Wildlife Refuge Manager

Summary

You will serve as a Wildlife Refuge Manager with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kulm Wetland Management District in Kulm, North Dakota. You will exercise leadership and direction for all staff under his/her supervision. Technical responsibilities of the position involve planning, managing, and coordinating Refuge/Wetland Management District operations and programs. 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: Supervise a team of professional, technical, analytical, administrative support staff, and blue-collar workers (permanent and seasonal staff), setting a team attitude of adhering to high professional standards and completion of accurate, high-quality work. Develop long-range plans, annual work plans, budgets and work schedules. Oversee, review and approve land and aquatic conservation activities, habitat creation, restoration, and contaminant projects, research studies, population studies, wildlife inventory, and monitoring activities. Apply current and changing natural resources laws, rules and regulations that affect the National Wildlife Refuge System (e.g., water rights, rights-of-way, oil and gas, easements, fee title lands, etc.) to ensure compliance with all.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/16/2026-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: zoology, wildlife management, or an appropriate field of biology that included at least nine (9) semester hours in zoology; six (6) semester hours in such wildlife courses as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, or wildlife management; and three (3) semester hours in botany, and three (3) semester hours in conservation biology. 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 includes 1) managing or coordinating wildlife refuge or natural resource management programs, such as planning and implementing wildlife and habitat management activities; 2) evaluating or coordinating biological, habitat restoration, or conservation projects; 3) applying natural resource laws, regulations, and policies; 4) developing or implementing annual work plans, budgets, or project priorities; and 5) coordinating with Federal, State, Tribal, local or other partners on natural resource management activities. 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