Fish and Wildlife Biologist

Summary

You will serve as a Fish and Wildlife Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kansas Ecological Services Field Office in Manhattan, Kansas, or Missouri River Recovery Office in Helena, Montana; Bismarck, North Dakota; Pierre, South Dakota; or Yankton, South Dakota. Pay will vary based on duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Duties

One vacancy will be filled in Manhattan, Kansas and one vacancy will be filled in Helena, Montana; Bismarck, North Dakota; Pierre, South Dakota; or Yankton, South Dakota. Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Coordinate and facilitate activities pursuant to sections, 4, 6, 7, and 10 of the Endangered Species Act. Act as technical advisor to other Field Office staff on the habitat needs of rare, candidate, proposed, and federally listed species. Independently conduct consultations pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, with other Federal agencies and designated non-Federal representatives for development, transportation, infrastructure, water conveyance, recreation, restoration and flood control projects. Plan and conduct status assessments for listed, proposed and candidate species, in cooperation with other Federal, state, and local agency personnel, private organization representatives, contractors, and other partners. Develop and manage propagation and genetic-diversity strategies. Manage budgets, evaluate proposals, and direct funding. Recommend recovery actions tailored to the ecology, and geomorphology of the Missouri and Mississippi River basins.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/17/2026-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 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: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must submit transcripts. -OR- B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level: 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: planning, conducting, or coordinating biological or natural resource studies, assessments, or conservation activities; analyzing biological, ecological, or habitat information to evaluate species or resource conditions and inform management decisions; applying biological principles and applicable environmental laws, regulations, policies, or procedures to fish, wildlife, habitat, or other natural resource issues; developing, evaluating, or implementing conservation, recovery, monitoring, or habitat management actions; preparing technical or scientific reports, analyses, findings, recommendations, or other biological documents; and coordinating biological or natural resource activities with Federal, State, Tribal, local, or other partners or stakeholders. You must include hours per week worked. 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

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. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications