New job Biological Science Technician (Fisheries) in Montana

Biological Science Technician (Fisheries)

Company : US Department of the Interior
Salary : $43,683 - $56,790 a year
Location : Montana

Full Description

Duties

Summary

What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position?

This is a term appointment not to exceed 13 months with possible extensions up to a total of 4 years without further competition. Appointment to this position will not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

Salary: $43,683 (Step 01) to $56,790 (Step 10);

NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.


Responsibilities

As a Biological Science Technician (Fishery) within the USGS, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center some of your specific duties will include but are not limited to:

  • Conducts field studies and surveys to collect fishery data and/or specimen.
  • Uses Electro-shocker, gill netting, radio telemetry, radio tracking, tagging, and trapping to collect data
  • Conducts variety of data manipulation and analyses.
  • Creates, manages, and manipulates data files.
  • Runs computer programs to enter and verify statistics on data.
  • Enters data into automated database and/or GIS.
  • Prepares data summaries and identifies erroneous data and follows established protocol to rectify the data
  • Coordinates repair and maintenances of research and support equipment, such as tools, traps, and nets
  • Oversees and trains new technicians and field crews
  • Complies, analyzes and summarizes field and lab data for preparation of final reports and publications.
  • Edits scientific manuscripts and reports, verifies accuracy of computations, arranges data in appropriate form for publication.
  • Assists in development of study plans.
  • Conducts library searches for literature on research projects.
  • Operates a government owned or leased vehicle as an incidental driver.
Physical Demands & Work Environment: Hiking up to 20 miles in remote backcountry, carrying pack up to 50 lbs. Work in cold water with hands for extended period of time. Work in extreme weather conditions in remote backcountry locations. Exposure to wild animals, such as grizzly and black bears. Ability to operate motorized boat on a remote lake during night hours and use gill nets.

Travel Required

76% or greater - You may be expected to travel an average of 20 nights per month for this position.

Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

None

  • Job family (Series)

    0404 Biological Science Technician

    Similar jobs

    • Biological Technicians
    • Technicians, Biological
  • Requirements

    Requirements

    Conditions of Employment

    Key Requirements:

    • Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
    • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
    • Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
    • More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
    • Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.
    • Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam.
    Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?
    • This vacancy is limited to the first 35 applications received and will close at midnight Eastern Time on the day this application limit is reached regardless of the closing date specified in this vacancy announcement. Any application received prior to midnight Eastern Time of the day the application limit is reached will be accepted and considered. You are strongly encouraged to submit all required supporting documents at the time of application should the vacancy close earlier than stated in this announcement due to the applicant limit being reached. Supporting documents will not be accepted once the vacancy announcement closes.
    • Taking and passing a pre-employment medical examination at Federal expense is required due to the physical demands of this job.
    • Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
    • A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
    • Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.

    Qualifications

    For GS-07:

    Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-07 level:

    Possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 level in the Federal service that is in or related to the duties of this position. Specialized experience may include work as a technician or aid for a aquatics research program, such as: field work requiring driving a motorboat during the day and night on a remote lake in a roadless area; implanting passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags in various salmonid species including ESA-threatened and/or endangered salmonid fishes; surgical implantation of sonic and/or radio telemetry tags into the body cavities of salmonid fishes; commercial fishing style gillnetting; backpack electrofishing in small streams; installing and maintaining a network of hydrological dataloggers; installing and maintaining remote solar powered PIT tag telemetry stations; or other fisheries technician level work that equipped the applicant with the skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

    Examples of GS-06 level assignments include: 1) using backpack electrofishing to conduct population estimates and relative abundance surveys of salmonids in small streams 2) collecting fish tissue samples (fins and whole fish) and archiving them for genetic analyses; 3) actively and passively tracking fish implanted with telemetry tags and compiling and summarizing data from tracking surveys 3) maintaining the hardware, software and data collection associated with 3-5 remote PIT tag stations; 4) assuming temporary responsibility for daily gillnetting operations to remove invasive salmonids; 5) monitoring the hardware, software, and data collection associated with a 20-30 instream water level dataloggers. For examples 1-5, a designated authority initially provided direction on the priorities and objectives for work assignments and assisted with any unusual situations that did not have clear precedents.

