This position is located within the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Divison with two vacancies located in Seattle, WA.
Responsibilities
As a Supervisory Research Fish Biologist, you will perform the following duties:
- Lead and direct groundfish assessment surveys (within the Groundfish Assessment Program), and formulate and conduct research on topics such as: survey design and methodology, effects of catchability and availability, population dynamics and behavior of groundfishes, essential fish habitat, marine ecosystems and/or another area related to the AFSC science mission.
- Provide technical supervision over a significant workload of mission-supporting scientific and engineering work.
- Execute all management and administrative responsibilities including (but not limited) to workforce management, time and attendance, procurement, budget planning and execution, and safety (at sea and on land), in accordance with relevant policies and procedures.
- Lead planning, execution, and reporting of all assigned groundfish assessment surveys.
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
- Qualifications requirements must be met by closing date of announcement.
- Incumbent must be able to operate a Federal motor vehicle to drive to remote areas.
Physical Requirement:
Incumbent must be able to lead and participate in at sea deployments for up to 60 days per year with individual trips spanning up to 35 days each. Sea duty occurs in remote areas while exposed to weather and various sea states, with long, work hours. Lifting and moving heavy objects (up to 50 pounds) are required throughout the day.
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.
EDUCATION:
To qualify at the 0482 series:
BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements:
Applicants must show that they have a degree with major study in biology, zoology, or biological oceanography that included at least 30 semester hours in biological and aquatic science and 15 semester hours in the physical and mathematical sciences. This course work must have included:
- At least 15 semester hours of preparatory training in zoology beyond introductory biology or zoology in such courses as invertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, histology, physiology, embryology, advanced vertebrate zoology, genetics, entomology, and parasitology; and
- At least 6 semester hours of training applicable to fishery biology in such subjects as fishery biology, ichthyology, limnology, oceanography, algology, planktonology, marine or fresh water ecology, invertebrate ecology, principles of fishery population dynamics, or related course work in the field of fishery biology; and
- At least 15 semester hours of training in any combination of two or more of the following: chemistry, physics, mathematics, or statistics.
AND
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 at the ZP-4 or GS-13:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-3 or GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:
- Planning and coordinating stock assessment or fishery-independent surveys on fishing vessels;
- Conducting research on population dynamics, behavior of groundfishes, essential fish habitat, or marine ecosystems; and
- Assisting in the execution of administrative and supervisory or management responsibilities for a project or a team.
Education
College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.
