FISH AND WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST

Summary

You will serve as a FISH AND WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Carolina Ecological Services office in Charleston, SC. This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment expecting to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of four years, or more based on any changes to regulations governing the number of years term appointments may last, without further competition at management's discretion.

Duties

• Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Participates in all aspects of habitat restoration projects including providing technical assistance, conducting landowner contacts and feasibility determinations, planning and design, securing permits and may include funding, developing and submitting Private Landowner Agreements (PLAs), interacting with contractors, providing construction oversight, and monitoring habitat improvements. Participates and promotes the various Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs and conservation practices for private landowners. This includes providing technical assistance and review of potential projects and compilation of data and information from lower graded and volunteer personnel and cooperating organization staff working in the incumbent's geographic area of responsibility. Participates and assists with development of strategic planning documents and efforts to identify focal areas and species within geographic areas of responsibility. Utilizes socioeconomic information to identify and understand social and economic aspects of geographic area to better target landowners and to develop new landowner relationships and projects. Develops annual and long-range goals, objectives, plans, and budgets for watersheds, focus areas, and ecosystem priorities within the assigned geographic area. Prepares annual work plans and program schedules to maximize efficient use of financial resources leading to accomplishment of approved goals and objectives. Develops complete financial assistance packages and works with the state coordinator and various internal and external partners to manage and/or obligate funding. Compiles data and information for, and assists in the preparation of, reports and other documents required by the PFW program and for input in state and national tracking systems. This includes providing assistance and review of potential Partners of Fish and Wildlife (PFW) projects and compilation of data and information from lower graded and volunteer personnel and cooperating organization staff working in the incumbent's geographic area of responsibility. Prepares management plans adequate to ensure preservation, protection, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat on project sites. This requires coordination with other experts and review of plans that may encompass any and all programs that affect fishery and wildlife resources. These include, but are not limited to, fire management, moist soil management, grazing management, wetland restoration and management, water quality and quantity concerns, forest management, or grassland restoration and management.

Qualifications

Qualifications: All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/19/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. To receive credit for experience, 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. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying 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. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying. Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must submit transcripts. -OR- B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. -AND- To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level: Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) developing and maintaining effective working relationships and liaison with private landowners, tribes, other federal, state, and local agencies, and the public regarding habitat restoration; 2) participating in the development of annual and long-range goals, objectives, plans, and budgets for watersheds, focus areas, and ecosystem priorities within an assigned geographic area; and 3) identifying, design, and conduct habitat improvement projects on privately-owned lands with emphasis on stream, wetland, riparian and upland restoration and enhancement. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a discipline that clearly demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience: To combine education and experience, first take the number of progressively higher-level graduate education you have completed and then divide it by 54. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and 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.

Education

This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualification