Biological Science Aid/ Technician

Biological Science Aid/Technician

Duty Location: Fresno, California

This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date.

Salary

$15.14 - $19.02 per hour

Duties

Duties:
-Assists in the collection, entering (hard copy and electronic), and performing Quality Control on data to ensure compliance with environmental statutes.
-Conducts in-river sampling, via walking, wading, boating, or kayaking, that requires handling and identification of common fish species.
-Assists with adult salmon monitoring and trap and haul operations.
-Assists with adult salmon redd and carcass surveys juvenile salmon rotary screw trap monitoring.
-Conducts in-river water quality monitoring and assists with identifying fish species.

Additional information: In response to the state of the San Joaquin River (SJR) fishery, a coalition of environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), filed a lawsuit challenging the renewal of long-term water service contracts between the United States and the Central Valley Project Friant Division Long-Term Contractors. The resulting settlement (NRDC, et.al. v. Rodgers, et al. 2006) requires, among other things, reintroduction of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) into the upper SJR (i.e., Restoration Area (RA); upstream of the Merced River confluence), and includes a long-term goal to reestablish naturally reproducing and self-sustaining populations of these fish. The San Joaquin River Restoration Program (SJRRP, www.restoresjr.net) was established to meet goals defined in the settlement. To facilitate this goal the Bureau of Reclamation and partnering SJRRP agencies conduct full life-cycle monitoring of spring-run Chinook Salmon in the RA, including, but not limited to, adult escapement, survival and spawning, and juvenile survival and emigration, to develop trends and provide information to better understand what factors could be limiting the SJRRP to successfully restore salmon to the SJRRP RA.

RequirementsConditions of Employment

You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
You must be suitable for federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
You must submit a resume and supporting documentation (see Required Documents).
You must submit eligibility documents for veterans consideration (see Required Documents).
You must meet any minimum education and/or experience requirements (see Qualifications).
You must submit transcript(s) to verify education requirements (see Qualifications/Education).
You must maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times as the position requires operation of government vehicles on government and public roads. Failure to maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times will result in removal from the position.

Qualifications

Required Experience:
In order to be rated as qualified for this position, the HR Office must be able to determine that you meet the general and/or specialized experience requirement - this information must be clearly supported in the resume.

To qualify at the GS-03 level, you must possess six months of general experience that shows your ability to perform progressively more complex, responsible, or difficult duties, and that shows your ability to learn the specific work of this job. You may combine general experience and education to meet the minimum qualifications.

To qualify at the GS-04 level, you must possess six months of general experience that shows your ability to perform progressively more complex, responsible, or difficult duties; and that shows your ability to learn the specific work of this job; and 6 months of specialized experience including performing biological science tasks common to fish and wildlife resource management; supporting senior staff; collecting and organizing field data; recording data to include quality control; providing preliminary assessment and classification of the information; evaluating observed conditions and problems; and making preliminary determinations in the case of problems noted. You may combine experience and education to meet the minimum qualifications.

To qualify at the GS-05 level, you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-04 level having demonstrated experience experience performing biological science tasks common to fish and wildlife resource management; supporting senior staff; collecting and organizing field data; recording data to include quality control; providing preliminary assessment and classification of the information; evaluating observed conditions and problems; and making preliminary determinations in the case of problems noted. You may combine specialized experience and education to meet the minimum qualifications.

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.

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: Applicants may also qualify on the basis of education as follows.

For GS-03: Successful completion of l year of study that included at least 6 semester hours in any combination of scientific or technical courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics.

For GS-04: Successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as those shown above for GS-3. At least 6 semester hours of courses must be directly related to the position to be filled. You may combine specialized experience and education to meet the minimum qualifications.

For GS-05: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as those shown above for GS-3. At least 6 semester hours of courses must have been directly related to the position to be filled. The successful completion of a full course of study of at least 12 months in a school for clinical laboratory technicians may be substituted for the 1 year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level for positions involving microbiology and biochemistry technician work. You may combine specialized experience and education to meet the minimum qualifications.

You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors if applicable, by 06/07/2024.