BIOLOGIST

Summary

You will serve as a Biologist which requires an on-site presence. The selected applicant will be expected to report to a Department of the Interior (DOI) Office within the Southeast Region (Region 4). The agency will determine the specific duty station upon selection. Pay will be based on duty location. Fairhope, Alabama Atlanta, Georgia Lacombe, Louisiana Location Negotiable After Selection First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Applies advanced ecological and biological principles to serve as a technical advisor in developing and implementing natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities related to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Oil Pollution Act (of 1990) (OPA), for internal staff and external partners. Develops and provides information needed to guide and support customers towards mission-oriented, cost-effective, and high-quality assessment and restoration that is aligned with Department of the Interior (DOI) , Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) , Trustee Council, Southeast Region and Gulf Restoration Office (GRO) policy. Designs, conducts, reviews, and synthesizes evaluations of chemical exposures and their impacts on natural resources following oil and chemical releases. Develop and review technical documents, white papers, and literature reviews for Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) activities, providing data-driven recommendations to senior FWS leadership on appropriate agency actions. Coordinates effective multidisciplinary teams, including NRDAR biologists, solicitors, and natural resource economists within and outside the federal government. Demonstrates the ability to listen, write about, discuss, and explain information to a variety of audiences. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/27/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized 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 periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. 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. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying. Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: A. Degree: bachelor's or higher degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or a similar discipline related to this position. You must submit transcripts. -OR- B. Combination of education and experience which includes courses equivalent to a major in the biological sciences (i.e. at least 24 semester hours) as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education that is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in the biological sciences, agriculture, or natural resources management or related disciplines to this position. To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level: Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) assisting with analyzing or conducting biological or ecological investigations to evaluate the impact of contaminants on fish and wildlife resources and their habitats; 2) preparing technical reports, briefings, presentations, and training materials for a variety of technical and non-technical audiences 3) assisting with development of habitat conservation or restoration projects; and 4) coordinating with a variety of stakeholders such as Federal and state agencies, and tribes regarding fish, wildlife, and habitat assessment and restoration. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in biological sciences, natural resource management, or a closely related field which provided me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience as listed above. To combine education and experience, first convert quarter hours to semester hours by multiplying by the fraction 2/3. Then, divide your number of graduate semester hours in excess of the first 36 hours by the number 18 (or the number your school uses to represent one year of graduate education). Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level: Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:1) independently analyzing or conducting biological or ecological investigations to evaluate the impact of contaminants on fish and wildlife resources and their habitats; 2) preparing technical reports, briefings, presentations, and training materials for a variety of technical and non-technical audiences 3) developing habitat conservation or restoration projects; 4) serving as a technical advisor on the impact of contaminants on trust resources and their habitats for other staff, government agencies, land owners, private interest groups, etc.; and 5) coordinating with a variety of stakeholders such as Federal and state agencies, and tribes regarding fish, wildlife, and habitat assessment and restoration. 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

GS-12: This position does not allow substituting education for experience. This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. wi