Pharmacologist/Physiologist/Toxicologist

Clarification from the agency

MERIT PROMOTION (MP) VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT - Current Federal employees with competitive status; Former Federal employees with reinstatement eligibility; CTAP/ICTAP eligibles; Veterans with VOW, VEOA, or 30% disability; Military Spouses, Peace Corps, and those eligible under an OPM interchange agreement.

The incumbent serves as a Pharmacologist, Physiologist, or Toxicologist providing the full range of professional support and assistance to the Division on matters concerning numerous areas of chemical and non-chemical hazards of consumer products, including supporting poisoning hazards, choking hazards, and suffocation hazards (which encompasses hazard assessment and risk characterization) related to relevant consumer products.

The Pharmacologist, Physiologist, or Toxicologist will be responsible for:

• Performing analyses of chemical and non-chemical hazards related to consumer products that fall within the Division’s responsibility as determined by the needs of the Division and writes technical reports.
• Analyzing, performing reviews, evaluations, and interpretations of information and data from scientific literature, agency reports, research studies, and laboratory studies, consumer product incident reports, proposed standards, and project proposals from agency and non-agency sources.
• Focusing analyses on potential human health effects, injuries, or illnesses related to chemical and non-chemical hazards in consumer products. Based upon these reviews and analyses, makes recommendations concerning research studies, investigative reports, and accident studies in terms of their relationship to the Division's responsibilities for supporting the Agency's Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, and the Consumer Product Safety Act.
• Performing Division tasks including, but not limited to, internet searches, database searches, and scientific literature searches as requested to locate and extract scientific information for inclusion in reports; assembling, compiling, and summarizing information (both scientific and non-technical) from files and documents in the office or other available sources for use by staff members, Division director, and management.
• Keeping abreast of information sources with respect to current data on potential poisoning and physiological hazards in consumer products, and potential health effects that may be related to exposures to hazardous substances in consumer products or other sources. 
• Supporting Division engagement with consumers, industry, and other agencies within the government; responds to inquiries in writing and orally; serving on interagency committees as assigned, and supporting Agency participation in voluntary standards activities by representing the Agency in meetings and by providing technical analyses of pertinent data and other information or review of associated scientific literature, agency reports, research data, laboratory study data, or consumer product incident reports.

At the full-performance level you serve as a subject matter expert in risk assessment for poisoning and physiological hazards in consumer products.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required.
• A background investigation is required.
• Must meet education requirements.

Must be a U.S. Citizen.

This is a Public Trust Position. Employment in this position requires a background investigation. If you are selected and cannot meet the criteria requirement for the pre-employment waiver and/or a favorable suitability determination within a reasonable period of time due to disclosed or undisclosed background issues, the employment offer may be withdrawn.

If you are a male born after December 31, 1959 you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Please see http://www.sss.gov for more information.

Selectees will be required to complete a "Declaration of Federal Employment", (OF-306), prior to appointment and the appropriate background investigation forms to determine suitability for Federal employment.  False statements or responses on these forms can jeopardize your employment opportunity and subject you to disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.

The selectee will be required to complete a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the I-9 Form. We will compare information provided on the I-9 Form to records available from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  The system confirms employee’s identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period (depending on your status) 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 CPSC;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the CPSC 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.

Qualifications

In addition to the mandatory education requirement, all applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

GS-11: 1) Experience applying knowledge of toxicological, pharmacological, and/or physiological principles, theories, methods, and research to support determinations regarding whether exposure to and/or use of specific products presents potential hazards, and 2) Contributing to the development of scientific analyses and reports within these disciplines.

GS-12: 1) Demonstrated experience applying professional knowledge of toxicological, pharmacological, and/or physiological principles, theories, methods, and research to assist in conducting hazard assessments related to exposure to and/or use of specific products; 2) Developing scientific analyses that contribute to the preparation of technical reports; and 3) Participating in multidisciplinary evaluations to inform regulatory or scientific determinations.

