FISHERIES & WILDLIFE BIO SCIENTIST IV - 77073262

Requisition No: 811729 

Agency: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Working Title: FISHERIES & WILDLIFE BIO SCIENTIST IV - 77073262

Position Number: 77073262 

Salary:  $1,923.08 bi-weekly + benefits 

Posting Closing Date: 10/03/2023 

Employment is contingent upons successful completion of a background check

Position number: 77073262 

Address: 1875 Orange Ave East Tallahassee, FlL, 32301

Broadband code 19-1023-04

Class code 5075

Region Northwest

Title Fisheries & Wildlife Biological Scientist IV - more than one FTE Fisheries & Wildlife Biological Scientist will be filled from this requisition (77073263)

Working hours 8 to 5; M-F F 

List of any subordinates supervised – 0 to 3 staff

Residency requirement - Tallahassee

Level of Education-

• Prefer a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major course of study in one of the biological or physical sciences and three years of professional biological experience in a field or laboratory program; or
• Prefer a master's degree from an accredited college or university with major course of study in one of the biological sciences and two years of professional experience as described above; or
• Prefer a doctorate from an accredited college or university with major course of study in one of the biological sciences.

Salary: $1,923.08 bi-weekly

Description of duties:

This position is located in the Imperiled Species Management Section (ISM) and is one of two positions responsible for the collaborative implementation of the Manatee Warm-water Habitat Action Plan. This position will serve in a leadership capacity on one or more regional warm-water habitat partnership teams, facilitate the long-term prioritization of warm-water habitat networks, and coordinate interagency habitat restoration and enhancement efforts.

Specific Responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to:

1. Organizes, leads, and facilitates interagency and partner working groups and planning teams related to warm-water habitat restoration, enhancement, and creation;
2. Coordinates discussions related to Warm-water Habitat Action Plan implementation with agency leadership, federal partners, and local governments;
3. Serves as a subject matter expert for manatee warm-water and foraging habitat and provides support to other Section staff engaged in environmental permit review;
4. Performs field and site visits related to manatee warm-water and foraging habitat as necessary;
5. Attends and represents the FWC at government meetings, public meetings, administrative hearings, and Commission meetings;
6. Pursues grant funding, as directed, for identified restoration and enhancement projects and with internal and external organization partners;
7. Coordinates data collection activities, conducts data analyses, and regular monitoring of available data including, budget and contract management, interpretation of data and development of recommendations for habitat projects. Serves as a liaison with agency partners;
8. Works across FWC divisions and cooperates with other federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and others as appropriate to implement the Warm-water Habitat Action Plan;
9. Prepares, publishes, and presents project management plans, regional progress reports, and relevant recommendations and initiatives through internal (reports and management plans) and external (oral presentations, peer-reviewed publications, professional, and public meeting, etc.) methods;
10. Develops, revises, and updates power plant manatee protection plans in coordination with industrial and federal partners;
11. Assists in the development and implementation of wetland and aquatic habitat monitoring and sampling to evaluate and predict environmental response to project activities in coordination with other FWC personnel and external partners;
12. Assists with the creation, maintenance and quality control of shapefiles, layers and geodatabases, develop maps and data summaries using ArcGIS, GoogleEarth, MS Access and MS Excel for management purposes;
13. Assists with, or contributes to, state-wide management of water control structures, manatee protection zones, and manatee protection plans as needed;
14. Contributes to program outreach efforts, including campaign development and manatee and sea turtle annual decal development and distribution as needed; and
15. Participates in data collection, necropsies, and other miscellaneous field work assignments as needed;
16. Assists with webpage development, equipment maintenance, and administrative duties as needed.
17. Assists with developing and/or coordinating responses to public inquiries to ISM received via the AskMyFWC, public records requests, or other assignments as needed.

Qualifications:

• Qualified applicants will have a strong background in aquatic resource management and aquatic habitat enhancement methods.
• Qualified applicants will have a strong background in imperiled species management and population recovery.
• Candidates with documented experience managing or leading professional working groups and/or teams is highly preferred.
• Qualified applicants will need to be highly organized, detail-oriented, self-motivated, and adept at problem-solving and time management to succeed in this position.

Knowledge, skills and abilities:

• This position requires administrative, communication, and computer skills, and the review, evaluation, interpretation, and presentation of biological data.
• Previous experience with Florida manatee management or research programs and/or the state or federal environmental regulatory programs, including policy development, is highly preferred.
• Ability to read, understand, and comment on engineering designs for environmental restoration plans.
• Knowledge of terminology, scientific method, principles, and techniques used in biological research, analyses or testing;
• Knowledge of freshwater, marine and/or estuarine ecosystems;
• Knowledge of the methods of data collection, particularly for imperiled or listed species;
• Ability to perform quantitative analyses of scientific data;
• Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work assignments to meet deadlines;
• Must communicate effectively verbally and in writing;
• Ability to write technical reports, data analyses, and agency correspondence;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with agency staff, the public, and stakeholders;
• Ability to work independently and on teams;
• Qualified candidates will need to be detail-oriented, self-motivated, and have good time management skills to succeed in the position.   
  • Proficiency in MS software applications: Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint required, and Google Earth Pro, ArcGIS 10.5+, ArcGIS Pro, or ArcGIS Online, SharePoint preferred.
  • Statewide and overnight travel is required.

The Commission expects its employees to be courteous and respectful while assisting Commission customers and stakeholders, ensuring each encounter is as positive as possible. Employees should promptly resolve questions or problems relating to the Commission, its programs and/or fish and wildlife resources. Employees should seek to gain public support for agency objectives and programs by serving Florida's citizens in a positive and proactive manner and by listening to what the customer wants and striving to meet their needs. When appropriate, employees will explain the reasons for agency actions or decisions while communicating a consistent FWC point-of-view. Responsible for following the provisions and requirements in Section 215.422, Florida Statutes, related to the Department of Financial Services rules and FWC's invoice processing and warrant distribution procedures. 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.

Application packets must be submitted through the State of Florida’s official employment site (https://peoplefirst.myflorida.com/) and must include a cover letter and resume in addition to the state application.

 Application packets without a cover letter, resume and state application will not be considered for the position.

Position Requirements:

1. Possess and maintain a valid Florida Driver’s License.
2. Travel is required to perform the duties of this position (1-25%)

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

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.