Agency: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Working Title: F&W BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST III - 77072935

Posting Closing Date: 02/23/2025 

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

Position Number: 77072935

Location: Russell Park, 1875 Orange Avenue East, Tallahassee, FL 32311 preferred; one of FWC’s regional offices may be considered based on applicant’s qualifications

Salary: $1,730.77 biweekly + benefits

Supervisor:  McKayla Susen

Broadband Code:  19-1023-03

Class Code:  5074

Region:  Northwest

Class Title:  Fisheries & Wildlife Biological Scientist III

County:  Leon

Working Hours:  8:00am – 5:00pm

Work outside of regular 8-hour schedule may occasionally be required.

List of Subordinates Supervised:  Interns (1-2)

Residency Requirement:  None

Level of Education:  Prefer a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in one of the biological sciences and one year of professional biological experience. Master of Science degree in one of the biological sciences or two years of professional experience in conservation programs, preferred. Years of experience can substitute for a degree.

A resume or CV and cover letter describing your interest in this position and your relevant experience must be attached to the electronic State of Florida employment application. 

Description of Duties.  The Division of Habitat & Species Conservation is comprised of six Sections and two offices.  The Wildlife Diversity Conservation Section (WDC) is seeking a fish and wildlife professional for an exciting opportunity to contribute to the conservation of imperiled wildlife and their habitats. This position requires a passion for conservation, dedication to working with diverse stakeholders, and the ability to work creatively to address conservation challenges.

This is a full-time employment position that is eligible for all career service state employee benefits including paid leave, health insurance, retirement benefits, tuition waivers for continuing education and numerous agency trainings for professional development.   

This position serves as the Species and Habitat Monitoring Coordinator within the Wildlife Diversity Conservation Section of FWC. This role serves as a key team member responsible for monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of plans and actions that promote the conservation of Florida’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need. This may include identifying monitoring needs, tracking progress towards program goals, and evaluating effectiveness of actions on a landscape scale. This position also applies adaptive management and assists with revisions to Florida’s State Wildlife Action Plan, Imperiled Species Management Plan, and Gopher Tortoise Management Plan, when applicable.

This position leads coordination and maintenance of FWC’s species conservation status and trend database, identifying and setting timelines and priorities, updating guidance documents, and providing training and assistance to staff. This position also maintains other datasets including conservation action tracking data and occasionally community science data. To be effective in this position, the candidate should be skilled at leveraging technologies to analyze, improve, and implement new tools to collect and manage species and habitat data.

The biologist hired for this position will serve as a leader, member, and/or statewide representative on various teams to achieve program goals. They will be expected to speak publicly to further Florida’s conservation mission; this may include presenting at internal FWC meetings, external working groups, stakeholder meetings, and outreach events. In addition, this position assists with written communication materials by compiling, summarizing, and analyzing data, as well contributing to written reports.

This position serves as the Wildlife Conservation and Management intern coordinator and will be responsible for advertising, interviewing, mentoring, and supervising 1-2 interns throughout the duration of their internship each semester.

Although this is not a field position, there are opportunities for assisting with field-based projects.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The successful applicant will be enthusiastic, self-motivated, and have a commitment to natural resource conservation. The preferred candidate will have strong organizational skills (time management, project management, data management), customer service, problem-solving skills, and proactively embrace new responsibilities and drive project development. Prior understanding of or experience with scientific and/or technical writing is important. The ideal candidate should possess strong communication skills, both verbal and written, and should demonstrate proficiency in using technical and scientific expertise to inform and execute projects. The ability to work 40 hours a week with occasional overnight travel for conferences, meetings, trainings, and other relevant activities is required.

Preferred Qualifications: Knowledge of Florida’s fish and wildlife, ecology, and natural communities. Familiarity with conservation plans pertaining to Species of Greatest Conservation Need, and monitoring the effectiveness of conservation activities is strongly preferred. In addition, the candidate should have the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships, contribute to a team setting, and be able to work independently. Proficiency in Microsoft Office software, Adobe Acrobat, and ArcGIS Online is desired.  

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. 

Location:  

TALLAHASSEE, FL, US, 32311