Jobs for People with MS: National MS Society

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National Park Service Biological Science Technician (Plants) in Moab, Utah

Summary These career-seasonal positions are in the Division of Resource Stewardship and Science, based out of the Southeast Utah Group headquarters in Moab, UT which serves Arches and Canyonlands national parks as well as Hovenweep and Natural Bridges national monuments. These positions are vegetation-focused and serve as field crew members and assistant leads for the vegetation and ecological restoration program. Responsibilities These are permanent, full-time, Career-Seasonal positions, subject to non-pay up to 6 pay periods (12 weeks) each year. The non-pay period is scheduled mid November to mid February. Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. MAJOR DUTIES: Performs technician work that is supportive of professionals in resource management (i.e. Ecologists, Botanist etc.). These positions are primarily concerned with carrying out field studies on plants and plant ecology, inventorying, monitoring, and mapping plant populations; leading field crews in invasive plant management or revegetation work; conducting grazing and monitoring studies; developing improved methods of controlling weed and plant diseases; performing nursery work, seed collection, and similar work usually concerned with higher plant life. May also perform some forestry work concerned with monitoring, rehabilitation, reforestation, propagation, and/or thinning; monitoring hazard tree and disease programs; and monitoring and/or controlling disease and insect infestations. Implements natural resource management projects following established procedures. Collects and organizes field data, ensuring quality control of data or collected samples. Provides assessment and classification of data. Assists in the preparation of reports, plans, and guidelines related to resource management projects. Provides logistical support for resource management projects as well as advice, assistance, and training to students, volunteers or lower graded technicians. Uses a variety of computer programs to compile, reduce, store, retrieve, analyze, and report data and other resource management information. Uses a wide variety of specialized equipment to carry out resource management projects. Physical Demands: The work is partially sedentary with prolonged standing, walking, and bending often required. Heavy items (e.g., packs and equipment) must be lifted and carried on a routine basis. Working Conditions: The work is performed in an office, laboratory, and in the field. Field work includes exposure to extreme weather and terrain conditions, pesticides, poisonous plants, biting insects, snakes, and wild animals. Laboratory work may involve exposure to hazardous chemicals. Must be able to lift objects weighing over 50 pounds, often and unassisted. Utah Pesticide license must be obtained within 90 days of entry on duty. WORK SCHEDULE: You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime, and shift work. TRAVEL: You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 10 nights per month to perform fieldwork conducted throughout the year. You may be required to obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. UNIFORM: You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. Area Information: Canyonlands National Park preserves a wilderness of rock at the heart of the Colorado Plateau. Water and gravity have been the prime architects of this land, cutting flat layers of sedimentary rock into hundreds of canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches and spires. The Southeast Utah Group is comprised of two parks and two national monuments: Canyonlands National Park (including Island in the Sky mesa), Arches National Park, Hovenweep National Monument, and Natural Bridges National Monument. HOUSING INFORMATION: Permanent government housing is NOT available for this position. However short-term rentals (up to a year) for transitional housing may be available. Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship required. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males. Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required. DIRECT DEPOSIT: Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program. TIME-IN-GRADE: Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service); with few exceptions as outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement who have had a break in service of less than one year, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointments. Time-in-grade does not apply to new excepted service appointments. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. DRIVER'S LICENSE: You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license. PROBATIONARY PERIOD: If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/31/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. 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 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. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. To qualify for this position at the GS-06 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: GS-6: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: implementing established natural resource management projects; following instructions and standardized procedures; collecting and organizing field data; ensuring quality control of data collected; performing routine and recurring testing of collected samples; recording data collected and providing preliminary assessment and classification of the information; assisting in the preparation of resource management reports, plans, and guidelines. Duties are supportive of professional specialists in resource management; relevant to research, conservation, and management of natural resources such but not limited to wildlife (land or aquatic) monitoring or control; field studies on plant or forest ecology, inventorying, monitoring, and/or control of invasive plants, or making other field observations on the state of natural resource conditions. You must include hours worked per week. -OR- EDUCATION: 1 full year of graduate education in an accredited educational institution (18 semester hour or 27 quarter hours) directly related to this position. Examples of directly related education are biology, botany, range science, forestry, ecology, environmental science, zoology, fisheries, animal husbandry, natural resource management or other directly related fields. You must include transcripts. 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. Be a successful applicant. Watch this 5-minute video to learn how to create or improve your federal resume. Education To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Additional Information A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay. This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework during emergencies with supervisor approval. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, submission of ALL SF-50s and performance information for each period of temporary/term employment that qualifies for LMWFA. Performance documentation can be obtained by contacting the supervisors for the positions you served in during your 24 months. If they did not complete performance appraisals ask them to provide a statement of performance for each period of service. The statement must specify the dates for each employment period and your level of performance (dates should match the dates on the SF-50s). Open to the first 100 applicants or until 10/31/2024 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

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