Biological Science Technician (Plants)

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-05/22/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. To qualify at the GS-04 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications: EXPERIENCE: At least 6 months of general experience AND 6 months of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-03 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). General Experience is any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Specialized experience includes activities such as: implementation of vegetation management and monitoring or ecological restoration, invasive plant survey, mapping and control, erosion control, hydrologic restoration, re-vegetation, the collection of plant data or plant materials for re-vegetation projects using routine sampling techniques and procedures. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two years of study in an accredited college or university that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses (such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics). At least 6 semester hours must be directly related to the position to be filled. Note: One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester/45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in an accredited college or university. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a COMBINATION of post-high school education and specialized and/or general experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. NOTE: When crediting education, such education must include the appropriate number of directly related credit hours required in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. When crediting this education, you must prorate the number of hours of directly related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts. -AND/OR-To qualify at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: implementing vegetation management and monitoring or ecological restoration; invasive plant survey, mapping, and control; erosion control and hydrologic restoration; participating in revegetation activities (e.g., site preparation, transplanting, seeding, and applying mulch or erosion mats); inputting/retrieving vegetation data using computers and global positioning systems (GPS). You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 4-year course of study, from an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's degree (a) with major study in an appropriate field of science (botany, plant science, etc.) or (b) with at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 6 semester hours must be directly related to the position to be filled. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a COMBINATION of experience and education as described above. NOTE: Only progressive education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the first two years) of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement, assuming the education includes the appropriate number of directly related semester hours, or the equivalent, in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. 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. ICTAP/CTAP Clearance - Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).