Research Ecologist (Fire)

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Duties

As a Research Ecologist (Fire) within the Fort Collins Science Center, some of your specific duties will include:

• Work within a multi-disciplinary setting to carry out complex ecological and modeling investigations to advance science on fire ecology that addresses conservation and management issues at regional and national scales.
• Work closely with wildfire and natural resource managers at local, State, and Federal (e.g., Bureau of Land Management) agencies to address applied scientific research questions of management priority.
• Conduct fire ecology research and investigate complex, multi-scale ecological dynamics, short- and long-term landscape responses to disturbance processes and stressors and implications of changing fire regimes.
• Prepare new research initiatives and proposals, secure funding, and implement sophisticated modeling approaches.
• Operates government owned/leased vehicle as an incidental driver.
  
  

Physical and Environmental Demands Field investigations may involve hiking over rough and uneven terrain and long hours of walking

carrying a light pack. A moderate amount of exposure to inclement weather may be required when conducting field investigations.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Key Requirements

• Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
• Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
• More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
• Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.
• Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam.
  
  

Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?

• You will be required to operate a government-owned or -leased vehicle in the performance of your official duties. Applicants for this position must meet the following requirements: (1) possess a valid State license, and (2) possess a safe driving record. If selected, you will be required to provide proof of a valid State license & a copy of your driving record.
• Taking and passing a pre-employment medical examination at Federal expense is required due to the physical demands of this job.
• Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
• A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
• Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.
  
  

Qualifications

Definitions:

EXPERIENCE: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows: 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: A year of undergraduate education is 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent of college study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent was a prerequisite.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Applicants must meet A below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Ecologist, all grade levels.

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in biology or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours or the equivalent in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours or the equivalent in ecology, and 12 semester hours or the equivalent in physical and mathematical sciences.
  
  

For GS-13

In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-13 level:

• One year of appropriate specialized experience that is in ecology, biology or a related field of science underlying ecological research is qualifying if it is equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service, and if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled.
  
  

Examples of GS-12 level work may include: 1) planning and coordinating research on fire ecology and the effects of fire and other stressors on populations, communities, ecosystems or landscapes; 2) analyzing and interpreting data to address novel and obscure problems in fire ecology; 3) contributing to the development of competitive research grants to conduct research in fire ecology; 4) performing studies in the field of fire ecology as part of a group; 5) publishing technical reports and journal articles in the field of fire ecology.

For GS-14

In addition to the basic education requirements as stated above, applicants must have one year of specialized experience at or equal to the next lower grade level.

Examples of GS-13 level work may include: 1) leading ecological investigations in the areas of fire ecology and related conservation and management; 2) using technical skills in quantitative/statistical analyses to address novel topics in fire ecology; 3) leading the development of competitive research grants to conduct research in fire ecology; 4) contributing to interdisciplinary research teams and working with managers to address issues in fire ecology; 5) leading the publication of technical reports and journal articles in the field of fire ecology. For examples 1-5, the work provided wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment to perform scientific work of marked difficulty and responsibility.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

• 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 completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .
  
  

Additional information

Other Information

• Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
• The full performance level for a Research position is GS-15; however, promotion eligibility is dependent upon the scientific contributions of the incumbent as evaluated by a peer panel.
• Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.
• USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations.
• The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
• DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
• The Department of the Interior (DOI) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission.
• THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.
  
  

Agency Benefits:

• USGS has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework in accordance with the DOI Telework policy and with supervisor approval. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis.
• For additional information on our internal telework policy, please reference the Department of the Interior Telework Handbook at: https://www.doi.gov/telework/policies.
• Working for the U.S. Geological Survey offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; health, life, dental, vision, and long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.
  
  

Read more

• Help Help 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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  
  

Review our benefits

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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

• Basis of Rating:
  
  

Category rating will be used in the ranking and selection process for this position. The quality categories are Best Qualified and Qualified. If you meet the basic qualification and eligibility requirements of this position, you will be contacted via email after the vacancy announcement closes and given 5calendar days to submit narrative responses that address the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to perform the duties of this position. You will be rated and ranked based on the information you provide in your resume as well as the responses you submit to the required KSAs. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.

The knowledge, skills, and abilities required for this position are as follows:

• Knowledge of the principles, theories, and practices of ecology, biology, and related environmental disciplines, and ability to prepare research plans, identify and develop the state-of-art approaches, execute research, manage budget, and to deliver the research results.
• Skills, experience, and ability to conduct quantitative statistical analyses, including ability to use modern methods and models to present and analyze ecological processes, fire response, and/or fire behavior. Methods could include Bayesian hierarchical modeling, Behave, Farsite, and others. Proficiency in programming languages such as R or Python for statistical computing and graphics. Ability to apply these techniques to assess impacts of stressors on vegetation community ecology and wildlife populations and communities.
• Ability to communicate with natural resource managers, identify scientific questions, prepare new research initiatives and proposals, and secure funding in fire ecology and fire modeling research areas. How many and what types of proposals have you submitted? How successful have you been in securing research funding in fire ecology and fire modeling studies.
• Communication skills, leadership, and teamwork: ability to lead or serve as a major player in interdisciplinary research teams, coordinate and communicate to teammates and clients, support the missions of teams, serve at committees, represent USGS. How many times and what kind of leadership roles did you play in multi-agency teams, workgroups, or committees?
• Ability to communicate research results effectively, in oral and written forms, both in peer-reviewed journal articles and presentations at professional conferences to other scientists, as well as in informational reports, briefings, and technical consultations with decision makers. How many and what types of deliverables have you produced, as the lead author and co-author? How successful have you been in publishing peer-reviewed fire ecology studies?