Job Opportunity Fisheries & Wildlife Biological Scientist IV position number 77072964

Requisition No: 822030 

Agency: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Working Title: FISHERIES & WILDLIFE BIO SCIENTIST IV - 77072964

 Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 77072964 

Salary:  $1,923.08 biweekly + benefits 

Posting Closing Date: 02/25/2024 

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Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check

Working Title: Fisheries & Wildlife Biological Scientist IV

Class Code:  5075

Program Broad Band Code:  19-1023-04

Level of Education: Prefer a Bachelor’s degree or higher, in Biology or a Life or Physical science

Headquarters: Tallahassee

County: Leon

Working hours: 40hrs/week

List of any subordinates supervised: None

Residency requirement: None

Agency: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Division: Habitat and Species Conservation

Section:  Invasive Plant Management

Sub-section: Aquatic Plant Management Subsection

Address: 3800 Commonwealth Blvd. MS 705, Tallahassee, FL 32399

Supervisor: Alex Dew

In addition to submitting a completed State of Florida electronic application and completing the qualifying questions, applicants must attach a cover letter and up to date resume. Submitted cover letter should at a minimum explain your interest in working in invasive plant management and identify your most relevant skills and experience.  Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Description of position:

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.

This position is responsible for working with the Aquatic Plant Management Subsection Administrator to ensure smooth operation of FWC’s Invasive Aquatic Plant Management Program.  The position is responsible for maintaining the subsection’s plant management database, and coordinating with government and private sector contractors, site managers, and Commission field staff to enter and submit correct information.  Data checks, report compiling, and contractor training are a component of this responsibility.  Also included in the responsibilities of this position are biological reviews of statewide contractor invoices, workplan change order approvals, and administration of internal grass carp stocking requests.

The successful candidate will use their knowledge of biological/ecological processes to analyze invasive plant management data to improve plant management operations.  Preferred candidates would have experience in R (or similar programs) and GIS, as this position will help maintain and progress projects initiated by the Aquatic Plant Management Subsection and other sections of the agency.  Notable skills are experience with R packages leaflet, shiny, plotly, DT, raster, rgeos, and rgdal. 

This position will travel occasionally to do site visits to train contractors, support plant control projects, and give presentations on behalf of the section.

Knowledge, skills and abilities required for the position: 

Incumbent must have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be able to work well with team members and members of the public. 

Other required knowledge, skills and abilities include:

• Ability to organize data into logical format for presentation in reports, documents and other written materials
• Ability to utilize problem-solving techniques
• Experience with the R programming language (or similar), particularly with packages such as leaflet, shiny, plotly, DT, raster, rgeos, and rgdal
• Experience manipulating large data sets through scripting
• Experience with spatial analysis
• Knowledge of current GIS software and applications
• Knowledge of invasive plant management principles and practices
• Ability to understand and apply rules, regulations, policies and procedures relating to plant management.
• Familiarity with nonnative species issues
• Demonstrated technical writing ability
• Public speaking
• On occasion, the ability to travel for several days at a time throughout Florida.
• Ability to collect, evaluate and analyze data to develop alternative recommendations, solve problems, document workflow and other activities relating to the improvement of operational and management practices.

Optional additional desired skills

• Basic knowledge of SQL Server program language
• Basic knowledge of RMarkdown
• Boat operation experience
• Field experience of invasive plant management techniques
• Experience with rearing Biocontrol Insects

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.