NPS Biological Science Technician
OPENING DATE: 11/28/2016
CLOSING DATE: 12/2/2016
DEPARTMENT: National Park Service
JOB TYPE: Full-time – Temporary
SALARY: $13.84 / Per Hour
Open to all qualified U.S. citizens. You do not have to be a current or former government employee to be considered for this position.
This recruitment will be used to fill seasonal appointments. These appointments are not to exceed 1039 hours in a twelve month period, although positions may be terminated sooner or extended depending on management needs.
This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 50 applicants. It is scheduled to close at midnight (11:59 EDT) on December 2nd or at midnight (11;59 EDT) the day the 50th application is received, whichever comes first.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
This announcement is for a seasonal Biological Science Technician within the Natural Resources Division at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Page, AZ. The employee assists other park staff with vegetation and wildlife stewardship and range management activities. Wildlife related duties will include observing, monitoring, and recording (acoustic equipment) a wide variety of basic data on habitat conditions, number, and distribution of wildlife species. Invasive species management duties will include pest identification, implementation of IPM control methods (i.e. mechanical, chemical, cultural, and biological) and public outreach. Employee will apply approved herbicides using backpack and handheld sprayers. Native plant restoration duties will include collecting and processing native plant seeds, plant propagation, plant salvaging, potting, transplanting, preparing seedbeds, seeding, planting, mulching, and watering. Monitoring duties will include collection of qualitative and quantitative data related to wildlife, vegetation, and range management. Data management responsibilities include completing field data sheets; using computer programs such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and SonoBat; operating global positioning system (GPS) equipment; and entering data into databases and/or park geographic information systems (GIS). Employees will operate manual transmission vehicles, water pumps and tanks, high-pressure hot water washers, line trimmers, tillers, chainsaws, hand tools, and may be required to tow and back 17’trailers. Employees must have a valid state driver’s license. Employees may be required to obtain a Utah and/or Arizona pesticide applicators license within one month of entering into duty. Employees will be required to complete the rabies pre-exposure vaccination series prior to handling bats. Employees will be required to work weekends, overnight back-country camp, and travel to work on other resource management projects throughout the region. These positions are generally field based and involve performing labor intensive tasks for prolonged periods of time (10 or more hours daily) in front-country and back-country settings.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Moderate to high physical effort is required to complete assigned tasks. The employee will be required to routinely hike up to 10 miles/day with a 40 lb. pack load, during day or night, often in rugged terrain or on steep slopes, with total elevation gain/loss of up to 1000 feet. Manual labor duties will require using hand tools for extended periods of time. APPLICANTS MUST BE IN EXCELLENT PHYSICAL CONDITION TO PERFORM REQUIRED JOB DUTIES.
WORK ENVIRONMENT: The majority of time will be spent working outdoors, often at remote locations in rugged terrain. Field work sites range from 3000 feet to 7500 feet in elevation. Temperatures during working hours in the summer can approach 110 F and in the winter can approach 25 F. Necessary personal protective and other safety equipment will be provided. Job hazards include: falling on steep slopes, heat exhaustion, hypothermia, lightning strikes, insect stings (bees, wasps, and scorpions), and surprise wildlife encounters. Some work is performed indoors at a personal computer station.
AREA INFORMATION: Page, Arizona (Wahweap) is located on the Arizona-Utah border, 135 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona, the nearest larger community. Wahweap Sub-District is located seven miles from Page. Page looks out on beautiful Lake Powell which offers boating, associated water sports recreation and fishing. The surrounding land of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area offers beautiful red rock country for hiking and backcountry recreational activity. Page is centrally located to many other National Parks, such as the Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches and Canyonlands to name a few. Page offers normal community amenities such as shopping, medical and dental facilities, schools K-12 and college courses available through local Coconino Community College. The area enjoys typical high desert climate with temperatures ranging from 100 in summer to mid-teens in winter with low humidity and sunshine most days of the year. Elevation in Page is 4300 feet above sea level. http://www.pagelakepowelltourism.com/ Park housing may be available, but is not guaranteed. Because of limited housing, seasonal employees are typically assigned shared quarters, which will not accommodate family members or pets.
QUALIFICATIONS:
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement, Friday, December 02, 2016. Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sectors.
QUALIFICATIONS: To be eligible for this position, you must possess the qualifying specialized experience and/or education as described in the occupational/assessment questionnaire and as outlined below.
Experience: six months of general experience and six months of specialized experience for a total of one year of experience. In making this claim, I understand that General Experience is (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation; and that Specialized Experience for this position is work involving one or more aspects of vegetation management such as: performing basic vegetation inventories, studies, and surveys; participating in site rehabilitation through soil preparation, native seed dispersal, live planting and weeding; applying/performing a variety of manual, mechanical, chemical, and/or bio-control methods in planned management of exotics (non-natives), native species, and/or weeds; etc. (I understand that excess specialized experience can substitute for general experience; but excess general experience cannot be substituted for required specialized experience).
Education: two years of education above high school in an accredited educational institution (60 semester hour or 90 quarter hours) which included at least 12 semester hours of scientific or technical courses, (such as in biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, ecology, or mathematics, or other directly-related subject matter); and at least 6 semester hours of this coursework was in GIS, plant, or botany-related subjects. IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must document your course work and/or degree completed in your resume or other application materials you submit. If your degree was not in one of the directly-related fields listed above, you must submit a copy of your transcripts or a complete list of college courses taken that identifies for each course the college or university, semester or quarter hours earned, grade received, and date completed. If you are qualifying based on education and you do not submit specific course work information as described previously, your application will be rated not qualified for consideration. (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected).
Combination: an equivalent combination of education and experience. For example, I have 6 months of general experience (50% of the experience requirements for this position and grade level) combined with one year of education as outlined above (50% of the education required to qualify), which included at least 6 semester hours of scientific or technical courses, such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 3 semester hours of courses must be directly related to this position. Examples of directly related courses are plant or botany-related subjects.
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 or other equivalent documentation. Applicants can verify accreditation HERE
Transcripts do not need to be official but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify then you will need to provide official transcripts before you enter on duty.
You can receive credit for education received outside the United States if you provide evidence that it is comparable to an accredited education institution in the United States when you apply. For further information click HERE.
Requirements
1.National Park Service (NPS) uniformed position. Employee will be required to wear a uniform and comply with NPS uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided to defray the cost of the uniform.
2. You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid state issued drivers license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle.
To apply visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/457039000/