Department of the Interior

Seasonal Biological Science Technician

Middlesboro, Kentucky Full time

Seasonal Biological Science Technician

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Middlesboro, Kentucky

Salary Range: $40332 - $40332 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located in CUMBERLAND GAP NHP, in the Resource Stewardship and Science Division. The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period for CUMBERLAND GAP NHP is April - October, but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: April 2026

Major Duties:

  • Open to the first 75 applicants or until 12/22/2025 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration. Major Duties: Works on invasive plant eradication and forest pest management projects involving the use of manual removal, mechanical removal, biological control and pesticide applications. Implements natural resource management projects following established procedures. Collects and organizes field data, ensuring quality control of data or collected samples. Provides preliminary assessment and classification of data. Assists in the preparation of reports, plans, and guidelines related to resource management projects. Draft project reports may include literature research, description of methods, preparation of graphs and charts, and summary of findings. Provides logistical support for a variety of resource management projects as well as advice, assistance, and training to students, volunteers or interns. Installs, operates, and maintains resource management equipment (e.g., tools, traps, and sampling, monitoring, and pesticide application equipment). Inventories equipment, evaluates quality assurance compliance, and calibrates equipment as necessary. 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.

Qualifications: All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-12/22/2025-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 for this position at the GS-0404-05 grade level, you must possess at least of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-0404-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Work on invasive plant and forest pest management projects, implement resource management projects following protocols/safety. Collect, organize, and analyze natural resource data; Install, operate, and maintain natural resource monitoring equipment. Research activity or control program work, nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment, work comparable to that with a large dairy farm where production records, animal environment, and sanitary conditions were kept in accordance with modern dairy practice. Farming experience that was not performed in a controlled environment, or experience as a laborer who was not responsible for planning and scheduling his/her own work, but only performed assigned tasks, would not qualify as specialized experience. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: 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 biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least six semester hours must have been directly related to the position being filled. (You Must submit a copy of your transcripts or course list see note below). IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must document your course work and/or degree completed in your resume or other application materials you submit. You must submit a copy of your transcripts, or a complete list of college courses taken that identifies for each course the college or university, semester or quarter hours earned, grade received, and date completed. If you are qualifying based on education and you do not submit specific course work information as described, your application will be rated not qualified for consideration. (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected). -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, I have 6 months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirements for this position and grade level) combined with one year of education as outlined above (50% of the education required to qualify) totaling 100%. (You Must submit a copy of your transcripts or course list, see not above). 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. 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 considered by the organization as well qualified. 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).

How to Apply: To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 12/22/2025. You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application." Click here for USAJobs Help with "How to create an application" To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12841955 Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS. Select documents you want included in this application. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed. Select if you want to include your demographic information. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site." Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown. Upload any missing required documents or optional documents. Review and Submit Application. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement. To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job. Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.

Application Deadline: 2025-12-22