Biological Science Technician - Wake Atoll Native Plant Nursery Project

Position: Biological Science Technician

Announcement number: R10-22-11312796-BV-DE

Control number: 626356000

To apply visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/626356000#

*Please note location is considered "Honolulu, HI"*

Deadline: December 17th, 2021 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Summary

Seasonal, GS-5 Biological Technician (general) stationed in Honolulu that will be responsible for implementing the Wake Atoll Native Plant Nursery Project. For this position the incumbent will be responsible for implementing a work plan to install a native plant nursery at Wake Atoll, an active Air Force installation surrounded by a National Wildlife Refuge and Marine National Monument.  The position would include approximately 2-3 months of work in Honolulu and approximately 3-4 months of work on Wake Atoll.  Transportation to the atoll will be via military contracted aircraft and all transportation to and food/lodging while on the atoll will be paid by the project.  While on the atoll the incumbent would be responsible for physically setting up the nursery structure and associated gear, collecting and propagating native plants, and outplanting in recently improved habitats. Interim and final report writing is also required. Horticultural or native plant experience, particularly in remote locations is preferred but not necessary.  

Duties

This is a temporary appointment intended for seasonal work that is less than 6 months or 1040 hours from the date of appointment/service year. It is expected this position will be terminated upon completion of the seasons work. The agency may non-competitively rehire an eligible temporary seasonal worker in subsequent years who works less than 6 months or 1040 hours in their service year. At management's discretion, this appointment may be extended up to one-year with the possibility of extending an additional one-year.

As a Biological Science Technician (General) your duties will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Participates in multifaceted wildlife, and fish population studies
• Assist with performing biological studies
• Surveys and observes avian populations
• Collects avian morphometric data and biological samples
• Assists in collecting data on hatchery populations
• Assists hatchery crew in providing daily care to fish in an aquaculture facility
• Independently identifies and collects plant species for studies
• Coordinates with private landowners, other federal and state agencies to carry out low complexity, non-controversial habitat restoration projects
• Surveys location for invasive species populations
• Assists with invasive species removal projects

Qualifications

Only experience and education obtained by 12/17/2021 will be considered.

You may qualify at the GS-05 level, if you fulfill one of the following qualification requirements:

1. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service that demonstrated your experience assisting with wildlife and population surveys; capturing, handling, and tagging a variety of wildlife; assisting with the collection of seeds, propagation, handling, and caring for federally listed plants or host plants of federally listed species; Capturing fish for fish sampling; collecting water quality data; Identifying invasive species and organisms; data collection and recording; OR

2. Completion of a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of scientific or technical courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics etc. At least 6 semester hours of courses must have been directly related to the position to be filled. ; OR

3. Have a combination of experience as described under letter A above and education as described under letter B above which, when combined, is equivalent to 100% of the qualification requirement. (Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours may be used in this calculation). To calculate your percentage of education, first determine the total number of semester hours that exceed 60 semester hours (or your school's definition of one year of study), then divide the total number of your excess semester hours by 60 (or your school's definition of two years of study). To calculate your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%.

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.

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you meet the qualifications your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. Note: If, after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications which resulted in you being listed in the highest quality category, you may lose consideration, or be assigned to a lower quality category for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

• Practical knowledge of the biological sciences
• Ability to identify avian species
• Ability to capture and handle fish
• Ability to identify plant species
• Knowledge of invasive species mitigation processes
• Skill in oral communication
• Skill in using common hand tools and simple power equipment

All qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The category assignment is a measure of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for this position. The category ratings for this position are: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, and Qualified

The category rating process protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category. Veterans' preference eligibles who meet the qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent will be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-09 level or higher).