Ecologist

You must meet all qualification requirements outlined in this vacancy by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.
This Position Has A Positive Education Requirement. Therefore, all applicants MUST provide a copy of their transcripts to support their education claims. Since this position requires you to have successfully completed a specific amount of semesters (or equivalent) in specific fields, your transcripts will be reviewed to ensure that you meet the requirement in full. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the academic professor or from your school stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if selected, you will be required to produce original transcripts.

BASIC REQUIREMENT - applicants must meet the following:
Have successfully completed all requirements for a bachelor's or higher degree at an accredited college or university in Biology (or a related field of science underlying ecological research) that included at least 30 semester (or equivalent) 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.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR GS-11:

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement listed above, applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for this position at the GS-11 level:

A) Have one year of full-time equivalent specialized experience comparable to the GS-09 level in federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: 1) conducting population viability analysis and species distribution modeling to evaluate effects of landscape-scale stressors on candidate species, populations, and natural communities; 2) providing technical advice and guidance on climate change initiatives or other landscape conservation proposals; 3) maintaining effective working relationships and liaisons with federal, state, and local agencies, and private organizations; 4) preparing reports, scientific papers, presentations to convey findings and technical information to others.

-OR-

B) Successful completion of a Ph.D. (or have three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D.) in a field directly related to fish and wildlife biology, ecology or wildlife biology that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Three years of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that your graduate school has determined to represent three academic years of full-time study. If you do not document your school's definition, 54 semester hours (or 81 quarter hours) is considered as satisfying the requirement for three years of full-time graduate study. NOTE: To qualify under this option, you must submit a copy of your transcripts to verify your education.

-OR-

C) Combination of qualifying specialized experience as described in response A and qualifying graduate education as described in response B that equals 100 percent of the GS-11 requirement. Only education beyond the second graduate year can be considered in this calculation. NOTE: To qualify under this option you must submit transcripts to verify your education and include proof of your experience in the text of your resume.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR GS-12:
In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement listed above, applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for this position at the GS-12 level:

Have one year of full-time equivalent specialized experience comparable to the GS-11 level in federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: 1) conducting population viability analysis and species distribution modeling to evaluate effects of landscape-scale stressors on candidate species, populations, and natural communities; 2) providing expert technical advice and guidance on climate change initiatives, habitat conservation initiatives or other landscape conservation proposals; 3) maintaining effective working relationships and liaisons with federal, state, and local agencies, and private organizations; 4) preparing reports, scientific papers, presentations, and technical training materials to convey findings, technical information, and recommendations to others. NOTE: Your resume must contain sufficient information documenting your performance of these duties to be found qualified.

IMPORTANT: Your resume/application must clearly describe how you qualify for this particular position. Assumptions will not be made based on job titles or series as to what duties you may perform in your current or other positions. One year of experience refers to full-time work. Part-time work is considered on a prorated basis: 20 hours per week for 12 months is credited as 6 months experience. Your resume must include the number of hours.

NOTE: All applicants (including current and former employees) who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of transcripts, which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), and grade point average or class ranking. Even if you are in or have previously held a position in the series, you must submit the required documents to be considered for this position. If any required course work is not easily recognizable on transcripts, you must submit written course descriptions from the school (e.g., from the school catalog, official course syllabus, or course description verified by the school) for those classes to be credited.

EDUCATION

All qualifying education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. You can verify accreditation athttp://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html.

Foreign Education: You can receive credit for education earned outside the United States if you provide evidence that it is comparable to an accredited educational institution, or that full credit has been given by an accredited institution in the United States. For more information, seehttp://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

It is your responsibility to provide evidence that educational provisions are met when applying.

OTHER KEY REQUIREMENTS (conditions of employment)

Direct deposit of salary payment.

Must apply for Government travel charge card if expected to travel on official business.

Physical Demands: Most work is done in an office setting or meeting environment. Occasionally, field activities are required and may involve relatively strenuous activities such as hiking and climbing in remote areas.

Work Environment: Work usually performed in an office setting. A limited amount of travel via motor vehicle or commercial aircraft required to perform duties away from the duty station or to attend meetings or training sessions.