Health Technician (Autopsy Assistant) Job in Location Negotiable After Selection

Vacancy No. HHS-NDMS-DH-25-12620927 Department Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
Salary $16.23 to $21.10 Grade 5 to 5
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Part-time
Open Date 11/26/2024 Close Date 12/2/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Location Negotiable After Selection


Summary

This position is located in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, National Disaster Medical System headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia

When activated with NDMS, you will be protected by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) when you are called to respond to an emergency.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Public- US Citizen

Duties

This position is located with the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). NDMS supports state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) authorities following disasters and emergencies by supplementing health and medical systems and response capabilities. The HHS Office of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, in its role as Coordinator of Emergency Support Function 8 (ESF-8), Public Health and Medical Services, of the National Response Framework, employs the NDMS to provide patient care, patient movement, and definitive care, as well as veterinary services, and fatality management support when requested by authorities from states, localities, tribes and territories, or other federal departments. In a disease outbreak, they may provide mass prophylaxis. During a special event, they stand ready to serve in case of an emergency. But no matter what the specific mission is, NDMS teams provide expert patient care that protects individual health and promotes national health security.

Verify that the body of the deceased is the body to be autopsied and makes all arrangements to schedule the autopsy to include all necessary documentation, authorization and records.

Convey observations to Pathologist or Physician observed on body or organs; remove and maintain specimens for proper storage.

Assist Pathologist or Physician to perform autopsy (i.e.) incision, closing, tissue samples, organ samples.

Maintain proper assembly and routing of specimens for laboratory study; assist in collection of specimens to include DNA sampling.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service - http://www.sss.gov
  • Suitable for federal employment
  • Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation with favorable adjudication and completion of health screening. All information concerning qualifications is subject to investigation.
  • Documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System.
  • All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
  • Two-year trial period may be required.
  • Required to obtain and maintain a Government Travel Card.
  • Background Investigation is required: Incumbent must undergo and clear a pre-employment fingerprint check and background investigation
  • Immunization may be required.

Qualifications

During deployments, the work is primarily related to readiness for and deployment for response during the aftermath of a disaster or public health emergency, where work may be field-based, in a tent environment that is remote and austere, caring for sick, injured, dying, or deceased persons. This work requires above average health, physical, and mental conditioning with routine long periods of repetitive walking, bending, lifting, and carrying, such as carrying NDMS equipment or heavy patients on litters. Incumbent must be capable of working in a high-stress, high security, remote, austere, and uncharacterized environment, void of infrastructure and vital services, requiring specific physical demands, such as the ability to lift 50 pounds, and work characteristics that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. For these reasons, employees are required to complete a physical and health screening process, meet and maintain certain physical standards, as well as mental, behavioral, and cognitive competencies. Work may be performed in an office setting or indoor and outdoor field sites, sometimes in adverse weather. During emergency situations, the work environment may be situated in austere conditions and environment in terms of destroyed infrastructure (e.g., food and water, housing, electricity, communications), the presence of endemic diseases, and limited health and sanitation facilities requiring special safety precautions.

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following requirements:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level in the Federal Service performing incisions, excisions, and other maneuvers that involve the use of surgical instruments (knives, scalpels, scissors, hand and powered saws, chisels, forceps, rongeurs, etc.) during autopsy procedures; preparing specimens in accordance with laboratory procedures for retention in the hospital and/or for shipment elsewhere and assisting in the coordination of multiple autopsy teams when multiple exams are occurring simultaneously in the mortuary area.

-OR-

A combination of education and experience as described.

Experience: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience including volunteer experience. OPM Qualification General Policies Website

Education

Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree, with major study or at least 24 semester hours in subjects directly related to the position.

Additional information

In accordance with Executive Order 12564 of September 14, 1986, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is A Drug-Free Federal Workplace. The use of illegal drugs, on or off duty, by Federal employees is inconsistent not only with the law-abiding behavior expected of all citizens, but also with the special trust placed in such employees as servants of the public.

