Ocean Career: FWC OPS Fisheries & Wildlife Bio Scientist

Overview:

The Commission expects its employees to be courteous and respectful while assisting Commission customers and stakeholders, ensuring each encounter is as positive as possible. Employees should promptly resolve questions or problems relating to the Commission, its programs and/or fish and wildlife resources. Employees should seek to gain public support for agency objectives and programs by serving Florida’s citizens in a positive and proactive manner and by listening to what the customer wants and striving to meet their needs.

When appropriate, employees will explain the reasons for agency actions or decisions while communicating a consistent FWC point-of-view.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serve as a subject matter expert for state management of fisheries such as Gulf gag grouper.
• Supports ongoing and future agency work on state management, including but not limited to fishery data collection, data analysis to inform state management efforts, development and refinement of outreach materials, conduct outreach and education, and assistance with responding to public inquiries.
• Develops and maintains productive working relationships with local fisheries stakeholders, including recreational and commercial fishermen, other state and federal agencies, and other groups or organizations with an interest in marine fisheries resources.
• Identifies and characterizes local marine fisheries management issues.
• Reviews and interprets fisheries dependent and independent data and other available scientific information to characterize the status of regional marine fisheries.
• Assists with public workshops, Advisory Board/Workgroup meetings, and other information gathering meetings on issues relating to Florida’s marine fisheries.
• Assists division with fishery disaster assessments, including database development of active for-hire and commercial fishing operations in Florida, support with data analyses and writing fishery disaster reports.
• Assists with the gathering and synthesizing of historical regulatory information to inform ongoing and future rule making and management decisions. Research historical management actions and decisions in support of division and agency staff.
• Provides support to Section leaders, Deputy Director, and Division Director on special assignments as assigned.
• Performs other related work as required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of general biological principles and knowledge of marine fisheries management issues and topics;
• Effective verbal and writing skills, ability to use good judgment in decision-making and planning skills;
• Ability to synthesize highly technical information for public dissemination;
• Ability to understand, evaluate, analyze and organize marine resource (especially fisheries) information into a logical format for presentation in reports, documents and other written materials and for coherent presentations to a variety of audiences;
• Ability to plan, organize, coordinate and complete work assignments;
• Ability to conduct fact finding research and utilize problem solving techniques;
• Ability to review and interpret fisheries regulations;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with diverse groups of people;
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team. Position synthesizes technical fisheries assessment information in support of the agency’s marine fisheries management process, evaluates life history and fisheries-dependent and independent data, and develops reports and presentations on marine fisheries issues.
• Must be willing and able to travel and work overtime hours, including some weekends, weeknights, and holidays.
• Knowledge of computer software including Excel…