Biological Science Technician (Wildlife) Job in Luray, VA

Vacancy No. NE-1612-SHEN-25-12630151-OC Department National Park Service
Salary $19.33 to $23.94 Grade 5 to 7
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/17/2025 Close Date 5/6/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Luray, VA


Summary

These temporary/1039 positions are located in Shenandoah National Park, in the Natural and Cultural Division to assist with wildlife population, capture, and monitoring. This announcement has an early cut-off date (see Duties section for more information).

Duties

Initial Cut-off Date: This is an open continuous announcement in which applications are collected over several months, and have multiple cut-off dates. Applications will be considered throughout the open period of the announcement. ** The first cut-off date for early referral is Friday, January 31, 2025. ** Referral certificates will be issued when a hiring official exhausts current certificate and/or additional vacancies need to be filled.

The purpose of the positions is to perform human-wildlife conflicts management in Shenandoah National Park. The incumbent performs as a field assistant to park biologists and a Lead Biological Technician to implement a human-wildlife conflict/aversive conditioning program (primarily black bear). Major duties include:

  • Educate the public about human/wildlife conflict to prevent wildlife habituation.
  • Assessing habituated or food-conditioned black bear and white-tailed deer behavior in developed areas.
  • Perform basic aversive conditioning on habituated bears and deer throughout the park's developed areas.
  • Basic aversive conditioning includes the ability to safely use air horns, paintball guns, and projectile noisemakers for the purposes of hazing primarily habituated black bear and deer.
  • Conduct (or assist with) food-conditioned bear culvert-trapping and will assist with relocations.
  • Assist with food-conditioned bear free-range capture work (including tagging and collaring).
  • Live-trap nuisance raccoons and skunks.
  • Conducting surveillance for potential chronic wasting disease (CWD) positive deer and conducting opportunistic CWD surveillance by sampling road-killed deer throughout the park.
  • Maintains wildlife management equipment and performs data entry into customized computer databases.
  • Use standardized software for preliminary wildlife data analysis and summary.
  • Reports natural resource-related violations to law enforcement staff.

THIS POSITION MAY INVOLVE LONG DISTANCE HIKING, UP TO 5 MILES A DAY IN STEEP, MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN IN ALL TYPES OF WEATHER. THERE MAY BE FREQUENT EXPOSURE TO HIGH HEAT & HUMIDITY, COLD, WIND, RAIN, STINGING INSECTS, AND TICKS (INCLUDING TICKS THAT CARRY LYME DISEASE). THE REGULAR WORK SCHEDULE INCLUDES BOTH WEEKEND DAYS.

SELECTEE MUST BE CAPABLE OF LIFTING, CARRYING AND PACKING OBJECTS AND LOADS OF 40-50 POUNDS. THE POSITION REQUIRES FREQUENT STRENUOUS ACTIVITY (i.e., INCLUDING BEING ABLE TO LOAD A BEAR CULVERT TRAP INTO THE BACK OF A PICK-UP TRUCK).

Positions may be filled at the GS-05, GS-06, or GS-07 grade level.
GS-05 salary is $19.33 per hour. GS-06 salary is $21.54 per hour. GS-07 salary is $23.94 per hour.

POSITION LOCATION: Shenandoah National Park preserves and protects more than 300 square miles of nationally significant natural and cultural resources, scenic beauty, and congressionally designated wilderness within Virginia's northern Blue Ridge Mountains; and provides a broad range of opportunities for public enjoyment, recreation, inspiration, and stewardship. Within just 90 miles of Washington D.C. the Park provides visitors the ability to explore mountain peaks, hidden hollows, cascading streams, accessible wilderness, and stunning natural beauty. Approximately 40% of the Park is designated wilderness with over 500 miles of hiking trails and the iconic Skyline Drive, SHEN was established as an eastern Park that provided a "western Park experience". Due to the Park's easy accessibility to D.C and other highly populated areas along the east coast, visitation exceeds 1.4 million visitors annually which results in significant resource protection and visitor management issues and incidents.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Direct Deposit: Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • You may 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 also may be required to 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.
  • Government housing may be available.
  • Uniform: You will 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 complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
  • Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-05/06/2025-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 of qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Conducting wildlife inventory, monitoring, or management activities such as: conducting field surveys to document and assess mammal presence, abundance, reproduction, and/or population dynamics using established protocols and standard scientific equipment; conducting or assisting with nuisance black bear management culvert trapping and/or aversive conditioning; conducting white-tailed deer management in a professional work or research setting. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or 24 semester hours of course work in a related field of scientific or technical study, such as biology, wildlife ecology, wildlife management, zoology, entomology, botany, animal husbandry, wildlife survey techniques, mammalogy, ornithology, dendrology, or natural resources management. At least 6 semester hours of courses must be in wildlife ecology, wildlife management, wildlife survey techniques, mammalogy, or wildlife biology (or other course work that is directly related to the specialized focus of this position - wildlife management). You must include transcripts.
-OR-
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. For example, 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and 3 years (90 semester hours) of college study that included at least 12 semester hours of the required courses (50% of the qualifying education/coursework). The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-06 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Conducting wildlife inventory, monitoring, or management activities on mammals/wildlife; conducting field surveys in remote locations to document and assess mammal presence, abundance, reproduction, and/or population dynamics using established protocols and standard scientific equipment; conducting food-conditioned black bear culvert trapping (or free-range capture) and habituated black bear aversive conditioning; conducting white-tailed deer management including Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance/sampling in a professional work or research setting. You must include hours per week worked.

