Animal Facility Specialist

Summary

The position serves as an Animal Facility Specialist in support of one or more research animal care facilities located in Bethesda or the NIH Animal Center (NIHAC) in Poolesville. These facilities house rodents, rabbits, non-human primates, carnivores, and ungulates as well as other species. Facility services include providing animal husbandry, veterinary care and quarantine services.

Duties

• If selected for this position, you will perform the following duties: Analyze and evaluate research project requirements for the housing of laboratory animals by species and strain, and allocates facility resources, space, equipment, and manpower to meet expected research demands. Exercises oversight over the maintenance of Government equipment and facility infrastructure. Mediates issues and conflicts by working closely with investigators, veterinarians, technicians, contract supervisors, and the animal care staff to achieve the goals of the facility. Serves as Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) on a variety of DVR Animal Care Research Support contracts. Identifies program objectives and develops husbandry procedures for each species of animal maintained in the facility. Evaluates animal colony husbandry practices and recommends new procedures to ensure animals are maintained under proper environmental conditions, are provided a nutritionally adequate diet, and are handled in a humane manner.

Qualifications

You qualify at the GS-11 level, if you meet the following qualification requirements: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: providing administrative assistance in managing an animal facility, including procuring equipment, arranging repair and maintenance to facility equipment, and ensuring supplies necessary to provide daily care for laboratory animals in research are maintained and readily available, managing a database system to track, monitor and/or support animal facility, animal care and technical issues; identifying issues and problems in a laboratory animal care and husbandry facility. OR EDUCATION: completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M., if related. OR Combination of Education and Experience: a combination of education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. You qualify at the GS-12 level, if you meet the following qualification requirements: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: providing technical assistance in the use of laboratory animals in research; allocating animal facility resources, space, equipment, and manpower to meet expected research demands; resolving issues or problems of a procedural or factual nature relevant to laboratory animal care and husbandry; monitoring laboratory animal colony husbandry practices to ensure that animals are maintained properly. You qualify at the GS-13 level, if you meet the following qualification requirements: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: evaluating husbandry practices, and modify or establishing new procedures as required to maintain high standards of animal care; evaluating animal welfare laws and/or policies to ensure program compliance; developing guidelines or Standard Operating Procedures covering the administrative aspects of animal husbandry operations for an organization. You will receive credit for all experience material to the position, including experience gained in religious, civic, welfare, service, and organizational activities, regardless of whether you received pay. Do not copy and paste the duties or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. We may verify or assess your qualifications at any time. Inflated or unsupported qualifications may affect your rating. Any misrepresentation or material omission of facts may be sufficient cause to end further consideration of your candidacy. Persons listed as knowing your past accomplishments or experience in your application may be contacted for verification purposes at any time. Verification may, but need not, begin before receiving an offer. Preview application questionnaire before you apply: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13015485

Education

If you qualify based on education in lieu of specialized experience, you are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed and grades. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application packages. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer. Click here for information on Foreign Education.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete and submit all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents sections. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click Apply Online button. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. See the "Required Documents" section for any additional forms and/or supplemental materials required. Read all Eligibility questions and respond accordingly to any Eligibility you wish to claim. You will only be considered for those Eligibility questions (Veteran, Schedule A, etc.) you respond in the affirmative to, regardless of what documentation you submit. We cannot assume you intended to respond differently to a question based on other information in your application package. Complete the application questionnaire. Applicants are asked all questions regardless of their consideration preferences. We will only consider you for the grades, series, locations, specialties, and other considerations that you self-identify as being qualified for or interested in. Preview application questionnaire before you apply: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13015485 After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside about 2 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Verify all required documentation is included in your application package, review your responses to the application questionnaire for accuracy, and then submit your application. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. In addition to the required documents, we encourage you to submit a cover letter, copy of your transcripts, and any applicable certifications or licenses. Even though this information is not required at the time of application, we may request this information later. We cannot assume responsibility or grant extensions for personal issues (e.g., troubles navigating the application process, loss of internet, not understanding a question) when applying to our announcements. For technical difficulties, contact HR Systems Support between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM ET Monday through Friday at [email protected]. For reasonable accommodations not related to USA Hire, please contact Kevin Blake at [email protected]. Requests for reasonable accommodations must be made before the announcement closing date. Visit our site for information on NIH's EEO program, Reasonable accommodation procedures, laws, policy statements, and the operation of the EEO complaint process.