Fish and Wildlife Administrator

Summary

This position is located within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 3, Regional Chief, National Wildlife Refuge Supervisor-Area 2. Salary will be based upon duty location once selected. (Please see Duties Section for more information) Salary Pay Tables can be viewed here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2026/general-schedule

Duties

Location is negotiable however, this position requires on-site presence. The selected applicant will be expected to report to a National Wildlife Refuge Office, limited only to the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, or Ohio with the specific workstation to be determined by the Agency upon selection. At the full performance level (GS-14) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Provides leadership and direction to ensure appropriate coordination, strategic planning, budget and performance integration, and accomplishment reporting. Leads the development of policy to drive the periodic strategic planning efforts for these programs or projects. Serves as an expert consultant and provides authoritative advice to senior management and other Service officials and managers concerning controversial and complex scientific, political, and economic issues; prepares position papers; reviews documents and plans; and, makes implementation decisions. Participates with top-level managers in interpreting and implementing legislation and legal decisions and assessing their impact on natural resource management practices and programs. With an understanding of senior management views and preferences, provides expertise to establish priorities, resolve problems, and to implement courses of action. Works effectively with people, both individually and in groups, in order to engage stakeholders with conflicting interests and demands of various groups, organizations, and individuals to determine actions appropriate for protecting the public interest in fish, wildlife, and plant resources. Represents the Service and participates in agency and interagency planning sessions, workshops, and meetings (including other Service activities, other Federal, Tribal, and State agencies, local governments, organizations, groups, and individuals) for the purposes of communicating and negotiating Service positions and objectives and for precluding and resolving problems. Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment. PCS authorized: Discretionary benefits may be provided excluding contractor-provided home sale. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 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. This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period. Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/30/2026-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. 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: 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: Courses equivalent to a major, or at least 30 semester hours in courses, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. -OR- C. Experience: Four years of experience that demonstrated that the applicant acquired knowledge and understanding of one or more of the biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, or related disciplines equivalent to that which would have been acquired through completion of a 4-year course of study as described in A above. Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position at the GS-14 grade level: To qualify, you must possess at least one year of full-time specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level (GS-13) in the Federal Service. Experience must include: (1) experience planning and directing a broad variety of management operations in a natural resource setting; (2) Administering, planning, directing, and evaluating all aspects of a wildlife management program; (3) developing long and short-term management plans; (4) providing effective leadership, direction, and coordination in the development and execution of high-priority and complex natural resource activities; and (5) experience implementing natural resources laws, rules and regulations that affect the National Wildlife Refuge System. You must include hours per week worked. 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.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for experience. 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. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. How do I receive credit for a college degree obtained in a foreign university in another country? - OPM.gov Applicants must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, commonly called a credential evaluation service. To be acceptable, the foreign credential evaluation must include/describe: The type of education received by the applicant; The level of education in relation to the U.S. education system, and state that its comparability recommendations follow the general guidelines of the International Education Standards Council; The content of the applicant's educational program earned abroad and the standard obtained; The status of the awarding foreign school's recognition and legitimacy in its home country's education system; and Any other information of interest such as what the evaluation service did to obtain this information, the qualifications of thee valuator, and any indications as to other problems such as forgery. Foreign credential evaluations that do not contain the above information or that state there is insufficient information provided by the applicant on which to base an evaluation should not be accepted. If the requested evaluation shows the foreign education to be legitimate and comparable to that expected of a candidate with U.S. credentials, it may be accepted at the discretion of the agency. How You Will Be Evaluated

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 additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed. You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Communication Leadership Program Management Teamwork Technical Competence 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 successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a structured resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job. All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP). To be considered under CTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. Other Information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement. All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior. The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.