Requirements

U.S. Citizenship required. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service); with few exceptions as outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period. You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/17/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. 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.
BASIC REQUIREMENT: degree in physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics, aquatic biology, atmospheric science, meteorology, geology, oceanography, or the management or conservation of water resources.The course work must have included at least 6 semester hours in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours in physics. Combination of education and experience-education–course work as shown in "A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Acceptable experience must have included performance of scientific functions related to the study of water resources, based on and requiring a professional knowledge of related sciences and the consistent application of basic scientific principles to the solution of theoretical and practical hydrologic problems. The following is illustrative of acceptable experience: field or laboratory work that would require application of hydrologic theory and related sciences such as geology, geo-chemistry, geophysics, or civil engineering to making observations, taking samples, operating instruments, assembling data from source materials, analyzing and interpreting data, and reporting findings orally and in writing. In some cases, professional scientific experience that is not clearly water resource experience may be acceptable if such experience was preceded by appropriate education in hydrology or by professional hydrology experience. In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.
SPECIALZIED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: planning and executing complex hydrologic studies, which usually involve water resources investigations. This work typically involved conventional methods & techniques though it required going beyond clear precedents and required adapting methods to the problems at hand and interpreting findings in terms of their scientific significance. At this level, Hydrologists have a very good knowledge of the principles of hydrology and their application, and the ability to independently perform scientific work of considerable difficulty. 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). To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Job Description

The incumbent serves as a Hydrologist in the Project Planning and Implementation group in the Restoration Sciences Branch of the South Florida Natural Resources Center (SFNRC) of Everglades National Park in Homestead, FL. Participation by the NPS in the formulation and implementation of CERP is essential to meet the legislative and policy directives of the agency. The Project Planning and Implementation group is a team of project managers, hydrologists, ecologists, biologists, and engineers who engage in the planning, coordination, and execution of large-scale interagency restoration projects as well as monitoring and adaptive management plan design and reporting for these projects. They represent the agency on CERP and non-CERP project development, planning, implementation, and management activities. They provide analytical, technical, data analysis, and modeling expertise to the development of internal and complex multiagency restoration projects and planning. They also track restoration projects and their implementation including monitoring and adaptive management plan design and reporting. These projects include providing input for water management operations and implementation plans development of project management features, reviewing projected benefits and impacts of proposed project components, and evaluating alternative approaches to resolving environmental and hydrologic challenges affecting the NPS and related resources. These team members are responsible for communicating results and issues with SFNRC, NPS, DOI leadership and partners. This position has responsibility for leading or participating on hydrologic studies of considerable scope and complexity or serving as a project leader or member of an interdisciplinary team. Plans, directs, performs and/or coordinates comprehensive hydrologic studies or significant components of extensive studies, that describe and interpret hydrologic conditions in order to define, analyze, forecast, or describe both natural and human-induced hydrologic changes in the area. Incumbent of the position is considered a discipline expert in the field of hydrology with an advanced level of professional competence who provides expert technical advice and assistance to land, resource, and facility managers, and other internal and external clients. Serves as a project leader or senior project member for complete hydrologic investigations by planning, conducting, and reporting on interpretive studies. Modifies established hydrologic techniques or procedures. Collects, interprets, analyzes and evaluates hydrologic data. Works on complex or controversial water issues whose solutions require a proven understanding of hydrology and one or more related disciplines such as hydraulics, geology, ecology, geochemistry, and the complexities of ground or surface water flow. Conducts planning, review, and evaluation of multibasin, multi-aquifer investigations which includes predictive water quantity and quality numerical modeling and adherence to all management-based water resource policies. Serves as subject matter expert for the supported state/region/supported organizations. Provides current information on policy, resource management, State or local water regulations, and technical requirements. May be called on to provide technical data, professional advice, or recommendations to leadership, serve as an expert witness in hearings, or respond to Congressional inquiries. 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. However, work may also be performed in the field which involves periods of walking, bending, climbing, or driving motor vehicles to worksites. The work may also involve some overnight travel for training, meetings, and site visits. Working Conditions: The work is usually performed in an office setting. However, work time may also be spent periodically visiting field sites.