Environmental Biologist Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. HQ-DHA-2025-0008 Department Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Salary $139,395.00 to $181,216.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/3/2025 Close Date 1/13/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is ranked within the top 5 mid-size agencies through the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Rankings!

This Environmental Biologist position is in the Office of Energy Projects. For more information visit: https://www.ferc.gov/office-energy-projects-oep

Duties

This position is located in the Division of Gas - Environment and Engineering in the Office of Energy Projects

As an Environmental Biologist, some of your typical work assignments may include:

  • Serving as the Water Resources Coordinator focusing on waterbodies, wetlands, floodplain protection, groundwater, watershed management, and wild and scenic rivers consultations; reviewing complex water resources analyses (e.g., turbidity and hydrodynamic modeling); and developing consistent criteria for the review and consideration of proposed waterbody crossing techniques and riparian area restoration methods. Ensures consistency on project-related water resource issues.
  • Directing the preparation of environmental assessments and environmental impact statements.
  • Providing guidance to staff to ensure analyses are technically sound and compliant with all relevant requirements and regulations; advising staff on when and how modeling should be used to assess project impacts and assist staff in correlating the modeling output to potential impacts on aquatic resources.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • A one-year probationary period may be required.
  • A background investigation is required.
  • This is a bargaining unit position.
  • Generally, male applicants must be registered with the Selective Service.
  • This position has an education requirement, you must submit transcripts.
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid.
  • You may be required to divest certain energy-related securities.

You must meet all eligibility and qualification (experience and/or education) requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

To view the eligibility and qualification requirements of an Environmental Biologist, GS-0401, please visit: https://cms.ferc.gov/environmental-biologist-0401

In addition to the education required for this position, you must have one full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-13 level. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience analyzing potential impacts on waterbodies, wetlands, and groundwater resources associated with natural gas facility construction and operation and assessing the restoration success of waterbody/riparian areas and wetland crossings. 

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 any volunteer experience.

Please do not cut and paste  the position description, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume, as this will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Education

This position has an education requirement and therefore, transcripts are required. Failure to submit a copy of your transcripts at the time of application will result in your application being marked incomplete and you will not receive further consideration.

Additional information

Our employees ranked FERC as a top 5 mid-size agency in both Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) and Effective Leadership according to the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government!  In addition, FERC was also ranked #1 in Work-Life Balance and we are proud to offer telework and workplace flexibilities in accordance with agency policy.

If selected for this position, you will be required to:

  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for Federal employment.
  • Have your Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choice.
  • Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. FERC also participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). For more information about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify.
  • Attend a mandatory ethics training. We are governed by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Standards of Conduct, the criminal conflict of interest statutes, and FERC’s supplemental ethics regulation, which specifically prohibits FERC employees from holding certain energy-related securities. To comply with these regulations and statutes, divestiture of these securities may be required after you begin employment. See 5 C.F.R. 2634-41; 18 U.S.C. 201-208; 5 C.F.R. 3401. If selected, you may also be required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of appointment.  
  • Receive authorization from OPM on any job offer you receive, if you are or were (within the last 5 years) a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch.

Benefits

For more information regarding Federal benefits programs, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/benefits

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

  1. Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your resume and any supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements for the position. Your resume must address the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and abilities, and other characteristics):

    Environmental Analysis

    Written Communication

    Oral Communication

  2. The online assessment is used to evaluate your relevant education and experience in relation to the required competencies for this position.
  3. If you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, your application will be forwarded to the selecting official for consideration. Veterans’ preference and category rating procedures do not apply for this announcement under Direct Hire Authority regulations. For more information, visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/direct-hire-authority/#url=Overview.
  4. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. Please note - only your resume and cover letter will be forwarded to the selecting official.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

If you do not provide all required documents by the closing date of this vacancy announcement, you will not be considered for this position or receive special consideration (e.g. ICTAP/CTAP eligibility).

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR ALL CANDIDATES:

  1. RESUME: Your resume should describe your specialized experience and support your answers to the vacancy announcement questionnaire. You must ensure it contains the following information for each experience/position:
    • Position title
    • Name of employer
    • Beginning and ending dates of employment (Month/Day/Year format)
    • Hours worked per week
    • Detailed description of job duties, accomplishments, related skills, and responsibilities to include any supervisory/managerial responsibilities and number of staff supervised (if applicable)
    • Series and grade or equivalent (for federal positions)
    • If the position has an education requirement or you are qualifying based on your education, you must list your education history, including the type of degree and your major of study.
  2. VACANCY QUESTIONNAIRE: You must submit and complete the online eligibility and vacancy questions.
  3. TRANSCRIPTS (only required when the position has an education requirement, or you are qualifying for the position based on your education): You MUST submit copies of your college transcripts to verify your education. Unofficial copies are acceptable; however, if selected you will be required to provide official transcripts before your effective date.

OPTIONAL DOCUMENTS TO SUPPORT CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CTAP)/INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (ICTAP) ELIGIBILITY: 

These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated “Well Qualified” for the position; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information about CTAP/ICTAP, visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp. The following documents are required:

  • Reduction in Force or RIF notice – written notice of your expected separation, or other documentation of priority consideration status;
  • Latest SF-50 noting your current position, grade level, and duty location;
  • Last performance appraisal, including your rating; and
  • Any documentation from your agency showing your current promotion potential.

How to Apply

The FERC Careers site provides detailed instructions on how to apply to our vacancies.  For more information visit: https://www.ferc.gov/about/careers/job-searchapply

Here are a few additional tips: 

  • When applying to a FERC vacancy announcement, please remember you must complete and submit your entire application (including your resume, vacancy questionnaire, and any applicable supporting documentation) no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time (ET) on the vacancy closing date. Please note, it may take you longer to apply to some vacancy announcements than others. Starting your application late on the evening the vacancy closes is not recommended because you might not have enough time to ensure your application is successfully submitted and received.
  • When the specialized experience statement in the vacancy announcement requires experience presenting information to a large audience, your resume should include speeches or presentations you've given.
  • Make sure you verify that your resume clearly indicates possession of the competencies and specialized experience listed under the “Qualifications and Evaluations” and “How You Will Be Evaluated” sections of this announcement.
  • Remember to submit all required and supporting documentation listed under the “Required Documents” section of this announcement.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
FERC provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact DisabilityManager@FERC.gov no later than 11:59 pm ET on the vacancy closing date.  The decision to grant a reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

For more information on telework, click the following link: USAJOBS Help Center | What is telework?

For more information on remote work, click the following link: USAJOBS Help Center | What is a remote job?

Agency contact information

Steven Eskin
Phone
202-502-6164
Fax
000-000-0000
Email
steven.eskin@ferc.gov
Address
FERC
888 First Street, NE
Washington, District of Columbia 20426
United States
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications. You will be notified of the status of your application up to four times throughout the application process, via your USAJOBS dashboard. To verify the status of your application, both during and after the announcement open period, log on to your USAJOBS account. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an option to “Track this application.” Your “Applicant status” will also appear along with the dates you applied to this position and when your application was last updated. To learn more about your specific job status and how this helps you track jobs and applications visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status

Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement.

More than one selection for similar positions may be made from this announcement and the program office for that selection may vary. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with any interested selecting official(s).


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


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