This position is located in the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (FADDL), National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL), and has full responsibility for managing the activities and personnel of the laboratory to operate within budgetary and staffing limitations. Your work will have have a profound impact on the production and marketing of domestic livestock and on livestock trade with foreign countries. Relocation/Recruitment incentive may be authorized but is not guaranteed.

Duties

The duties may include, but are not limited to: Supervising subordinates more than 25% of the time including, but not limited to, recruitment, selecting, appraising, rewarding, addressing performance problems, and fostering an inclusive workplace. Strategically manages laboratory operations, projects budgetary needs, and maintains continuity of operations with other laboratories within NVSL. Partners with Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to support the One NBAF culture and effective leadership of National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF). Directs the establishment and maintenance of a national and international diagnostic reference center for the classification and identification of pathogenic agents. Provides diagnostic reference assistance and consultation services to APHIS field activities, state diagnostic laboratories, university research laboratories, and foreign governments and scientists. Represents APHIS as the senior official on the NBAF Senior Leadership group for the overall management of NBAF. Directs the technical supervision and review of studies carried out by contracts and cooperative agreements with other governmental (state and federal) agencies or commercial concerns. Maintains close working relationships with public and private research groups to ensure mutual exchange of information concerning animal diseases. Ensures the safe and adequate safety testing or treatment of all biological materials imported from endemic countries and destined to the U.S. mainland.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Individuals who were born male after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. See more details under the Additional Information section.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Subject to one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.
• 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/
• Testing Designated Position: 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.
• Conferred Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree with application. See "Education" section below for more details.
• In accordance with Office of Government Ethics regulations concerning conflict of interest, the incumbent will be required to submit a financial disclosure report within 30 days of their effective date of appointment and annually thereafter.
• The work involves risk of exposure to contagious diseases of livestock and birds, to toxicants, and to unmanageable and highly distressed animals that may be health and/or safety hazards to humans and/or other animals.
• In addition, some of these diseases may be exotic to the United States. Under these conditions, work in a mask or respirator, biological safety cabinet, chemical fume hood and/or high security laboratories might be required.
• Must comply with strict agency personal quarantine safety requirements against contact with birds, sheep, goats, cattle, swine and other animals (in exclusion of dogs and cats) outside the laboratory.
• Periodically, the diagnostic workload during a disease outbreak may require considerable overtime.
• Regular duties may involve mandatory participation in rotating overtime work schedules, and import/export or other time-sensitive testing may be required in the evenings, on weekends, and holidays.
• Criminal Justice Information Services database check required for work involving Biological Select Agents and Toxins.
• If selected in Orient Point, NY, this position will be relocated from Orient Point, New York, to Manhattan, Kansas, when the finished National Bio-Agro Defense Facility is complete and ready for activity at a future date, no later than 12/31/2024.
• For information regarding the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS visit the website: https://www.usda.gov/nbaf (must copy and paste to browser)
• Positions hired in Orient Point duty location will require daily travel to and from either Orient Point, New York and Plum Island, or Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Plum Island aboard Government-provided marine vessels.

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. All applicants must meet the Basic Requirement outlined in the Education section below. FOR THE GS-15 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-14 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required. This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified. this education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college or university. 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

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree, i.e., Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD), obtained at a school or college of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA). The AVMA website has a listing of all AVMA-accredited veterinary medical schools. AVMA website: https://www.avma.org

OR Graduates of foreign veterinary medical schools that are not accredited by the AVMA Council on Education must meet one of the following requirements:
a) Proof of certification of their final transcript by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG);
b) Possession of a permanent, full, and unrestricted license to practice veterinary medicine in a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States that includes successful completion of the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) or its predecessors, the National Board Examination (NBE) and the Clinical Competency Test (CCT); OR
c) Proof that the education obtained in a foreign veterinary medical program is equivalent to that gained in a veterinary medical program that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. An AVMA-accredited veterinary medical school or college must have accepted the final transcript from the foreign veterinary medical school at full value for placement into an advanced degree, postgraduate educational program, or training program (e.g., residency or graduate program).

In addition, graduates of foreign veterinary medical programs must also provide proof of proficiency in the English language by successfully completing one of the nationally and internationally recognized examinations that incorporate assessments of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Examples of examinations that assess mastery of the English language are shown below:
a) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Minimum scores for the TOEFL are 560 for the paper-based version; 220 for the computer-based version; or overall score of 83 for the internet-based version (including 26 or higher in speaking, 26 or higher in listening, and 17 or higher in writing). For the computer-based and paper-based test versions, applicants must also complete the Test of Spoken English (TSE) and the Test of Written English (TWE). Minimum required scores are 55 for the TSE and 5.5 for the TWE.
b) Academic tests (listening, writing, and speaking) offered by the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 7.0, with at least 7.0 in speaking, 6.5 in listening, and 6.0 in writing; OR
c) Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL). Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 70, with at least 60 in speaking, 60 in listening, and 50 in writing.

Graduates of foreign veterinary medical programs must submit test results with their application. Results of more than one test or testing session cannot be combined to meet the standard.

Waiver Provision: English language proficiency assessments may be waived for qualified job applicants whose native language is English (i.e., the official or common language of an individuals country of birth is English) who submit a diploma or other official documentation as proof of graduation from a high (secondary) school where the entire curriculum and educational programs were taught in the English language for the entire 3 or 4 years of full-time attendance.

Contacts

• Address Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service USDA APHIS MRPBS 250 Marquette Avenue, Suite 410 Minneapolis, MN 55401 US
• Name: APHIS Human Resources
• Phone: 612-336-3227
• Email: [email protected]