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Job ID: 36461
Agency: Game Fish & Parks
Location: Pierre, SD; Ft. Pierre, SD; Chamberlain, SD
Salary: $66,523.68-$91,500.00 Annual Salary, depending on qualifications
Pay Grade: K
Closing Date: 07/16/2026
Why the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks?
Working for the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks is not just a job. It is a life passion. It is about working together as a team with colleagues, customers, landowners, and partner organizations to ensure that our state’s outdoor heritage lives on for the next generation. Providing exceptional outdoor recreational opportunities for people to enjoy is one of the best jobs in state government. Our atmosphere empowers professional success and team building, while fostering relationships to build a culture focused on our four strategic plan goals.
- Habitat and Access
- Asset Management
- Customer Service
- Operational excellence
All we need is you to join our team! Sound like a good fit so far? As a South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks employee, here is what you will experience:
- Innovation – the GFP team is consistently revolutionizing enhancements to outdoor recreation in terms of technology and customer experience. We invite new ideas and interaction from our employees.
- Collaboration and Communication – our employees work with various teams, programs and divisions within the agency, outside state and federal agencies and public stakeholders. We want all employees to know that their voice will be heard as we continuously work towards our future goals.
- Professional Development – We provide training and support for you to become an expert in the field and obtain the skills necessary to be successful in your position.
- Task Diversity – the work duties are never boring. Your duties may include meetings with coworkers, collaborating with other government representatives, representing the Department at Commission meetings and national conferences, visiting one of our state parks and recreation areas or working to enhance habitat on a game production area. The outdoors provides for a pretty nice corner office!
Who We’re Looking For?
- Do you have a high degree of professional ethics and integrity?
- Are you excellent at organizing and prioritizing multiple tasks and projects while maintaining a positive attitude?
- Do you welcome the opportunity to tackle problems and think quickly to find innovative solutions?
- Are you an effective, outgoing communicator who enjoys providing superior service to customers, leadership, and other employees?
What You Will Do
South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks is seeking a dynamic, relationship driven wildlife professional as a Senior Wildlife Biologist to lead the state’s white tailed and mule deer management program. This position provides comprehensive oversight of deer management, research, and monitoring efforts statewide. The successful candidate will combine strong scientific expertise with exceptional interpersonal skills to guide strategy, build partnerships, and communicate effectively with diverse audiences.
The Deer Program Leader will serve as the Department’s main contact on deer management, responsible for shaping long term vision, developing research and monitoring strategies, and crafting hunting season and habitat recommendations. Success in this role requires strong technical skills along with the ability to collaborate effectively, listen to others, contribute to team efforts, and build trust with internal staff, external partners, and the public.
Responsibilities will include the following:
- Coordinate statewide deer management — Serve as the Department’s primary expert guiding deer management plans, habitat and research priorities, monitoring objectives, and hunting season recommendations
- Build strong working relationships — Collaborate with wildlife managers, tribal and federal government partners, biologists, landowners, hunters, and other stakeholders to strengthen information based approaches to deer management
- Collaborative team contributor — Ability to step into both supporting and leadership roles, fostering a positive, cooperative, and high performing work environment
- Communicate complex information — Clearly convey deer management strategies, research findings, and recommendations to internal staff, the public, partner agencies, and decision makers
- Provide analytical leadership — Oversee survey design, monitoring, and interpretation of deer hunter, harvest, and population trends, in addition to landowner opinion and other stakeholder trends
- Advance innovation — Lead the adoption of new technologies and analytical tools to improve program efficiency, transparency, and effectiveness
- Produce and review scientific work — Author, coauthor, or review technical reports and scientific publications in collaboration with project leaders and staff
- Stay current in the field — Review scientific literature and participate in professional conferences, meetings, and training at multiple levels
This is a Full-Time 40 Hours Weekly position with the Department of Game Fish & Parks. Working conditions will include a typical office environment for the majority of time. At times, work will be conducted under adverse weather conditions and in low-flying aircraft. This position may also deal with sick and diseased wildlife, chemical immobilization drugs, and capture/restraint of wild animals. For more information on the Department of Game Fish & Parks, please visit https://gfp.sd.gov/ .
Licenses and Certifications:
Bachelor of Science degree preferred.
The Ideal Candidate Will Have:
Preferred experience would be an individual with an M.S. or Ph.D. in wildlife management or related degree that is supplemented by several years of experience with a wildlife management agency responsible for developing hunting season regulations.
Knowledge of:
- Deer management, habitat requirements, harvest and population dynamics, and wildlife disease ecology
- Social science, public engagement practices, and legal frameworks that shape deer management and regulatory authority, including the roles and rights of tribal, federal, state, and private entities
- Deer population modeling, abundance estimation, and demographic analysis
- Public trust principles and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation
Skill to:
- Apply advanced computer skills using database management and analysis software including Program R and ArcGIS Pro
- Analyze and interpret scientific data and documents
- Manage large, complex datasets with accuracy and efficiency
Ability to:
- Communicate effectively through public speaking, stakeholder engagement, and technical writing
- Provide strong leadership and guide team priorities and workloads
- Represent and promote departmental priorities with professionalism and credibility
- Conduct applied wildlife research independently or collaboratively
- Organize work, manage multiple responsibilities, and meet deadlines
- Follow detailed sampling protocols with precision
- Maintain exceptional attention to detail in field notes, reports, and publications
Additional Requirements: To be considered, please attach your CV.
This position is eligible for Veterans’ Preference per ARSD 55:10:02:08.
The State of South Dakota does not sponsor work visas for new or existing employees. All persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete an Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9. The State of South Dakota as an employer will be using E-Verify to complete employment eligibility verification upon hire.
The State of South Dakota offers $0 premium employee health insurance option plus eleven paid holidays, generous vacation and sick leave accrual, dental, vision, and other insurance options, and retirement benefits. You can view our benefits information here . This position is a member of Class A retirement under SDRS.
Must apply online: https://gen-stateofsouthdako-trn.inforcloudsuite.com/hcm/xmlhttp/shorturl.do?key=4AC
You must apply online, emailed resumes or submissions will not be accepted.
South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources and Administration
Telephone: 605.773.3148 Email: [email protected]
http://bhr.sd.gov/workforus
"An Equal Opportunity Employer"
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