Fish Biologist Job in Page, AZ

Vacancy No. IM-1541-GLCA-25-12635814-DE Department National Park Service
Salary $72,553.00 to $94,317.00 Grade 11 to 11
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/31/2024 Close Date 1/14/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Page, AZ


Summary

This position is located in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, in the Division of Science and Resource Management - Aquatic.

  • This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment expecting to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of 10 years. Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

Duties

  • Serves as fisheries biologist and subject matter expert for fisheries, aquatic resources and their habitat requirements; air quality; aquatic invasive species; and water rights.
  • Responsible for fisheries, AIS, and air quality program development and implementation dealing with the management and protection of aquatic and fish resources and their habitat requirements and monitoring of air and water quality standards.
  • Coordinates, develops, and maintains liaisons and effective working relations with related groups and individuals, agencies, the public, and those on adjacent lands to encourage and facilitate cooperative regional management strategies for the purposes of achieving broad ecosystem protection strategies and minimizing human impacts on the park's fish and aquatic resources.
  • Develops and prepares major sections of resource management documents dealing with aquatic and fish resources, specifically Federally and/or state-listed listed threatened and endangered species, or species of concern.
  • Prepares specific resources action plans, project statements, and fish management plans needed to successfully manage and protect fish and other aquatic species.

Term Project Description:
The project involves monitoring, surveillance, suppression and rapid response to warm water, non-native fish species in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam and in Lake Powell. Major duties of the position are: 1) carry out program management duties by developing work plans and schedules, scopes of work, cost estimates, and proposals and or grants; 2) boat operation in swift water environments (often at night); 3) administer and track project funds and prepare accomplishment and annual reports; 4) coordinates the park's fish management strategies and programs relating to high-risk, nonnative fish species on the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam; 5) designs, develops, tests, and implements scientific monitoring protocols to identify, evaluate and do long-term monitoring of fish populations including inventories to determine species distribution, composition, and relative abundances; and age and growth characteristics; 6) Performs data collection using professionally accepted techniques and ensures data entry and quality control checks on work performed by others; 7) serve as a contracting officer technical representative for fish projects conducted through contracts, interagency agreements and cooperative agreements; 8) develop, initiate, and quantify methods to disrupt early life stages of nonnative fish species; 9) acquires and maintains equipment and supplies necessary for the nonnative fish program; 10) carryout compliance activities related to nonnative fish species; 11) evaluates EAs and EISs prepared by other federal agencies or groups for impacts on park resources; 12) provides assistance and training to students and interns in fishery management related issues; 13) provide information to employees and visitors about fish management issues; and 14) statistically analyze data and interpret results and prepare fish management recommendations on fish populations on the Colorado River

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • 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 submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
  • 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 within 1 day from entry-on-duty. 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 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 work evenings, weekends, holidays, and overtime.
  • You will be required to complete a one-year trial period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 10 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • This position requires night electrofishing work and night boat operation will be required. You will be required to obtain and maintain a Department of Interior Motorboat Operator Instructor Certification Course (DOIMOCC).
  • 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 18 years old.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/14/2025-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.

Basic requirements for the 0482 series: This position has a positive education requirement as required by the Office of Personnel Management qualification standards. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. Candidates must have:

Successfully completed a full four year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree with a major field of study in biological sciences that included at least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology; AND at least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields. You must include transcripts with your application materials. (Excess coursework in aquatic subjects may be used to satisfy the animal science coursework requirement when appropriate.)

-OR-

Have an equivalent combination of education and experience that included courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in the animal sciences, as shown above; PLUS appropriate experience or additional course work. The quality of the combination demonstrates that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of the position and is comparable to that normally acquired through the completion of a full four-year course of study with a major as described above. You must include transcripts with your application materials.

- AND -

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess 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-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: 1) conducting studies and investigations aimed at resolving habitat protection or enhancement issues for endangered fish species management; 2) providing biological information verbally and in writing to representatives or other government agencies, staff members, private interest groups, and the general public; 3) assisting managing contracts, and personnel; and 4) developing and maintaining liaisons and effective working relations with related groups and individuals, agencies, and the public in order to facilitate cooperative regional fisheries management strategies. Your resume must clearly reflect some of this experience.

-OR-

EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited educational institution in a field that is directly related to the work of this position. You must include transcripts with your application materials.

-OR-


Successful completion of a combination of education (only excess credits beyond the second year (36 credits) of graduate school is creditable) and experience as described above which together equals 100% of the requirement. For example, 6 months of specialized experience and 45 graduate credits would be qualified for the GS-11 position. You must include transcripts with your application materials.


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.

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.

Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings. The employee must be physically capable of carrying out strenuous fieldwork associated with sampling in streams, ponds, lakes, and wetlands, frequently under adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, high humidity or excessive heat. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Assignments may be performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, firelines, arctic environments, swamps, deserts, and forests. Flying in helicopters is possible. Will be required to operate small watercraft and electrofishing equipment.


The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

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:
  • Fishery Biology
  • Oral Communication
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Research

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/14/2025:

  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 are required
  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 80 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 01/14/2025. 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

Carina Nicholas
Address
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
PO Box 1507
Page, AZ 86040-1507
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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