OPS Biological Scientist IV (GIS Specialist) - FWC (Tallahassee, FL)

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Posting Closing Date: 01/19/2025 

Salary: $26.04 per hour, max. 1,920 hours per year

Direct Supervisor: David Nicholson 

Working hours: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (EST), Monday through Friday, may require some night or weekend duty.

Region: Northwest

County: Leon

Address: Russell Park Building, 1875 Orange Ave East, Tallahassee FL 32311

Description of Duties: The Division of Habitat & Species Conservation is comprised of six Sections and two Offices. This exciting and highly technical position primarily provides ArcGIS and data management support to the Wildlife and Habitat Management (WHM) section. This position will be part of a team of employees within the WHM Habitat Assessment and Restoration Program (HARP) that works to support the management of FWC managed lands statewide in achieving enhanced wildlife management outcomes.

The successful candidate will need to have detailed knowledge and experience with geographic information systems (ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro, and ArcGIS Online), database management, large data set maintenance for various end users, and data summarization/visualization. Primary job responsibilities will include providing direct support to the Habitat Restoration Coordination and Objective-based Vegetation Management (OBVM) programs; upload, creation, maintenance, modeling, and analysis of land management and natural community data; development and maintenance of various ArcGIS Online (AGOL) dashboards and other tools for planning and monitoring of land management activities on FWC-managed lands; assisting with maintaining and managing the Land Management Information System (LMIS) and associated modules (Area Managers Tool, Survey and Monitoring Protocols, and TechStaff); assisting and/or training WHM staff and others in the use of ArcGIS and the various AGOL dashboards; extracting, compiling, and summarizing data; creating maps and shapefiles; drafting reports; and developing user manuals and/or conducting various webinars for training purposes. The successful candidate will need to be able to function as a positive and productive team member, have the ability to multi-task while working on multiple projects simultaneously, and have good written and verbal communication skills.

Incumbent will also be responsible for submitting required administrative reports, assisting with the development of annual work plans, accomplishment reports, and budget requests, assisting with special projects, and other duties as assigned. 

Required knowledge, skills and abilities: Detailed knowledge and experience with ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and database development and management. Experience with or ability to learn python (arcpy). Experience with managing, summarizing, and analyzing large data sets. Ability to draft reports free of grammatical and typographical errors. Knowledge of land management techniques and Florida natural communities or willingness and ability to learn. Proficient with Windows and Microsoft Office applications. Be well-organized and have excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to plan and prioritize work assignments and multi-task under a heavy workload. Must possess the initiative, motivation, and self-direction necessary to work productively unsupervised as well as function as a productive team member. Ability to occasionally work outdoors under harsh weather conditions. Ability to occasionally work outside of normal business hours as necessary to attend trainings, workshops, or meetings.

Level of Education: Bachelor of Science degree with a major in one of the physical or life sciences or geography/GIS preferred. Four years of direct experience with the duties of this position may substitute for the Bachelor of Science degree. Preference will be given to applicants that have direct experience with ArcGIS, combined with knowledge of Florida’s natural communities and/or experience with wildlife and/or land management.

Other requirements: Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check. Must possess and maintain a valid minimum Class E State of Florida driver’s license. Occasional overnight travel may be required.