About this role
Job Summary
You will serve as a Ecologist in the Resource Stewardship Division. Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will work for approximately 11 1/2 months and you will be in a non-pay status during the first 2 weeks of February.
Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/02/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience.
For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, 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. Minimum Qualification
Requirements
To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying. Basic Educational Requirement Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in 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. You must submit ALL college transcripts used to meet this requirement.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS GS-11
EXPERIENCE
At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must have equipped you with the knowledge, skills and ability to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include duties involved in designing and implementing terrestrial, wetland, or aquatic scientific monitoring programs through data collection, analysis, and reporting; working on preparation of vegetation management resource action plans and strategies needed to successfully manage and protect natural ecosystems and environmental conditions; analyzing ecosystem components and processes within a diversity of natural communities to determine the effects of management activities; assisting in developing and implementing mitigation solutions, such as wetland and stream restoration, to actions resulting from adverse effects on natural resources. You must provide hours/week on your resume.
-OR- EDUCATION
Successful completion of at least three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree in an accredited educational institution concentrated in a field that is directly related to the work of this position, such as in ecology, restoration ecology, rangeland/forest ecology, wildlife ecology, aquatic/water science, physical sciences, or other directly related subject matter. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study.
If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. You must provide transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level can be combined with the appropriate level of experience to qualify applicants for positions at the GS-11.
For example, I have six months of the specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement) and 44 semester hours or 66 quarter hours of appropriate directly related graduate education (50% of the education requirement). You must provide 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.
Major Duties
- Serve as project manager for stream and wetland restoration projects that incorporate ecological and hydrological knowledge of stream and wetland ecosystems.
- Work collaboratively with external partners and NPS colleagues on project fundraising, community outreach, technical design, environmental compliance, implementation, and monitoring.
- Coordinate and conduct environmental monitoring, communicate results to a variety of audiences, and apply results to decision-making in an adaptive management framework.
- Supervise temporary employees and volunteers (<25% of time).
- Assist on other natural resource project needs, including air and water quality, vegetation, and wildlife.
Area Information: Established on January 29, 1915, Rocky Mountain National Park is a living showcase of the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. The park embraces 415 square miles of pristine, uninhabited mountains in north-central Colorado and, as such, is one of the most spectacular, yet easily accessible high mountain areas in North America. With elevations ranging from 7,800 feet at park headquarters to 14,259 feet at the summit of Longs Peak, the park has glacier-sculptured valleys, rugged gorges, alpine lakes, and vast areas of alpine tundra.
Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved continuous road in the United States, stays above tree line for 11 miles and reaches 12,183 feet in elevation. Elk, deer, bighorn sheep, moose, coyotes, and smaller animals are found throughout the park, as well as threatened and endangered species, such as the Greenback Cutthroat Trout and Boreal Toad. Due to the park's easy accessibility to the Front Range communities of Colorado, Rocky experiences over 4 million visitors annually.
Requirements
Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. You may be required to travel overnight 3 days a month.
You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service.
In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized.
In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.