Summary
The Smithsonian Institution (SI) is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is in the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center is responsible for ecological and environmental research education.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals .
Note: Federal employees with permanent status or individuals eligible for special appointing authorities may also apply to Job Announcement #24A-ST-311013-MPA-SERC
More than one selection may be made from this announcement.
Duties
The Coastal Landscape Research Biologist is responsible for the research program in coastal landscape biology, specifically to conceive, plan, and conduct novel biological research. Focus on landscape scale biological processes and ecosystem function, as well as coastal ecosystem responses to climate change, sea level rise and other human impacts.
In this position, you will:
- Supervises staff in the agency or organization’s coastal ecosystem landscape ecology research program.
- Identifies information gaps and research needs, applying scientific methods, planning the approach for study, analyzing the data, interpreting results, and documenting and reporting findings.
- Conceive and develop innovative and competitive research proposals, consistent with the agency or organization and incumbent’s research objectives, that are awarded to support the agency or organization by an independent competitive review process for grants and contracts from internal and especially extramural sponsors.
- Publish and disseminate research findings in coastal ecosystem landscape ecology that describe new or modified theories and principles, explain phenomena or ecological processes, and inform to improve the understanding of research techniques and ecological processes.
- Provide professional service to the field of research by: providing peer reviews of journal manuscripts and grant proposals; serving on external advisory and review committees; providing leadership for professional associations; and mentoring students and others.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
- May need to complete a Probationary Period
- Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
- Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
Conditions of Employment
Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.
Qualifications
Basic Requirements:
1. Degree: Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position
OR
2. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in #1 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
You must submit a copy of your unofficial college transcripts for verification to be considered.
In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the specialized experience listed below:
GS-13 Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal Service. For this position Specialized experience is defined as research investigating coastal ecosystem responses to climate change, sea level rise, and other anthropogenic impacts at landscape scales; obtaining research funding from competitive internal and/or extramural funding sources; publishing data-rich papers with regional and/or national application and significance; presenting research results to scientific and other audiences; and coordination of research projects and teams.
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.
Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.
Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
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, however if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify you must provide an official transcript 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.
Benefits
The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below:
- Ability to conduct and complete broad assignments for creation, maintenance, and operational management of a research program in coastal ecosystem landscape ecology with initiative, critical judgement, and independence.
- Knowledge of modern data management of large data sets; Geographic Information Systems software; statistical and graphical software and similar capabilities and protocols in the incumbent’s specific area of research.
- Ability to conceive and create innovative research proposals that are successful in receiving funding from competitive internal and/or extramural sponsors.
- Ability to disseminate research findings through publication in the peer-reviewed literature and to present results and findings at professional meetings and conferences.
- Ability to participate in professional meetings and make regular contact with collaborators outside the agency or organization, including grant officers and representatives of funding agencies, natural resource managers, and policy makers as appropriate to provide expert scientific information.
Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:
Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above.
Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above.
Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree.
This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.
Important Note:
The review of your resume will determine your final rating and should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
Your application package should include the following documents:
-
Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.
For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.
- Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
- Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
- Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
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
Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note:
- You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
- You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process.
- The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
- If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.
Next steps
At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt. The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information:
- Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at www.sihr.si.edu/jobs.cfm.
- The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses but recruitment incentives may be authorized.
- The Smithsonian embraces diversity and equal employment opportunity (www.si.edu/oeema).
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