Summary

This position works in the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), Biorisk Management unit (BRM). The Biological Science Specialist is responsible for working as a team member of the BRM on tasks relating to policies, procedures, guidance documents, inspections, and records and reports to ensure compliance with regulations for registration with the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP).

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

Participates in the planning, implementation, coordination, and integration of NBAF Biosafety and high containment operations activities.
Participates in the development and/or review of procedures, documents, checklists, and other tools.
Providing input into the training and administration of the NBAF Diagnostics and Research Biologics Inventory (DARBI) database management system.
Performs, coordinates and conducts regularly scheduled inventory audits of physical biological inventory storage and data accuracy within the DARBI.
Provides input into the scheduling and conducting of inspections and/or surveys of various biosafety level (BSL) laboratory and support service areas of NBAF.
Develops, coordinates, and reviews biosafety and containment operations related SOPs, work instructions, risk assessments, checklists, plans, and other tools to ensure program compliance with regulatory components.
Performs routine validation and sterility testing for containment systems such as autoclaves, effluent decontamination system (EDS), and thermal tissue autoclaves.
Participates in incident investigations in containment and inventory discrepancies concerning biological materials.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

You must be a US Citizen or US National
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt
Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check
Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
Direct Deposit – Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution
Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/
Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) database check required for work involving Biological Select Agents and Toxins.
Must have the ability to work in a biological containment and maximum containment laboratories. Immunizations may be acquired before entering the laboratories.
Use of respiratory protection, and appropriate PPE to include the use of a fully encapsulating suit may be required. Respirator fitting and certification is required.
Must have the ability to operate a Government-Owned Vehicle (GOV) or Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) for official purposes. A qualified drivers’ license is required.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Basic Education Requirement:
Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
AND In addition to the basic requirements above, all applicants must also meet the following minimum qualification requirements:

GS-11:
Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-11 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-09 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience:

working for a biorisk or biosafety program in a BSL3/4 laboratory;
implementing guidelines and polices related to high containment laboratories;
participating in inventory control and accountability; and
developing oversight on procedures related to biosafety and high containment operations.

OR Education: Successful completion of 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, if directly related to the position. Related degrees may include Biology, Plant Science, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Animal Science, or Chemistry.
OR a combination of doctorate-level education and specialized experience as described above.

GS-12:
Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-12 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-11 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience:

leading a biorisk or biosafety program in a BSL3/4 laboratory;
developing and implementing guidelines and polices related to high containment laboratories;
leading inventory control and accountability; and
developing and providing oversight on procedures related to biosafety and high containment operations.

There is no education substitution for the GS-12 grade level.

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 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

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified based on an evaluation of the following competencies: . To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job.

Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at time of job offer.

Selections made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would therefore be given a new appointment to the civil service.

This is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter. Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use.

If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

Work Environment:

Work is performed in an office setting, research laboratories, indoor animal holding facilities, necropsy rooms, insectaries and building mechanical spaces involved with FSAP compliance inspections.
Involves onsite work in laboratories and animal facilities, involving wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE), including a respirator (N-95 or PAPR) or a fully encapsulated air pressurized suit while entering infectious disease laboratories, or animal facilities areas.
Temperature extremes are common as well as exposure to disagreeable odors, working around frightened, unpredictable, and ill-natured animals, and exposure to the risks and hazards of harmful biological, chemical and physical agents.
Immunizations with vaccines may be required to enter facilities conducting work with human or zoonotic diseases.
The work requires special safety precautions (use of PPE) and enrollment in the Respiratory Protection Program (RPP). For approved use of respirators. RPP approval for use of respirators at NBAF requires a medical clearance and fit testing. Examples of respirators used at NBAF include N-95 or PAPR.
Work may require access to BSL-4 containment environments that require approval and training for use of a fully encapsulated air pressurized suit.
The health status of personnel is monitored periodically using biologic and serologic tests and physical examinations.

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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
This is a Direct Hire Authority position. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, the resume is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements. A rating will not be used; veterans' preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position.

Note: All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated by a resume. If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12874299

Required Documents

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages.
If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.

To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.

Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration.

Agency contact information

Katie Henry

Phone: (612) 336-3329
Email: katie.l.henry@usda.gov

Address: Agricultural Research Service
2150 Centre Avenue
Building D, Suite 300
Fort Collins, CO 80526
US

Next steps

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may 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. 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.

Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status.

You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.

Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer. An applicant may submit a complaint or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance. To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to Katie.L.Henry@usda.gov, subject line: Fair Chance Act.

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