Supervisory Interdisciplinary Biologist/Ecologist/Physical Scientist

Clarification from the agency

This is a Merit Promotion announcement for current and former career and career conditional Federal employees, Career Transition eligibles (CTAP & ICTAP) and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Leads, implements, manages, and serves as a scientific advisor for a complex program of natural resource inventory and monitoring and related activities to address sensitive resource management needs that are affected by a wide variety of issues within and outside the parks. Supervises a staff of five or more professionals as well as coordinating with natural resource staff across seventeen NPS units to accomplish work.
• Undertakes actions to develop and enhance partnerships that support a scientifically credible, sustainable network-based program of long-term Inventory & Monitoring activities. Partners include: parks, other networks, universities, non-profits, and other government agencies.
• Ensures I&M program funds are effectively and appropriately used to accomplish program goals and required reports are complete, accurate, and timely. Administrative documentation (e.g. credit card statements, travel authorization and vouchers, and responses to regional and national data calls) is clear, compliant, and timely. Fiscal and administrative procedures are consistent with NPS policy.
• Provides technical expertise to develop and implement technically sound, scientifically rigorous, and innovative approaches to monitor and analyze results of monitoring the network's natural resources (Vital Signs). Obtains, coordinates or initiates research needed to support inventory and monitoring activities. Maintains a high level of technical competence within relevant natural resource fields. Provides peer review for network and other Inventory and Monitoring scientific products.
• Actively and regularly communicates across administrative levels, among parks, and across program areas. Promotes high standards of interpersonal communication and teamwork. Proactively engages with coworkers and partners to address emerging needs. Employs effective tracking tools so that staff and partners share a common understanding of annual goals and milestones.

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.
• Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service); with few exceptions as outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement who have had a break in service of less than one year, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointments. Time-in-grade does not apply to new excepted service appointments and must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
• 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. 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 may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 3 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.
• The position to which you will be appointed is subject to a financial disclosure reporting requirement and you will be required to complete a new entrant Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of your appointment.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/21/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Basic Qualifications Requirements: You must meet one of the following basic qualification requirements below, for the Interdisciplinary Supervisory Biologist/Ecologist/Physical Scientist, GS-0401/0408/1301-13. If you do not meet these basic qualifications, you will be considered not qualified and will not receive consideration for this position.

Basic Requirements for Biologist, GS-0401:

• Have successfully completed a degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must include academic transcripts with your application package.

-OR-

• Have a combination of education and experience. Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above; PLUS, experience directly related to the position being filled and/or additional related education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must demonstrate that you possess the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of the position to be filled and equal 100% of the requirement when combined. You must include academic transcripts to support your answer with your application package. You must include academic transcripts with your application package.

Basic Requirements for Ecologist, GS-0408:

• Have successfully completed a 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 science. You must include academic transcripts with your application package.

Basic Requirements for Physical Scientist, GS-1301:

• Have successfully completed a degree in 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. You must include academic transcripts with your application package.

-OR-

• Have a combination of education and experience and education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science; PLUS, experience directly related to the position being filled and/or additional related education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must demonstrate that you possess the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of the position to be filled and equal 100% of the requirement when combined. You must include academic transcripts with your application package.

In addition to the above, applicants must also possess the following:

To qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level of GS-12 in federal service or equivalent (obtained either in the private or public sectors). Specialized experience is defined as experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience include: (1) collecting and organizing ecological data; (2) designing study plans that identify or help solve natural resource management problems; (3) monitoring expenditure of funds; (4) developing work plans, schedules, cost estimates, and funding proposals; and (5) applying technical writing and editing skills in composition and review of complex science reports or papers. You must include hours per week worked.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

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 assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):


All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

DUE WEIGHT: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation for year 2025 or 2026 and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) -08/21/2026-unless otherwise stated.

1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates in month-year format (include month/day/year format if needed for 52 weeks of experience), and indicate hours worked per week (or full-time). Your resume must clearly show how long you have held each grade/rank. Resumes must not exceed 2 single-sided pages and resumes longer than 2 pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed. Your 2-page resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements. Resume Builder: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include
2. Complete All Required Assessments.
3. Performance Appraisals and Awards: All applicants must submit their most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor. If the performance appraisal is not dated within the last 18 months OR no performance appraisal is available, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level).
4. All College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
5. Eligibility Documentation:
   • Current and former Federal employees must submit latest SF-50 (i.e. Promotion, Separation, Within Grade Increase (WGI)) showing tenure 1 or 2 in block 24, grade, and if applicable, an additional SF-50 showing the highest grade or promotion potential held. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s. If your SF-50 showing highest permanent grade held has an effective date within the past year, your resume must clearly show that you held that grade for one year. Do not submit award SF-50s.
   • Veterans Preference Documentation: Veterans eligible under VRA (GS-11 & below only), VEOA, 30% or more Disabled, or Disabled Veterans Enrolled in a VA Training Program must submit the most recent Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions (e.g. DD-214) as listed on the SF15. If you are a Parent or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all documentation as listed on the SF15. You may request a copy of the VA letter from https://www.va.gov/records. 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.
   • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA): If you are applying under LMWFA, you must submit ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH appointment verifying the Position Occupied code 1-Competitive Service (block 34); AND Documentation of satisfactory performance for each period of temporary employment claimed, such as, performance evaluations, memorandum of record, whereas the supervisor(s) documented an acceptable performance level for a specified rating/employment period.
   • CTAP/ICTAP eligiblesMUST submit proof of eligibility including a copy of the agency notice, most recent performance rating, and most recent SF-50 showing your position, grade level, and duty location. For more information visit: Career Transition Programs (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents.

Next steps