Description

Summary

This position is located with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIA Central Office in Aberdeen, South Dakota; Anadarko, Oklahoma; Bloomington, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, Washington.

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Duties

As Hydrologist (Water Resource Coordinator), GS-1315, your typical work assignments may include, but not limited to:

• Develop, extend, calibrate, and advance the use of comprehensive analytical and numerical models.
• Collect, interpret, analyze and evaluate data for large-scale hydrologic systems.
• Serves as an authoritative source of knowledge, advice and counsel on water rights issues.
• Provide recommendations on the development, implementation, and modification of policies, directives and standards, technical documents, and/or standing operating procedures (SOPs) associated with water resources/water rights operations.
• Analyze and interpret hydrologic data and information, develop and analyze water resource management alternatives, and communicate alternatives to management and stakeholders.
• Develop, modify, and utilize databases to maintain hydrologic or engineering data for conducting operational and planning analysis. Ensure that data is collected, transmitted, and or received for its intended purpose.
• Use experience and judgment to select, adapt, and apply engineering and/or scientific principles and practices when unfavorable local conditions or circumstances require deviation from established practices.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated
• A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions, GS-1315).

BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR HYDROLOGIST, GS-13:

A. Degree: 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. Calculus and physics, as described above, are requirements for all grade levels.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluation of Experience:

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.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE

I meet the basic requirement and I have 1 year of specialized experience that equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. This experience is related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include serving as a senior hydrologist or subject matter expert performing water resources and water rights protection technical work in support of the water rights confirmed to a regional entity supporting multiple client organizations and water rights claims under active adjudication; perform work related to water resource issues in the planning, direction, performance and coordination of comprehensive hydrologic studies or components of extensive studies that describe and interpret historical and current hydrologic conditions; advise and formulate approaches for managing water resources and/or water rights as a subject matter expert; give presentations to a variety of audiences such as tribes, local governments, advisory committees, commissions and the public

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur in the same location within 90 days from the closing date.

Education

If you are qualifying based on your education, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows the 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. For further information, visit: FOREIGN EDUCATION

Additional information

All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2026 Salary Tables and select the pay chart for Aberdeen, South Dakota; Anadarko, Oklahoma; Bloomington, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, Washington. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart.

The full performance level of this position is GS-13.

AN INCENTIVE MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES AT MANAGEMENT DISCRETION. A SERVICE AGREEMENT WILL BE REQUIRED.

The probationary or trial period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your [probationary period -OR- trial period] your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.