This position is located within the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of Habitat Conservation, with one vacancy in Annapolis, MD.
This position is also announced under vacancy number NMFS-HC-2022-0016, which is open to Status Applicants. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.
As a Fish Biologist, you will perform the following duties:
- Analyze and synthesize data from Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites, state fishery surveys, Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program and other data sets to assist with the development of ecosystem status reports.
- Conduct analyses to evaluate environmental impacts on Chesapeake Bay forage, fish habitat, blue crabs and other key species, and assist with stock assessment modeling of key fishery species (e.g. striped bass) to develop Bay-specific abundance estimates for management.
- Assist in field studies to evaluate the effectiveness of nearshore habitat restoration at sites such as Poplar Island and support development of methods and analytical approaches to quantify fish use and productivity associated with nearshore habitats.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National to apply.
- Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
- Must be suitable for Federal employment.
- Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
- Qualifications requirements must be met by closing date of announcement.
Due to COVID-19, the agency is currently in an expanded telework posture. NOAA received notice of reintegration to occur on April 25, 2022. As employees are permitted to return to the office, you will need to follow management’s guidelines on the expectation of reporting to the duty station listed on this announcement. You may be eligible to request to telework depending upon the terms of the agency’s telework policy.
This position will be filled under the DOC Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). This system replaced the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band.
The ZP-2 is equivalent to the GS-09. The Full Performance of this position is a ZP-02.
Qualifications
Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.
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.
To qualify for the 482 series:
1. Degree: major in biological science that included: At least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology; and At least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields. (Excess course work in aquatic subjects may be used to meet this requirement when appropriate.)
or
2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in the animal sciences, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
To qualify at the ZP-2 or GS-07/09:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-1 or GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:
- Assisting in analyzing fisheries and habitat data; and
- Assisting in evaluating effectiveness of habitat or ecosystem restoration.
SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION:
1 year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement.
OR
COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience as described above.
NOTE: Only graduate education in excess of two years is qualifying for combination.
Salary: $50,643 - $88,684 per year
Application deadline: September 5, 2022
