlife management. Examples of qualifying experience include (1) conduct field investigation, studies and surveys, radio tagging; (2) collecting and recording biological, physical, or environmental data in wildlife, their habitat, and organize biological data; (3) training field staff on standard operating procedures and equipment use; (4) conducting program outreach to user groups and general public; and (6) using computer software to manage and analyze data and draft scientific reports. NOTE: Your resume must contain sufficient information in these areas to be found qualified. OR
2. One full year of graduate-level education that is directly related to the position to be filled (e.g., major study in or directly related to wildlife management).
3. A combination of education and experience as described in 1 and 2 above which together equals 100% of the requirement.

Combination of education and experience as listed above. Possess a combination of education and experience as listed above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of progressively higher-level graduate education you have completed and then divide it by 54. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

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.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Animal Husbandry
• Ecology
• Stamina
• Biology
• Scientific Knowledge (at full performance level of GS6)

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

DUE WEIGHT
Due Weight Consideration is a review process used to provide consideration to performance appraisals and awards submitted with each application on a used merit promotion certificate and factoring the results into the merit promotion selection process.

Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

It is your responsibility to obtain and upload your performance appraisal/evaluation and/or list of awards prior to the closing of the vacancy announcement.

To preview the application click: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13077985

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) -10/29/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement:

1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates in month-year format (include month/day/year format if needed for 52 weeks of experience), and indicate hours worked per week (or full-time). Your resume must clearly show how long you have held each grade/rank. Resumes must not exceed 2 single-sided pages and resumes longer than 2 pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed. Your 2-page resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements. Resume Builder: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include
2. Complete All Required Assessment(s).
3. Performance Appraisals and Awards: You must submit your most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor dated within the past 18 months. If unavailable, a written explanation is required (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level). Performance awards dated within the past 5 years may also be submitted for due weight consideration.
4. All College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
5. Eligibility Documentation:
   • Current and former Federal employees must submit latest SF-50 (i.e. Promotion, Separation, Within Grade Increase (WGI)) showing tenure 1 or 2 in block 24, grade, and if applicable, an additional SF-50 showing the highest grade or promotion potential held. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s. If your SF-50 showing highest permanent grade held has an effective date within the past year, your resume must clearly show that you held that grade for one year. Do not submit award SF-50s.
   • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA): If you are applying under LMWFA, you must submit ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH appointment verifying the Position Occupied code 1-Competitive Service (block 34); AND Documentation of satisfactory performance for each period of temporary employment claimed, such as, performance evaluations, memorandum of record, whereas the supervisor(s) documented an acceptable performance level for a specified rating/employment period.
   • Interagency Career Transition (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): You MUST submit proof of eligibility including 1) copy of the agency notice, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc.; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be well qualified. For more information visit: USAJOBS Help Center - Career Transition Programs (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents.

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