    **OR Applicants may substitute successful completion of 1 year of appropriate graduate level education (18 semester hours, 27 quarter hours or the equivalent) in biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics or other field of study directly related to the work of this position for the required 1 year of specialized experience if it provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of this position.

    **OR Applicants may substitute a combination of appropriate specialized experience (as described above) and appropriate graduate level education (as described above) that is beyond the first 1/2 year of progressive graduate study to meet the qualification requirements.

    You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

    Education

    • 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 completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .

    Additional information

    Other Information:

    • Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
    • Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.
    • USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations.
    • 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.
    • DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
    • THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.
    Agency Benefits:
    • USGS has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework in accordance with the DOI Telework policy and with supervisor approval. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis.
    • For additional information on our internal telework policy, please reference the Department of the Interior Telework Handbook at: https://www.doi.gov/telework/policies.
    • Working for the U.S. Geological Survey offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; health, life, dental, vision, and long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

    How You Will Be Evaluated

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

    -Vacancy Related Questions: As part of the online application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge skills, abilities and/or competencies:

    Collect Scientific Data
    Scientific Knowledge
    Laboratory Techniques
    Scientific Records
    Scientific Instrumentation
    Leadership & Supervision
    -Basis of Rating: Category rating will be used in the ranking and selection process for this position. The quality categories are Best Qualified, Well Qualified, and Qualified. You will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you are eligible, your on-line responses to the application questions will determine your placement in the appropriate quality category described above. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.
    -NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.

    To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11081129

    Background checks and security clearance

    Security clearance

    Not Required

    Drug test required

    No

    Position sensitivity and risk

    Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

    Trust determination process

    Credentialing

  • Required Documents

    Required Documents

    Required documents may be: (1) uploaded directly from your desktop; or (2) uploaded directly from your USAJOBS stored attachments.

    Transcripts
    • -If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide all unofficial transcripts (undergraduate, graduate, etc.) or list of course work, which includes semester hours earned and grade received, by the closing date of this announcement or you will be disqualified from further consideration. Please ensure that all documentation is legible.

    Veterans' Preference Eligibles
    • -If you are claiming veterans' preference you must provide a legible copy of your DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, member 4 copy or any official documentation or statement from the Armed Forces that confirms your dates of service and that your separation, discharge, or release from active duty was under honorable conditions (i.e., Honorable or General Discharge). Note: If you have more than one DD-214 for multiple periods of active duty, submit a copy for each period of service.

    • -If you are currently on active military duty, you must provide documentation (e.g., campaign document, award citation, etc.), that verifies entitlement to veterans' preference and that your character of military service is honorable.

    • -If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, in addition to the documents specified above, you must also submit documentation that supports your claim, e.g., an official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs (dated 1991 or later) or from a branch of the Armed Forces certifying the existence of a service-connected disability, or the award of the Purple Heart, etc. The overall rating must be identified on your certification letter or separation orders. Documentation must be received by the closing date shown in this vacancy announcement. If you fail to submit any of the required documentation, you will not be granted veterans' preference.

    Additional information on veterans' preference can be found in the VetGuide.

    Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) & Inter-agency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Eligibles
    • -If you are claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, the Servicing Human Resources Office must receive proof by the closing date of this announcement that you meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330 Subpart F for CTAP and 5 CFR 330 Subpart G for ICTAP or you will not receive priority consideration. This includes:
    • copy of the agency notice;
    • your most recent Performance Rating; and
    • your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location.
    If you are a CTAP or ICTAP eligible, you will be considered well qualified if you earn a minimum score of 85 (prior to the assignment of veteran's preference points). For more information on CTAP/ICTAP please click here.

    If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

    Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

    Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

  • Benefits

    Benefits

    A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

    Review our benefits

    Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time, or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.


Help

This job is open to

  • Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

    Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.

  • The public

    U.S. citizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.


Apply Now