Clarification from the agency

See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualifications" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.

• Execute research investigating wetlands and forest ecosystems in both field and laboratory settings.
• Field research will require the completion of ecological site assessments including inventories of flora or fauna, and assessments of wetland vegetation, hydrology, and soils.
• Conduct laboratory activities utilizing mesocosms and analytical equipment to investigate ecosystem processes in a controlled setting, and sample processing and analysis will be accomplished using standard analytical techniques.
• Manage field and laboratory data using spreadsheets or databases, assist with planning studies and conducting basic analysis using GIS, and maintain equipment used to conduct wetlands research.
• Assist and lead the preparation of technical reports and peer reviewed journal articles, based on the results of the ecological studies and will have opportunities to report study results at scientific conferences, workshops, and other venues.
• Prepare documents either as a Contracting Officer Representative and/or Government Purchase Card or to assist with the preparation of acquisition documents.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• The duties of this position require the incumbent to possess or obtain and maintain a valid state Driver's License in one of the 50 U.S. states or possessions to operate vehicles.
• Appointment to this position is subject to a two-year probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 25% or greater of the time.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

• Current Civilian Employees of the Command
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998

In order to qualify, you must meet the educational requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Research Biologist:

A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

OR

B. Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Basic Requirement for Research Ecologist:

Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences.

Basic Requirement for Research Forester:

A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in forestry; or a related subject-matter field that included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours of course work were in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently diversified to include courses in each of the following areas:
Management of Renewable Resources -- study of the science and art of managing renewable resources to attain desired results.
Forest Biology -- study of the classification, distribution, characteristics, and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of living organisms to the forest environment.
Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory -- sampling, inventory, measurement, and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources.

OR

B. Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to a major in forestry, or at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours in forestry are the same as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Basic Requirement for Research Soil Scientist:

Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in soil science or a closely related discipline that included 30 semester hours or equivalent in biological, physical, or earth science, with a minimum of 15 semester hours in such subjects as soil genesis, pedology, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil fertility.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to a major in soil science or a related discipline that included at least 30 semester hours in the biological, physical, or earth sciences, with a minimum of 15 semester hours in such subjects as soil genesis, pedology, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil fertility, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

This position is covered by the Science and Technology Laboratory Personnel Management Demonstration Project at the DB-XXXX-02 (equivalent to GS-05-11). In accordance with the Federal Register Vol. 63, No. 57, dated March 25, 1998, Laboratory Demonstration Project employees must have a current average performance score of at least 2.5 or equivalent (fully successful rating) for promotion consideration."

Candidates who will meet the minimum requirements within 30 days of the job opportunity announcement closing date will be considered.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

• Biological Field Investigation
• Biology
• Ecology
• Oral Communication
• Scientific Research

As part of the assessment process, you will complete a competency-based Situational Judgment Test (SJT}. This test presents realistic job-related scenarios and evaluates your judgment and decision-making in alignment with the core competencies required for the position.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

You may claim Military Spouse preference.

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) applicants will receive preference consideration and will be placed (if selected) at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined best qualified, up to and including the full performance level.

You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.

DoD Priority Placement Program (PPP) Applicants will receive preference consideration at the full-performance grade level only.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Checklist for Internal/Merit Promotion Announcements.

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. The Proof of Eligibility document describes authorities commonly used in merit promotion recruitment and what document(s) are required to prove you meet the requirements of the authority. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.
• Time-in-grade documentation: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).
• This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

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