GIS Specialist (Interdisciplinary)

Summary This GIS Specialist Interdisciplinary position is located at Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in Williamsport, Maryland. Responsibilities 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 three years, or more based on any changes to regulations governing the number of years term appointments may last, without further competition. Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service. The National Park Service retains the right to extend the duration of this appointment after selection and/or appointment, based on changes to the regulation governing the number of years term appointments may last. This change, which may be made at the agencys sole discretion and without further competition, shall not be construed or interpreted as the granting of a right to a selectee or employee to such an extension. No extension to a term appointment shall be granted to a selectee/employee to an amount of time that exceeds the maximum number of years authorized under any present or current regulation, unless such regulation expressly allows such action. Some of the duties you will perform will include, but are not limited to: Design, develop, support, and utilize GIS data and workflows. Collect spatial data and create map products to support park needs. Communicate effectively and good customer service. Train, distribute, and support field data collection hardware and apps (GPS/GNSS). Perform spatial analyses. Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship required. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program. You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued drivers license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued drivers license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that discloses all valid drivers licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State drivers license. You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. 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 travel overnight away from home up to 3 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/09/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. 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. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. 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. 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. Basic Requirements for Geographer, GS-0150: A degree in geography; or related physical or social science such as geology, meteorology, economics, statistics, sociology, anthropology, political science, history, cartography, computer science, urban studies, or planning that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related fields. You must provide copies of your transcripts. -OR- A combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in geography, or a related field that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related fields, as listed above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must provide copies of your transcripts and the hours per week and to/from dates (month/year) on your resume. Basic Requirements for Biologist GS-0401: A degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must provide copies of your transcripts. -OR- A combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, as listed above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must provide copies of your transcripts and the hours per week and to/from dates (month/year) on your resume. Basic Requirements for Physical Scientist GS-1301: A degree in 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. You must provide copies of your transcripts. -OR- A combination of education and experience: education equivalent to one of the majors listed above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience, or additional education. You must provide copies of your transcripts and the hours per week and to/from dates (month/year) on your resume. Basic Requirements for Cartographer GS-1370: A degree in cartography; or a major that included or was supplemented by at least 30 semester hours in cartography and/or directly related science, and related mathematics. Such course work includes, but is not limited to, cartography, astronomy, geodesy, photogrammetry, physical and geological oceanography, computer science, land surveying, geophysics, physical geography, and remote sensing. The 30 semester hours must have included at least 6, but no more than 15, semester hours of college level, non-business mathematics or statistics (i.e., college level algebra, trigonometry, calculus, or scientific mathematics or statistics requiring equivalent college-level courses as prerequisites). You must provide copies of your transcripts. -OR- A combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in cartography, or a major that included or was supplemented by at least 30 semester hours in cartography, and/or directly related science, and related mathematics, as listed above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must provide copies of your transcripts and the hours per week and to/from dates (month/year) on your resume. AND IN ADDITION To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following OPMs Qualification Standards by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-07 grade level in the Federal service or comparable experience gained in the private sector. Specialized experience is experience that equips the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of qualifying specialized experience includes but is not limited to: (1) designing and maintaining GIS databases; (2) creating geospatial data and maps following established guidelines; and (3) integrating a wide range of data topics (biological, physical, or cultural) into tabular and spatial formats. You must provide hours per week and to/from dates (month/year) on your resume. -OR- EDUCATION: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a masters degree or masters or equivalent graduate degree. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study. You must provide copies of your transcripts. -OR- A combination of education and experience as described above. NOTE: Only graduate level education in excess of one year may be combined with experience. To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of semester hours in excess of 18 semester hours by 18 or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must provide copies of your transcripts and the hours per week and to/from dates (month/year) on your resume. 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 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. Additional Information A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay. A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive. A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another. This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. Physical Demands: The work is often sedentary, but field work occasionally requires some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, walking over rough, muddy, uneven, swampy or mountainous terrain; recurring periods of bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, reaching or similar activities; and recurring lifting of moderately heavy items weighing up to 50 pounds. Computer work is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and use computers for long periods of time. Working Conditions: Work is primarily performed indoors in a climate controlled office environment. Outdoor work may occur in hot, cold, humid, or dry weather conditions. Outdoor work may also be required during periods of rain, snow, sleet, fog or other adverse weather conditions. The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval. Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, you must submit ALL SF-50s and performance information for each period of temporary/term employment that qualifies for LMWFA. Performance documentation can be obtained by contacting the supervisors for the positions you served in during your 24 months. If they did not complete performance appraisals, ask them to provide a statement of performance for each period of service. The statement must specify the dates for each employment period and your level of performance consistent with your SF50s. 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.