Fish and Wildlife Biologist

Summary

This position is located within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5, Pennsylvania Field Office, located in State College, Pennslyvania. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Duties

As a Fish and Wildlife Biologist your duties will include but are not limited to the: Conducts environmental reviews of proposed and ongoing Pennsylvania Department of Transportation projects to evaluate potential effects on aquatic and terrestrial species and habitats. Uses best available scientific and management techniques to conserve, enhance, and restore fish and wildlife and their habitats. Independently coordinates activities with federal and state agencies, researchers, and other stakeholders to identify and resolve conservation issues of local and national significance. Gathers, organizes, and interprets a wide variety of biological, ecological, and public use data pertinent to scientific studies. Prepares technical reports, briefings, presentations, and training materials on species and resource needs. Represents the Service at professional meetings and other meetings pertaining to individual assignments and attends public meetings and hearings to discuss proposed or existing development projects. This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available. Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen. You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination. You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit. You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period or a 2 year trial period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/25/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying. Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: A. Degree: Possess a bachelor's degree or higher in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must submit transcripts.-OR- B. Combination of education and experience: Possess a combination of education and experience that included coursework equivalent to a major (i.e. 24 semester/36 quarter hours or school equivalent) in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines as shown in A above, PLUS appropriate experience or additional education, and in combination equals 100% of the basic requirements. -AND- To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level: A. Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience may be defined as demonstrated experience: 1) Developing scientific reports, mitigation measures, conservation recommendations, biological documents, or natural resource management plans; 2) Conducting or leading Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations, environmental reviews, permit evaluations, habitat conservation projects, or environmental contaminant investigations; 3) Serve as a technical advisor on fish and wildlife biology, endangered species, habitat conservation, or Federal project reviews; and/or 4) working with native fish and wildlife to advance their conservation and recovery. NOTE: Your resume must contain sufficient information in these areas to be found qualified. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- B. Education: Possess 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent degree -OR- have earned a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in the biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or closely related field which provided me with the knowledge skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. NOTE: To qualify under this option you must submit transcripts (official or unofficial) to verify your education. -OR- C. Combination: combination of education and experience as described in A and B above which together equals 100% of the requirement. 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. Volunteer Experience: 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. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications How You Will Be Evaluated

Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview. DUE WEIGHT Due Weight Consideration is a review process used to provide consideration to performance appraisals and awards submitted with each application on a used merit promotion certificate and factoring the results into the merit promotion selection process. Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level. It is your responsibility to obtain and upload your performance appraisal/evaluation and/or list of awards prior to the closing of the vacancy announcement. To preview the application click: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13061073 Other Information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement. Telework: This position is suitable for telework and may be allowed to situationally telework with supervisor approval. PCS: No PCS authorized Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/articles/29112781465108-Reasonable-Accommodation-Overview Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties. The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.