Fish and Wildlife Administrator.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); Austin (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in Austin, TX seeks a supervisory leader to manage natural resource programs and drive strategic planning and policy development. You will coordinate with internal branches, regions, and partners to advance conservation goals and ensure accountability for outcomes.

The role emphasizes leadership, program direction, and collaboration with federal agencies and stakeholders to deliver results for wildlife resources and recreational use.

Qualifications

• Degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, or related discipline.
• Combination of education and experience accepted.
• Four years of related experience equivalent to a 4-year degree.

Responsibilities

• Exercise leadership and provide direction for subordinate programs and activities.
• Coordinate withBranches/Division, Regions, field offices, and external partners.
• Develop and implement policies to guide program areas and standards.
• Oversee planning, budgeting, and performance reporting for assigned programs.

Skills

Leadership

Policy development

Strategic planning

Budget management

Interagency coordination

Decision making

Education

Biological sciences degree

Job description

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Exercise leadership and provide direction for the management and administration of subordinate programs and activities.
• Provide leadership and direction to ensure appropriate coordination, strategic planning, budget and performance integration, and accomplishment reporting.
• Lead the development of policy to drive the periodic strategic planning efforts for these programs or projects.
• Coordinate activities with other Branches/Division, Regions, field offices, sister bureaus, external agencies, and private partners for the benefit of the program or project to enhance information exchange.
• Maintain diversified Service intra/inter departmental contacts, to keep abreast of and utilize efficient techniques and methods to carry out the functional aspects of the area of responsibility.
• Lead the development, formulation, interpretation, and implementation of policies for the assigned program.
• Direct the development of national, regional, or state level policy, planning, and guidance for the assigned program or project area, and as needed, coordination responsibilities with other Federal Agencies (i.e. United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, etc).
• Lead efforts to create administrative, financial, and results oriented accountability of the Service activities to manage natural resources for conservation and recreational purposes.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary 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 your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/28/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted.

An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

Basic Educational Requirements:

In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

• Degree: in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. You must submit transcripts.

-OR-

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

-OR-

• Experience: four years of experience that demonstrates that you have acquired knowledge and understanding of one or more of the biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, or related disciplines equivalent to that which would have been acquired through completion of a 4-year course of study as described in A above.

To qualify for this position at the GS-14 grade level:

Experience

To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) Coordinating, supervising or leading a branch, field station, or team focused on the management/conservation of natural resources; 2) Identifying and solving challenging and complex issues related to natural resource management/conservation, visitor services, outreach, or other natural resource programs; 3) Serving as a natural resource or conservation organization manager or coordinator representing a federal entity in negotiating with diverse individuals or groups; 4) Exercising direct responsibility for developing or implementing policies, plans, standards or procedures to carry out fish and/or wildlife management/conservation; and 5) Managing teams focused on the planning, directing, or executing of short and long term activities in fish and/or wildlife management/conservation that affect a diverse group of stakeholders/partners. You must include hours per week worked.

Volunteer 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.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for experience.

This position has a mandatory education requirement.

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education:

To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit:

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Entitlements for payment of basic moving expenses, as required and to the extent allowed by the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 302-3.101, are authorized for eligible applicants changing duty station when the change meets the distance tests as provided in FTR 302-1.1 and 302-2.6. All moving expenses are taxable.

• In addition, relocation discretionary entitlements May be authorized for this position excluding contractor-provided home sale.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit:

All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here,

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.

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.

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.