Title: US Fish and Wildlife Service - Administrative Support Individual Placement

Stipend: $725.00/ Week (paid on a bi-weekly basis)

Dates:   09/25/2023 - 5/24/2024

Term: 35 weeks, full time

Reports To:  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region's Division of Migratory Birds

Location: 500 Gold Ave SW, Albuquerque NM 87103

Status:  1200 hour AmeriCorps Service Term 

Benefits:  AmeriCorps  Education Award $4,546.50 upon completion of term.

Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps’ Mission:

It is the mission of the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps to lead our nations back to cultural and ecological well being. The Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps has offices in Acoma, Albuquerque, Gallup, Zuni, and Hopi. Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps serves local Indigenous communities in the regions we operate. This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mission:

The mission of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is to work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

The Division of Migratory Bird's in the Southwest Region (NM, AZ, TX, and OK) is primarily responsible for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's effort to protect and enhance bird populations. The Permits Branch within the Division of Migratory Birds is responsible for issuing permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

US Fish and Wildlife Service - Administrative Support Individual Placement (IP) Overview:

Permits are viewed as a critical conservation tool that enable the public to engage in specific activities consistent with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act while providing a means to balance use and conservation. Permits also allow us to build partnerships and monitor activities to determine how they affect migratory bird populations. The Individual Placement will assist the Permits Branch with responding to public questions about migratory bird issues, providing assistance to the Permits staff to help with review and permit issuance, and provide administrative assistance in a variety of ways that will benefit the office.

The Permits Branch is looking to hire an intern to provide valuable administrative assistant support within the Migratory Birds Permits Branch. We are looking for someone that can provide great customer service by answering phone calls and emails from the public and our permittees on a variety of questions, apply organizational skills to our electronic and paper files, manage the permit applications and renewals that we receive by mail and email, assist with application fees, and review our non-technical permit applications for completeness and draft permits for staff.

Essential functions and responsibilities:

1. Customer Service

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• Work with the Permit Team to learn about the various issues and questions about Migratory Birds and permitting answers.
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• Respond to phone calls, emails and mail on migratory bird questions.
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• Log mail and phone calls into database
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• Compile new and or update template responses to commonly asked questions to ensure uniform and complete answers and also to improve efficiency.
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2. Electronic and paper file management:

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• Apply organizational skills to our electronic filing system to improve efficiency
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• Applying Records Management Archiving Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to remove obsolete files and creating Records Archive files for submission to allow destruction.
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• Scan paper files and/or shred them per Records Management Archiving SOP and creating Records Archive files for submission to allow destruction.
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• Boxing up paper permit files and creating file box lists for submission to the National
  Archives.
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3. Permit review and management:

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• Manage mailed and emailed permit applications and log them in database. Record application fees.
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• Review all submittal for completeness and correspond with permittees regarding missing information.
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• Submit permit applications, renewals and amendment submission to ePermits online system.
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• Review and process non-technical permit applications to draft permit stage. Permit issuance will be completed by Permits Team.
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• Customer service - ability to talk to people in person, over the phone, or by email
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• Computer skills 
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• Comfortable using technology to archive files
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• An interest in wildlife biology and migratory birds would be nice but is not required.
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• Must be a US Citizen, National, or Lawful Permanent Resident Alien of the United States. Must undergo a government background check if selected.
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• High School Diploma, Some college at minimum would be great but is not necessary Computer skills
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• Computer skills (Microsoft Excel, Word; Email program
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• Ability to communicate clearly by written or verbal avenues
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• Ability to read and understand written documents
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To apply, please submit an updated resume and letter of interest along with your online application. If you have any questions, please reach out to Ancestral Lands Individual Placements Program Coordinator, Shonto Greyeyes, sgreyeyes@conservationlegacy.org.