Fish Biologist

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 requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination in order to be found minimally qualified. You MUST meet the following basic requirements:

EDUCATION: 

Degree: Major in biological science that included at least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology; and at least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields.

OR

Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in the animal sciences, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

-AND- 

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the basic requirements above, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

This 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-03:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-02 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

• Assessing and developing approaches to influence Federal decision-making in conservation and protection of living marine resources and their habitats.
• Developing policy and management for protected species including marine mammals, sea turtles, and endangered fishes using research results on the effects of various activities.
• Collecting, synthesizing, evaluating and presenting scientific data to develop and implement plans and actions related to listings, interagency consultations, cooperative agreements with States, permits, recovery planning, and delisting related to regulatory mandates.
• Applying substantive subject matter knowledge of protected species regulation, particularly experience in the application of the statutory requirement under Sections 6 and 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

OR

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Three years of progressively higher graduate level education leading to a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to successfully complete the work of position.

OR

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Must possess a combination of specialized experience as described above and graduate level education as described above that, when combined, equal 100% of the total requirement.

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.