Summary
This position is located in Natural Resources Stewardship and Science, Air Resources Division (ARD) and serves as the national expert on all facets of air quality monitoring networks and provides technical oversite and coordination of the ARD optical, scene monitoring and smoke monitoring networks.
Open to the first 100 applicants or until 07/01/2024 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position.
Duties
The major duties of the Physical Scientist position include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Provide technical oversight and coordination and serve as Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) of ARD visibility and smoke monitoring networks.
- Participate in special studies and collaborative research projects aimed at protecting natural resources in national parks.
- Analyze air quality data from NPS networks and special studies and communicate findings through scientific presentations and publications.
- Contribute to quality assurance activities for all ARD monitoring networks to ensure credibility of ARD monitoring data.
- Communicate research and monitoring findings within NPS and with partners to support the goals of NRSS, ARD and individual parks.
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.
- If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
- You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 2 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
- You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/01/2024-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 qualified specialized experience.
To qualify for the Physical Scientist position at the GS-13 grade, you must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:
Basic Requirements:
Physical Scientist Series, 1301 (You must include transcripts):
- Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. OR
- Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
-AND-
EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must include all of: (1) Lead projects related to the analysis and interpretation of air quality data. (2) Serve as technical expert in air quality monitoring, including quality assurance/ quality control procedures. (3) Provide oversight to contractors or research staff related to air quality monitoring and/or air quality research. (4) Provide expert technical advice on the feasibility of using new instrumentation for measuring air quality parameters. You must include your resume with hours worked per week annotated.
You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies". Experience listed as full-time will be credited at 40 hours per week.
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.
There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement.
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.
Applicants will be evaluated based on how well they meet the qualification requirements.
Upon receipt of the completed application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure basic qualification requirements are met.
This vacancy will be filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under this Authority. All qualified applicants, as determined by the SHRO, will be referred for consideration. While managers and supervisors are not required to conduct interviews, it is highly recommended that they do so in order to assess the competencies of each applicant.
If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied.
If a determination is made that an applicant has inflated qualifications or experience on the resume, consideration for the position will be denied, as per OPM regulations.
Your resume will be reviewed for the following competencies:
- Attention to Detail
- Communication
- Project Management
- Research
- Teamwork
Required Documents
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/01/2024:
- 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 qualified specialized experience. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade.
- Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP/CTAP) 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 well qualified. ICTAP/CTAP eligibles will be considered well qualified if they exceed minimal qualifications for this position (i.e. Resume supports substantial possession of stated competencies) for the position.
- Transcripts if qualifying based on education.
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 07/01/2024. 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.
- Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account.
- Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application."
- Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS.
- Select documents you want included in this application.
- Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed.
- Select if you want to include your demographic information.
- After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site."
- Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application.
- Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown.
- Upload any missing required documents or optional documents.
- Review and Submit Application.
- While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position.
- 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.
Please note, the eligibility section of the application process is designed to allow you to choose how you wish to be considered for this vacancy announcement. You will ONLY be considered for the appointment eligibilities that you select. You must provide the supporting documentation to support your claim. Please review the list of documentation provided in the eligibilities language to ensure you provide the appropriate information. You may choose more than one eligibility.
Next steps
Once the Occupational Questionnaire is received you will receive acknowledgement that your submission was successful. If you are among the qualified candidates, your name will be referred to the hiring official, and 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.
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