Research Fish Biologist/Research Mathematical Statistician

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at:http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position may be filled in either of the below series (0482 or 1529). Each series requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of specialized experience or a substitution of education for experience (ZP-3 only) in order to be found minimally qualified. You MUST meet one of the following basic education requirements:

To qualify for the 0482 series:

Degree: Applicants must show that they have a degree with major study in biology, zoology, or biological oceanography that included at least 30 semester hours in biological and aquatic science and 15 semester hours in the physical and mathematical sciences. This course work must have included:

• At least 15 semester hours of preparatory training in zoology beyond introductory biology or zoology in such courses as invertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, histology, physiology, embryology, advanced vertebrate zoology, genetics, entomology, and parasitology; and
• At least 6 semester hours of training applicable to fishery biology in such subjects as fishery biology, ichthyology, limnology, oceanography, algology, planktonology, marine or fresh water ecology, invertebrate ecology, principles of fishery population dynamics, or related course work in the field of fishery biology; and
• At least 15 semester hours of training in any combination of two or more of the following: chemistry, physics, mathematics, or statistics.

To qualify for the 1529 series:

A. Degree: That included 24 semester hours of mathematics and statistics, of which at least 12 semester hours were in mathematics and 6 semester hours were in statistics.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: At least 24 semester hours of mathematics and statistics, including at least 12 hours in mathematics and 6 hours in statistics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

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.

To qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11 level:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicant must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

• Assisting in developing population dynamics modeling of age- and length-based stock assessments for marine fish populations including the calculation of abundance, status, trends, and exploitation rates;
• Conducting quantitative statistical analyses of fishery data of marine fish populations; and
• Co-authoring peer reviewed publications on quantitative fishery science.

OR

EDUCATION: A master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in a related discipline or successful completion of two (2) years of higher level graduate education leading to a such a degree, if related.

OR

COMBINATION: A combination of education and experience as described above.

Note: Only graduate education in excess of one year is qualifying for combination.

To qualify at the ZP-4 or GS-13 level:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicant must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-3 or GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

• Developing population dynamics modeling for age- and length-based stock assessments for marine fish populations including the calculation of abundance, status, trends, and exploitation rates;
• Leading and conducting quantitative statistical analyses of fishery data of marine fish populations; and
• Experience as lead author of peer reviewed publications on quantitative fishery science.

SELECTIVE FACTOR: In addition to meeting the above, applicants must also have experience leading a stock assessment, that was either used for management or published in a peer-reviewed journal;

OR

Experience leading a research project that included modeling the population dynamics of a real or simulated population, that was either used for management or published in a peer-reviewed journal.

*Your application materials must clearly demonstrate this experience. Failure to do so will result in your application being marked as ineligible.

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Applicants must meet ALL application requirements, to include a complete online resume, by 11:59 p.m. EASTERN TIME (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.