(Continued from Requirements Section)

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT/PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
May require SCUBA license certification. This position has physical requirements.

May require fieldwork with a minimum of 2 weeks per year. Fieldwork requires the incumbent to live on board and work on research vessels in the marine offshore environment for up to 21 days at a time which can include rough seas and inclement weather. While at sea, the incumbent will be required to stand for long periods of time, bend/stoop and lift up to 40 lbs. unassisted. Perform non-cruise tasks such as driving a truck loaded with research equipment to vessel; requires ability to lift gear and delivering/picking up equipment from vessels. Incumbent will need to travel to a variety of regional locations to conduct field work, meet with collaborators, collect and evaluate data, and participate in scientific presentations.

Some locations may require the incumbent to collect and process marine-related field data; coordinate and manage access to data collected or managed by the sanctuary. Plan and execute SCUBA operations to collect field data. Plan, coordinate and/or execute marine field research from conception to peer-reviewed publication including project planning, and other sanctuary logistics to support operations and plans.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements:

To qualify for the 0408 series:
EDUCATION:
Degree: biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences.

-AND-

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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.

To qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11 level:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicant must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

• Participating in research, monitoring, characterization, or assessment activities related to environmental and marine issues, or the diversity of habitats, rare and protected species and related ecological relationships (e.g. participating in the planning and development of research projects, conducting research projects, conducting field operations, assessment reporting, etc.);
• Collaborating with marine and natural resource planners, regulators or marine industry stakeholders to mitigate conservation issues; and
• Supporting the development or dissemination of scientific and technical papers, reports or information (e.g. peer-reviewed journals, publications, articles, education material, scientific reports, etc.) through data analysis, assessments or reporting of information related to one or more of the following; marine habitats, living resources, water quality, or economic information.

OR
SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Master's or equivalent graduate degree.
OR
COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and professional experience. Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. (Note: Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience.)