General Biologist

About the role

This position is located in the USDA's Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP). OPMP's mission is to integrate and coordinate pest management efforts; provide data, information, and analyses to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to better inform pesticide regulatory decisions; and provide a Departmental focal point for farmers, grower organizations, EPA, and State Land Grant institutions regarding pesticide and pest management issues. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including Basic Requirements and Minimum Qualification Requirements, as defined below. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. Basic Requirements: In addition to meeting the Minimum Qualification Requirements outlined in the following section, applicants MUST meet the following occupational series requirements: General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Series, 0401 A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Ecology Series, 0408 Degree: A. 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. OR B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. General Physical Science Series, 1301A. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. OR B. Combination of education and experience: education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Minimum Qualification Requirements: In addition to meeting at least one of the Basic Requirements outlined above, applicants must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements shown below. If qualifying based on experience, your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized Experience: In addition to meeting at least one of the Basic Requirements as shown above, applicants must also meet the Specialized Experience requirements as shown below. If qualifying based on experience, your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. GS-15: Qualifying experience for GS-15 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-14 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is professional experience in pesticide risk assessment, including independently providing authoritative inputs into pesticide risk management decisions; recognized expertise in crop production practices, ecological protection requirements (e.g., ESA, etc.), and emerging science and policy issues related to pesticides; familiarity with State Lead Agency (SLA) processes and perspectives; experience leading multi-disciplinary teams on nationally-relevant pesticide issues; experience identifying and proposing novel regulatory alternatives for pest management policy decisions, including for highly-complex cases; and communicating with policy analysts, officials, leadership, interagency partners, and general audiences about pesticide regulatory considerations. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.