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) and MUST HAVE BEEN in the Biological Technician field. This experience includes activities such as: leading crews managing wildlife inventory, monitoring, or management activities on mammals/wildlife; researching and compiling natural resource/wildlife data; conducting field surveys in remote locations to document and assess mammal presence, abundance, reproduction, and/or population dynamics using established protocols and standard scientific equipment; conducting food-conditioned black bear culvert trapping (or free-range capture) and habituated black bear aversive conditioning; conducting white-tailed deer management including Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance/sampling in a professional work or research setting; independently resolving problems; selecting the best course of action for planning and executing work; etc. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full year (18 semester hours) of graduate education in an accredited educational institution directly related to the work of the position such as biology, wildlife ecology, wildlife management, zoology, entomology, botany, animal husbandry, wildlife survey techniques, mammalogy, ornithology, dendrology, or natural resources management. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, 6 months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirements for this position and grade level) combined with 9 semester hours of graduate education, (50% of the education required to qualify) directly related to this position. Examples of education directly related to the position are biology, wildlife ecology, wildlife management, zoology, entomology, botany, animal husbandry, wildlife survey techniques, mammalogy, ornithology, dendrology, or natural resources management. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

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.

When describing the nature of your duties (e.g., your paid or unpaid work or volunteer experience), please be extremely clear, thorough, and specific. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience. For additional information on what to include in your resume, click here. For information on what you should leave out of your resume, click here. The following five-minute video may also be helpful for creating and updating your federal resume: click here.

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.

QUALITY RANGING FACTOR: Possessing proficiency, experience, and/or safety certification with shotguns or rifles is necessary to perform the duties of this position. You may be required to submit a copy of your training/safety certification if selected.

Additional information

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).

If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.

The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.

Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.


Physical Demands: The work is partially sedentary with prolonged standing, walking, and bending often required. Heavy items must be lifted and carried on a routine basis. The position involves long distance hiking in steep, mountainous terrain in all types of weather.

Working Conditions: The work is performed in an office, laboratory, and in the field. Field work includes exposure to extreme weather conditions and terrain, poisonous plants, biting insects, and wild animals. Laboratory work may involve exposure to hazardous chemicals.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are not suitable for telework.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

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 additional assessments required for this position. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
  • Firearms
  • Leadership
  • Oral Communication
  • Technology Application
  • Wildlife Biology


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 05/06/2025:

  1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, dates specified in month and year format, 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 of qualified specialized experience. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade.
  2. Complete All Required Assessments.
  3. Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as:
    • Veterans Preference Documentation:
      • If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives.
      • If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
      • If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF15, and if applicable, a completed SF15. You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 to establish proof of disability.
  4. College transcripts, if qualifying based on education.
  5. Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, 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 rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.
Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 05/06/2025. You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES.

  1. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account.
  2. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application."
  3. Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS.
  4. Select documents you want included in this application.
  5. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed.
  6. Select if you want to include your demographic information.
  7. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site."
  8. Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application.
  9. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown.
    • Upload any missing required documents or optional documents.
  10. Review and Submit Application.
  11. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position.
  12. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement.
    • To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job.
    • Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.

Agency contact information

Debbie Truax
Address
Shenandoah National Park
3655 Hwy 211 East
Luray, VA 22835
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once the Occupational Questionnaire is received you will receive acknowledgement that your submission was successful. If you are among the most qualified candidates and your name is referred to the hiring official, you may be contacted directly for a possible interview. You will be notified of the status of your Application Package at the time candidates are referred for consideration, and when the selection process is complete.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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