Supervisory Fish Biologist.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

People & HR, Operations
Los Angeles, CA, USA · Lodi, CA, USA · California, USA · United States
Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2024
Duties

The Pacific Southwest Region Fisheries Program provides staff to support the management of aquatic species and conservation of aquatic habitats in California, Nevada, and Oregon's Klamath Basin. The Fisheries Program undertakes a variety of population management and habitat restoration activities, many of which are directed by Congressionally legislated and court-mandated authorities, Treaty and Trust responsibilities, and national program goals. These activities rely upon the development and application of technical and scientific information in fish population assessment and management, aquatic ecosystem assessment and management, captive propagation of endangered species, and management of aquatic invasive species, with emphasis on the protection, restoration, mitigation and enhancement of species listed by the Service under the Endangered Species Act, anadromous salmonids, and other imperiled species within the Pacific Southwest Region. The Fisheries Program provides line supervision for three Fish and Wildlife Offices, two National Fish Hatcheries, and one Fish Health Center.

Key Duties For This Position Are

  • Serves as the office's Data Management Supervisor. Primary responsibility is to ensure that adequate resources are available to support data management of multiple large aquatic monitoring programs in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Duties include ensuring that (1) Data Stewards, Custodians, and Producers follow applicable policies and practices, (2) Data are covered under a data management plan, (3) Data meets quality, privacy, and other standards, and (4) Metadata are comprehensive and high quality.
  • Serves as the office's Special Studies Supervisor. Primary responsibility is supporting non-supervisory biologists who lead studies aimed at improving the scope and quality of fish and water quality monitoring operations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
  • Leads and supervises project teams of professional and technical personnel, volunteers, and personnel from cooperating agencies including Federal and State fishery resource agencies, private non-government organizations, (NGO's), and Native American Tribes in a variety of scientific field studies and programs in fishery biology and fishery management.
  • Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, set and adjust short-term priorities, and prepare schedules for completion of work; develops performance standards and performance evaluations for personnel; gives advice, counsel, or instruction to employees.
  • Develops, coordinates and implements fishery management plans and habitat protection guidelines to meet Federal responsibility for fishery resources investigations.
  • Provides technical advice, guidance and recommendations to fish management entities and recommends/justifies appropriate resource management strategies.
  • Contributes to the budget, planning, and work plan preparation, negotiation, and execution for fishery activities and associated permitting requirements.
  • Prepares written or oral presentations and authors annual and peer reviewed technical reports summarizing the results of field studies.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Resume (See "Required Documents"). Failure to provide ALL required information on your resume will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is provided on resume.
  • Eligibility and Supporting documents - You will ONLY be considered for the eligibilities that you select "yes" to AND submit the required supporting documentation, as listed in the Required Documents section.
  • Suitability for employment, as determined by background investigation.
  • Driver’s License: Selectees may be required to possess and maintain a valid State driver's license at all times during their tenure.
  • Uniform: Official U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uniform MAY be required.
  • Supervisory Probationary Period: Selectees who have not previously completed a supervisory probationary period, will be required to serve a one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period for this position.
  • Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service. To verify registration visit SSS.gov.
  • Drug testing position: Selectees tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.

Qualifications

Only experience and education obtained by 07/26/2024 will be considered.

In order to qualify for this position you must possess both the Basic Requirement and Minimum Qualification.Basic Requirement:

  • 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.

Minimum Qualification [GS-11]

  • One full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Experience includes the following: (1) Provides supervision and/or has mentored biological personnel responsible for conducting and disseminating studies aimed at improving monitoring programs for fish species of conservation, cultural, and/or economic importance; (2) program monitoring of data managers tasked with maintaining and improving large databases of long-term fisheries and environmental data; (3) Planning and coordination of fish monitoring projects and scientific investigations; (4) Collaborating with multiple internal and external partners to enhance fisheries conservation and management efforts. NOTE: Your resume must contain sufficient information in these areas to be found qualified.

OR

  • Completion of three years of progressively higher-level graduate education at an accredited college or university leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a major study related to fisheries/aquatics. You must provide a copy of your college transcripts to support educational claims.

OR

  • An equivalent combination of professional experience and graduate level education beyond the second year which together equals 100% of the requirements. (When combining education with experience, first determine the total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determine the experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally, add the two percentages. (The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level.)

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

PROOF OF EDUCATION: All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Pcs Information

  • No PCS entitlements authorized

Telework

This position is suitable for telework and may be allowed to telework with supervisory approval.

Additional Vacancies: One or more positions may be filled from applications received under this announcement in the advertised office or other U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service offices in the local commuting area.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP):Department of Interior (DOI) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) procedures apply in filling this vacancy. CTAP or ICTAP applicants must be determined to be well-qualified for this position in order to receive special selection priority. To be well-qualified, a CTAP or ICTAP applicant must meet the following: OPM qualification requirements for the position, all selective factors, where applicable; special OPM approved qualifying conditions for the position; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate, to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and receives a rating of at least 85 on the questionnaire. For more information visit:

Reasonable Accommodation: The USFWS provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Please visit

  • 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.

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.