FISHERIES & WILDLIDE BIO SCIENTIST IV - 77000876

Requisition No: 874696 

Agency: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Working Title: FISHERIES & WILDLIDE BIO SCIENTIST IV - 77000876

 Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 77000876 

Salary:  $1,945.56 biweekly + benefits 

Posting Closing Date: 05/29/2026 

Total Compensation Estimator Tool

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Position Number: 77000876

Location: 8932 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee FL, 32311

Supervisor: Juliana Ofalt -- for inquiries: Juliana.Ofalt@MyFWC.com

Broadband code:  19-1023-04

Class code: 5075

Class Title: Fisheries & Wildlife Biological Scientist IV

Working Title:  Assistant Wild Turkey and Furbearer Management Program Coordinator

Pay rate: $50,584 Annually ($1,945.56 Biweekly)

Region: Northwest

County: Leon

Working hours: 8am – 5pm, Monday – Friday. Working hours will be variable at times, requiring work on holidays, weekends, nights and hours in excess of 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. Overnight travel will be required at times.

No subordinates supervised

Residency requirement: None

Minimum Qualifications: A high school diploma and 7 years’ professional experience in a closely related biological field or laboratory program is required. A Bachelor of Science degree in a relevant field can substitute for four of the 7 years of required experience.

Preferences: Preference will be given to applicants with a master’s degree from an accredited college or university with a major course of study in one of the biological sciences and a minimum of 2 years’ professional experience.  Answers to qualifying questions must be verified in the application, resume and cover letter.

Our Organization:

The FWC envisions a Florida where fish and wildlife are abundant and thriving in healthy and connected natural landscapes with vital working lands and waterways; where natural resources are valued and safely enjoyed by all; and wherein natural systems support vibrant human communities and a strong economy.

Our Mission: Managing fish and wildlife resources for their long-term well-being and the benefit of people.

Every organization has an identity that is forged not only by what it does, but by how it conducts itself.  The values embedded in our mission and expressed in the vision of the FWC are to make quality decisions by being dynamic, science-informed, efficient, ethical, collaborative and committed to the vitality of the state and its environment.

Description of Duties:  

General: The incumbent serves as the Division of Hunting and Game Management's Assistant Wild Turkey and Furbearer Management Program Coordinator and assists the Wild Turkey and Furbearer Management Program Coordinator in planning, administering, coordinating, and directing the development and implementation of the program.

Administration/ Planning:

• Identifies and pursues opportunities to achieve objectives in the Strategic Plan for Wild Turkey Management
• Assists with preparing program and legislative budget requests, annual program planning documents and progress reports, and reports on program activities for use by Commission staff. Administers project budgets including evaluating needs, planning expenditures, and monitoring expenditures and budget balances.
• Assists with the administration and implementation of the Wild Turkey Cost Share Program.
• Assists with conducting a continuing review of program effectiveness in terms of public satisfaction, public attitudes, and use of agency personnel and funds.
• Assists with formulating wild turkey and furbearer population and habitat management policies and strategies and recommends regulatory and policy changes as appropriate based upon a review of harvest data, population surveys, life history information, scientific literature, social considerations, and other relevant information.
• Attends professional meetings and conferences to facilitate achievement of program goals and objectives. This will require occasional in-state and out of state travel.

Coordination/ Management:

• Effectively communicate and elicit cooperation in plans, approaches, and procedures for achieving program objectives.
• Reviews Commission - sponsored research and data collection efforts pertaining to wild turkey and furbearer management.
• Seeks extramural funding for management and research activities pertaining to wild turkeys and furbearers.
• Standardizes data gathering procedures where appropriate to ensure maximum effectiveness and compatibility with program needs.
• Assists with formulating management recommendations and prepares, or facilitates the preparation of, informational materials for private landowners and Commission biologists.
• Provides technical information on wild turkey and furbearer management to appropriate Commission biologists.

Public interaction:

• Establishes and maintains contact with organizations, clubs, and advocacy groups interested in wild turkey and furbearers to communicate program objectives and activities, to obtain cooperation, and to facilitate incorporation of constituents' needs into program elements, as appropriate.
• When necessary, develops and implements appropriate methods to assess constituent views and needs and program effectiveness.
• Pursues program objectives through public speaking opportunities, media contacts, and other outreach mechanisms, including electronic media, on wild turkey hunting and management, furbearer hunting, trapping and management, and on program activities.
• Responds to correspondence relating to wild turkey and furbearer management and regulations.

Data collection, analysis and synthesis:

• Reviews archival data on wild turkey and furbearers in Florida.
• Plans data collection strategies, coordinates and participates in data collection, completes data analyses, and prepares results of analyses for publication in technical journals.
• Participate in fieldwork related to program objectives. Assist in capture, tagging, and monitoring of wild turkeys. This will require occasional overnight travel and fieldwork for several days at a time.

Performs related work as required.

Work at FWC is cross-functional meaning duties may cross division/office lines.  The Commission expects employees to function across FWC’s organizational structure by providing their skills and expertise wherever needed through work on teams or as directed.

Knowledge, skills and abilities:

• Knowledge of wild turkey habitat requirements and life histories and principles and practices for wild turkey management.
• Knowledge of furbearer life histories and principles and practices for furbearer management.
• Knowledge in the identification of plants providing important wild turkey habitat benefits in Florida.
• Ability to work and make appropriate decisions independently.
• Ability to analyze complex issues and problems and develop innovative, efficacious solutions.
• Ability to formulate coherent, effective policies and procedures and incorporate biological, administrative, ethical, social, and political considerations in formulation of those policies and procedures.
• Ability to determine work priorities, elicit cooperation as necessary to achieve objectives and ensure proper and timely completion of work assignments and program activities.
• Ability to understand, comply with, and apply rules, policies, and procedures applicable to the conduct of a Commission employee and to the implementation and administration of a wild turkey management program and furbearer management program.
• Ability to effectively supervise Commission employees working on wild turkey and furbearer related agency - wide projects and initiatives.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
• Ability to prepare scientific reports and popular articles.
• Knowledge of correct English composition, grammar, and punctuation.
• Knowledge of scientific methods, study design, principles of statistical inference and analysis, and application of computer -based data analysis packages.
• Skill in the use of scientific laboratory and field equipment.
• Ability to conduct fieldwork including long hours and adverse weather conditions.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationship with others.
• Ability to assess budgetary needs and to prepare and manage a budget.
• Ability to use computer word- processing, spreadsheet, and database software.
• Ability to conduct fieldwork including trapping and monitoring of wild turkeys

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

VETERANS’ PREFERENCE.  Pursuant to Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, candidates eligible for Veterans’ Preference will receive preference in employment for Career Service vacancies and are encouraged to apply.  Certain service members may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements.  Candidates claiming Veterans’ Preference must attach supporting documentation with each submission that includes character of service (for example, DD Form 214 Member Copy #4) along with any other documentation as required by Rule 55A-7, Florida Administrative Code.  Veterans’ Preference documentation requirements are available by clicking here.  All documentation is due by the close of the vacancy announcement.