Biologist (Animal Care).

Smithsonian Institution

Washington (District of Columbia)

On-site

USD 70,000 - 90,000

Full time

19 hours ago

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Job summary

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC seeks an Assistant Curator (Biologist) to oversee animal care and contribute to conservation, education, and research. You will manage care, breeding, and exhibition activities for designated animals and coordinate with staff and contractors.

You will also prepare reports for conservation bodies, assist with research data collection, and help plan collections and education initiatives.

Qualifications

Degree in Biological Sciences, Agriculture, Natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Experience: one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal Service, including care and training of living wild animals in a zoological setting and related administrative tasks.
Education: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree for GS-09, or a combination of education and experience.

Responsibilities

Provides daily care of exotic and endangered animals through enclosure cleaning, diet, enrichment, and husbandry techniques.
Coordinates animal training and management to support health care, capture, restraint, transport, shifting, and separation for exhibit and husbandry purposes.
Oversee Animal Keepers, volunteers, interns, and contractors, ensuring work is assigned and completed on time.
Assists in preparing reports and recommendations for local, national, and international conservation and zoological organizations.

Skills

Animal care

Training coordination

Administrative processes

Research/data collection

Education

Biological Sciences

Graduate education leading to Master’s degree

Job description

Duties

The Biologist (Animal Care) will serve as an Assistant Curator (Biologist) for specific animal areas, species, and/ or team(s) as assigned. Assistant Curators are vital in ensuring the well-being of our collection animals through their involvement in care, breeding, education, conservation, exhibition, collection planning and support of research.

In This Position, You Will

Provides daily care of exotic and endangered animals through enclosure cleaning and sanitation, diet preparation and feeding, enrichment activities, and the application of animal husbandry techniques.
Coordinates animal training and management activities to support health care, capture, restraint, transport, shifting, and separation of animals for exhibit and husbandry purposes.
Oversee Animal Keepers, volunteers, interns, and contractors, ensuring work is assigned, scheduled, and completed according to established priorities and deadlines.
Assists in preparing reports and recommendations for local, national, and international conservation and zoological organizations.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
May need to complete a Probationary Period
Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

Degree: Biological Sciences, Agriculture, Natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In Addition To The Basic Qualification Requirement Above

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as assisting with management, care, and training of a collection of living wild animals in a zoological setting; assisting with various administrative processes; and facilitating research or data collection.

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Part‑time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Or Education:

To qualify at the GS‑09 grade level based on education, applicants must successfully complete 2 years of progressively higher‑level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.

Or a Combination:

Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see Education.

This position has a Positive Education Requirement (Unofficial transcripts must be submitted at time of application).

Additional information

This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

Recruitment Incentive:

Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

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.

The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.

Please see Benefits at