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Job Title:Biological Scientist

Department:Department Of Agriculture

Agency:Forest Service

Job Announcement Number:13-0200-0754DP-SSP

JOB SUMMARY:

A career with the Forest Service will challenge you to manage and care for more than 193 million acres of our nation’s most magnificent lands, conduct research through a network of forest and range experiment stations and the Forest Products Laboratory, and provide assistance to State and private forestry agencies.

It’s an awesome responsibility – but the rewards are as limitless as the views.

This position is located at the Regional Office in Renewable Resources in Golden, Colorado and will serve as the Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Species Program Manager.  The incumbent will be responsible for planning, developing and implementing that program at the Regional level.

For more information about the duties of this position, please contact the supervisor, Robert Lee at 303-275-5002 or rlee01@fs.fed.us.

This position is being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number 13-0200-0754G-SSP which opens on 12/10/12 and closes on 1/7/13.  Current or former Federal employees may apply to both announcements, but should be sure to apply to the Merit Promotion Announcement (13-0200-0754G-SSP) in order to avoid losing consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement.  Disabled veterans, candidates with 3 or more years of active duty military service, and candidates eligible for special hiring authorities may apply to the Merit Promotion Announcement if they meet the criteria outlined in the announcement and submit supporting documentation.

The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.

DUTIES:

Duties and Responsibilities below are based on the full performance level of the position, GS-13, and they include but are not limited to:

1. Serves as primary assistant to the Director of Renewable Resources in program planning, policy development, and implementation of the Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive (TES) Species Program. Assists the Director in the coordination of Regional programs, budgets, priorities, and accomplishment reporting for the TES species program.

2. Serves as the Regional technical expert in interpreting National Forest legal responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act and related agency policies. Reviews programmatic and project-level NEPA documents and biological assessments to assure compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

3. Serves as principal liaison with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for species recovery efforts and interagency coordination. Represents the Region on several interagency teams developing conservation strategies and recovery plans.

4. Keeps Regional Director, RO staff, Forest Supervisors, and National Forest and Grasslands staff informed of major TES species issues, listing decisions, litigation, and other developments.

5. Provides technical assistance, training, and direction to Forests in the application and integration of TES species management principles with other resource management programs and in Land Management Plans.

6. Serves as principal liaison with other Federal and State wildlife agencies to coordinate programs for TES species.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

You must possess the Basic Requirements identified below to be considered eligible for this position. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the appropriate experience and educational requirements.

EDUCATION:

In order to qualify in the 0401 series, which is a professional series, the applicant must first meet the individual occupational requirements for this positions which requires positive education. According to OPM, the educational requirements for this position are:

1.  Degree in Biological Sciences, Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Chemistry or Related disciplines appropriate to the position.

OR

2.  Combination of Education and Experience – courses equal to a major as show in 1. above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

If you don’t have a specific degree in one of the fields listed in number 1 above, but have a different degree, it is possible to use additional coursework equivalent to a major in one of the fields above in order to qualify. OPM standards show that having coursework equal to a major is like having 24 semester hours in a certain field (for this job the coursework has to be in Biological Sciences, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Chemistry or related discipline appropriate to the position). Forest Service has determined that coursework has to be in the 0300 or 0400 level courses (junior and senior level classes) in order to meet OPM’s definition of coursework that has been “sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.”

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

To qualify at the GS-12 grade level in the 0401 series, the applicant must first meet the individual occupational requirements (educational requirements) of the series AND have one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.

To qualify at the GS-13 grade level in the 0401 series, the applicant must first meet the individual occupational requirements (educational requirements) of the series AND have one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.

Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the duties of the position to be filled and has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Examples of Specialized Experience for this position may include: Work directly with Threatened, Endangered and/or Sensitive Species. Assist with preparing NEPA documents and/or biological assessments. Act as a liaison between agencies to share factual information dealing directly with Threatened, Endangered and or Sensitive species.

To receive consideration for this position, you must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

REQUIREMENTS:

May be subject to satisfactory completion of one year probationary or trial period.

Subject to satisfactory completion of a one year supervisory/managerial probationary period

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

You will be evaluated based on the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. Eligible applicants will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire. Applicants with veterans’ preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans’ preference within each category.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the “Apply Online” button to the right.
To view the application form, visit: https://fs.usda.ntis.gov/cp/?event=jobs.previewApplication&jobid=46E50BC2-82DA-4FAD-A4A0-A11D00CF258F