Travel and transportation expenses may be paid: Yes

Bargaining Unit Position: No

Drug Screening Required: No

Recruitment incentives may be authorized: No

Student loan repayment incentive may be authorized: No

Annual leave for non-federal service may be authorized: No

For information on "People with Disabilities" please visit http://opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp

For Most Effective Resumes Tips visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Most_Effective_Resumes.

If you are unable to apply online, please go to https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information for more information on our alternate application method.In accordance with

Executive Order 12564 of September 14, 1986, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is A Drug-Free Federal Workplace. The use of illegal drugs, on or off duty, by Federal employees is inconsistent not only with the law-abiding behavior expected of all citizens, but also with the special trust placed in such employees as servants of the public.

Following a Presidential Declared Disaster, a Public Health Emergency declared by the Secretary of HHS, or a designated augmented mission requirement, the incumbent may be required to work irregular work schedules (evenings, nights, and weekends) and work hours could be extended at critical times. During actual emergency responses and exercises, the incumbent may be required to work for extended periods of time under austere and highly stressful conditions; may be required to remain on-call 24 hours per day, seven days per week. During training and deployment, work may require lifting and carrying heavy equipment, supplies, and using flights of stairs when elevators are not operating. The incumbent may be required to travel on short notice to disaster areas with only minimal comforts, including requirements to eat military-style rations (such as Meals, Ready to Eat (MRE) due to limited or no access to commercially available food. Extended and frequent travel may be required and will be governed by the need for the incumbent to fully cover all emergency preparedness responsibilities (i.e. disasters, meetings, exercises, etc.). This travel may depend upon the number and type of events or emergencies that may occur.

Benefits

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.

Review our 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.

Please read the Qualifications and Required Documents section of this announcement and follow all instructions carefully.

Additional selections may be made for similar positions across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) of the location identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with any interested selecting official(s) at HHS. Traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply to this vacancy. Qualified candidates will be referred for consideration in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management direct hire guidelines. Veteran's Preference does not apply to the direct hire recruitment procedures. Selections made under this announcement will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the civil service.To preview the assessment questionnaire, click the following link:

To preview the assessment questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12620927

Required Documents

Submission of a resume alone IS NOT a complete application. You must provide a complete online Application Package which includes:

DOCUMENTING YOUR EXPERIENCE: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

  1. Online Application Assessment Questionnaire
  2. Your Resume. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY) For full-time, part-time, or intermittent work schedules include hours worked per week/deployment. You are encouraged to use the USAJobs online resume builder to ensure that all required information is in your resume. Your resume must clearly articulate how your skills and experiences align to the criteria defined in the qualifications section of this announcement and it must support your responses to the assessment questionnaire. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information. Failure to provide this information may result in a not meeting the qualifications rating.
  3. Transcripts: If qualifying all or in part based on your education. A copy of your diploma will not suffice.
You are not required to submit official documents at this time; unofficial transcripts are sufficient.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package.
3. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
4. Resume - Must include beginning and ending month and year for each employment period, for each position you must describe your duties, accomplishments, related skills, and/or responsibilities. Your resume must clearly articulate how your skills and experiences align to the specialized experience defined in the qualifications section of this announcement and it must support your responses to the assessment questionnaire. You must indicate for each position on your resume full-time employment or part-time employment (i.e., hours per week and month/year to month/year). Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Work experience other than full-time or part-time such as Intermittent work, you must include the total number of hours worked for each position and month/year to month/year and the total hours must be equal to one-year of experience to be credited experience. Failure to provide this information may result in a not meeting the qualifications rating.
5. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
6. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of this announcement.

By submitting your application, you are certifying the accuracy of the information contained in your application. If you make a false statement in any part of your application, you may not be hired; you may be terminated after you begin work; or, you may be fined or jailed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.

Agency contact information

Intermittent Help
Address
National Disaster Medical System
200 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC 20201
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once the online questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. The best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. We expect to make a selection within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement.

You will receive notice via email on your current status. You may also check your application status via your USAJobs account.

You may be required to submit official documentation prior to appointment. The agency will then verify the information provided on your application (i.e., official transcript, veterans' preference, disability, etc.).


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


© 2006-2024, exclusive of U. S. government job opportunity announcements