Duties

Summary

NOTE: This vacancy announcement has been amended to extend the closing date to August 16, 2021.

This permanent full-time position is located in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP, in the Resource Stewardship Division. This position serves as a principal advisor in the management of natural resources and is responsible for program development and implementation.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The incumbent represents the Superintendent and/or Branch Manager of Resource Stewardship when working with others on research and resource stewardship issues.

• Major focus areas for the position include, but are not limited to, open lands management, promotion of grassland habitat, improving the condition of forest areas, and improving the condition and management of park streams and riparian areas.
• Carries out program management duties by developing work plans and schedules, scopes of work, cost estimates, and proposals and/or grants to support funding requests and accomplish goals.
• Administers and tracks project funds and prepares accomplishment reports as needed.
• Assesses and coordinates review of park projects for potential environmental effects and ensures compliance with applicable Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
• Coordinates the park's integrated pest management (IPM) program and coordinates the park's program of agricultural permits, including soliciting and reviewing bid proposals.
• Incorporates appropriate GIS technology into the job and provides GIS support to park management and staff.
• Attends management and scientific meetings, workshops, and other events for the purpose of exchanging information and advancing park resource stewardship.

The Mid-Atlantic Network (MIDN; Inventory and Monitoring Program) is collocated at the Natural Resource Office in the park. The network's staff conduct inventory and monitoring in 10 parks across the mid-Atlantic including Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP. This proximity allows opportunities for collaboration between network and park staff.

Park Information: This position is located in the Resources Stewardship branch of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park . The park commemorates and interprets four major battles of the American Civil War: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. The park also includes the historic structures of Chatham, Ellwood, Salem Church, and the "Stonewall" Jackson Death Site. The park encompasses over 8,000 acres making it one of the largest military park in the world. The Mid-Atlantic Network (MIDN; Inventory and Monitoring Program) is collocated at the park's Natural Resource Office allowing for collaborative opportunities with 10 parks across the mid-Atlantic.
Fredericksburg, Virginia is approximately 50 miles south of Washington, D.C. and 60 miles north of Richmond, Virginia. The colonial and Civil War history of the area, as well as many recreational opportunities on local waterways and natural areas make the Fredericksburg area a popular tourist destination. The park's battlefields and historic structures span four counties in the Fredericksburg area, with the highest population density being in the City of Fredericksburg, Stafford County and Spotsylvania County areas. Many options for schools, shopping, dining, cultural opportunities, and medical care are easily accessed. The University of Mary Washington is an integral part of the Fredericksburg area community. Within a short drive from these growing populations centers, you will find yourself in the more rural and scenic Virginia countryside. The local climate is temperate, with hot and humid summers and relatively mild winters.

Additional Information: For additional information regarding this announcement or how to apply, please contact the HR Office at number or email provided in the announcement. For specific questions pertaining to the position being advertised, please contact Ray_Brown@nps.gov or 540-693-3200, ext. 6010. Email is the preferred method of inquiry as it provides the fastest response time. When inquiring by email please include the announcement number in the subject line.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may occasionally be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
• Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
• Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
• You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You may be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You may also be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
• You may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle.
• Government housing is not available.
• You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
• You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
• As the Park's Integrated Pest Management program coordinator, you will be required to possess and maintain certification for pesticide application.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/16/2021-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying 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 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. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

This is a an interdisciplinary positions and applicant will qualify for either a Biologist GS-0401 or Physical Scientist GS-1301. Each of these series has a positive education requirement to meet the basic qualification requirement. Once applicants show they meet the basic education requirement, then you must also meet the specialized experience and/or education for the GS-9 grade level.

Basic Education Qualification Requirement for Biologist: Degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position or combination of education and experience to include courses equivalent to a major, aforementioned, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Basic Education Qualification Requirement for Physical Scientist: Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics or. combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors aforementioned that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
- AND -
To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This specialized experience should demonstrateproviding technical planning and support for resource management, recreation and public education programs which includes: water resource management; land use planning; natural, cultural and recreational resource assessments; development of alternative resource management strategies; river conservation issues; and assisting in the preparation of professionally acceptable planning and/or compliance documents. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a directly related field of study. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. The total combination must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

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

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Physical Demands: The position may require strenuous physical activity including periods of standing, walking, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings. Documentary research and report writing work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed primarily indoors. Occasionally, work may be performed outdoors in all types of weather. Outdoor assignments may performed in potentially hazardous areas including steep slopes, rocky terrain, forests, etc. On occasion, flying in fixed winged aircraft and helicopters may be possible.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. All travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the sole responsibility of the selected employee.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information .

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 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 additional assessments required for this position. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Data Management
• Ecology
• Partnering
• Project Management
• Research
• Wildlife Biology

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 successful completion of additional assessments, including a resume review by a subject matter expert. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

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.

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
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 08/16/2021.

Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, dates specified in month and year format, and the resume must reflect either full-time or 40 hours per week. If a part-time work schedule is reflected, the hours must be annotated to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade. Please ensure that your resume contains your full name, address, phone number, employment information such as employer name and location, from and to dates for each description of experience, with pay plan/grade, and if applicable education and training, etc

Complete All Required Assessments (to include selecting eligibilities. You will not be considered for any eligibility not selected.)

Merit Promotion Eligibility Documentation such as:

• Federal employees must submit a copy of their latest SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" that reflects career or career-conditional tenure, such as the initial hire, promotion, or reassignment, showing position title, series, grade and tenure (please do not submit an Award SF-50 unless it provides the necessary information) and, if different, an SF-50 showing highest permanent grade ever held. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50's.
• If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess the one-year time-in-grade, as required by this announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade, such as a Within Grade Increase.
• Federal employees must also submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed if hours worked per week are not included on your resume.
• Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, which includes ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH appointment as well as ALL performance evaluations, for each qualifying period of temporary employment claimed.

Other Supporting Documents:

• Performance Appraisals and Awards:
  • All applicants must submit their most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor or, if one is unavailable, a statement as to why it is not available (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level).
  • Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted

College transcripts, if qualifying based on education.

Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

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.