GS-13: 1) Demonstrated experience independently applying advanced toxicological, pharmacological, and/or physiological principles, theories, methods, and research to evaluate and determine whether exposure to and/or use of specific products presents potential hazards; 2) Independently developing comprehensive scientific analyses; 3) Preparing authoritative technical reports; 4) Providing expert guidance on complex or novel issues; and 5) Contributing to scientific or regulatory decision-making processes requiring a high degree of technical judgment.

Evidence of the above specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held.  Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience or based on job titles alone.  If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Applicants must meet the qualifications for this position by the closing date of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

After the vacancy closes, we will review your application package to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications, your responses to the assessment, resume and supporting documentation (unofficial transcripts) will then be reviewed by a Subject Matter Expert. The best-qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited to an interview.

RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume limited to two (2) pages (i.e., 1 page that is double-sided or 2 pages that are one-sided each) showing all relevant experience.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a "well qualified" rating (Rating of at least 85 out of 100).

Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, salary, duties performed for each position, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level/pay band.

• Transcripts may support your qualifications for a federal job and can include high school, college or other schools.

Your package must be complete and submitted in the manner specified in this section.  Packages that are submitted in any other manner without prior approval from the agency point of contact will not be considered.

A complete application includes: 1. Resume; 2. Vacancy question responses; and 3. Submission of any required documents (unofficial transcripts). Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

Your resume must clearly demonstrate, in two pages or less, how your skills and experiences align with the "Qualifications" section and support your questionnaire responses. We cannot assume required experience based on your work or academic history. If your resume exceeds two pages, only the first two will be reviewed.

You may use the USAJOBS Resume Builder or upload your own resume. If uploading, ensure it includes all required information and is organized so we can match the following to each position:

1. Job title
2. Employer name
3. Employment dates (MM/DD/YYYY)
4. Hours worked per week (full-time assumed; part-time prorated)
5. Detailed duties, accomplishments, skills, responsibilities, and supervisory details (if applicable)
6. Series and grade or equivalent (for federal positions, if applicable)

Do not include a photograph or video of yourself, or any sensitive information (age, date of birth, marital status, social security number, etc.) on your resume or cover letter. We will not access web pages linked on your resume or cover letter to determine your qualifications.

Current Federal Employees: If you are a current you must submit a copy of your most recent SF Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action, that shows: (1) permanent or career-conditional tenure (codes 1 or 2, in block 24), and (2) position occupied in the competitive service (code 1, in block 34). To be considered as a competitive eligible candidate, the SF-50 must show the highest grade level or promotion potential level applicant has attained competitively and grade must be equivalent or higher than the grade for which applying. Indicate on your application the highest permanent grade you have held; if this grade is different from your current grade, submit a copy of an additional SF-50 showing this grade.

Reinstatement: If you are a former federal employee (separated from Federal service for at least 1 year) and you want to be considered as a non-competitively eligible for reinstated to a higher grade or full performance level than which you left federal employment, then you MUST provide a copy of your separation SF-50 (the "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2") AND your most recent performance appraisal that you received from your federal employment which shows at least a fully successful rating.

Veterans' Preference (If Applicable) - If claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15, along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference view FedsHireVets.

CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must annotate your questionnaire to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible and you must submit appropriate documentation (such as: a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location).

If you are eligible for special hiring authority, please indicate this when you apply, and submit the supporting documentation for proof of eligibility for the special hiring authority, such as disability, Peace Corps service, Interchange Agreement, etc.

Other documents identified in this announcement.

All supplemental documents must be submitted electronically before the closing date of this vacancy announcement. You have two choices for submitting your supplemental documents:
1. Download from your USAJOBS account; or
2. Upload your file(s)

Failure to submit required documents, based upon how you apply, may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted. Official documents are not required at the time of application, copies are sufficient. If selected, official documentation must be submitted prior to appointment.

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