You will serve as the Biological Science Laboratory Technician at the Omaha VA Medical Center-VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS in Omaha, NE. You will oversee and help manage the daily functions of the surgical laboratory, operating room and animal quarters, will participate in surgical animal care, and will work with the surgical research investigators in performance of scientific investigations and animal procedures.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties will include but may not be limited to the following: Understands the special care needs for various research animals including swine. Assists in surgery on live subjects including swine, mice and rats. Performs literature searches pertaining to area of research and remain abreast of the latest literature published as it relates to the specific work at hand. Performs pre and post operative care of animal subjects including administering pain medication and antibiotics. Ensures an appropriate environment is maintained and that an effective system is in place to control stock levels and maintains a high quality in the product. Presents findings and results to other researchers. Prepares and contributes to publications and papers and be involved in the dissemination of research findings. Documents research and disseminates to the public. Leads/directs other laboratory members including residents, fellows, students, and technicians. Manages the surgical operating room suites including care of measuring instruments and equipment. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you MUST meet one of the below requirements. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-8 level in the Federal service. The specialized experience required for some positions in this series is normally work performed in a controlled environment. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: research activity or control program work; nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment; work comparable to that with a large dairy farm where production records, animal environment, and sanitary conditions were kept in accordance with modern dairy practice. Farming experience that was not performed in a controlled environment, or experience as a laborer who was not responsible for planning and scheduling his/her own work, but only performed assigned tasks, would not qualify as specialized experience. ADDITIONAL SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE INCLUDES: Performing duties such as: animal care, overseeing the day-to-day operation of a laboratory; understanding biological research methods and procedures. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) - Applicants must have successfully completed two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a master's degree, or internship, in a field where it is directly related to the work of the position. (any combination of scientific or technical courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture or mathematics). OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) - Applicants must possess combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of this position as described above, to meet total qualification requirements. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Administration and ManagementAnimal HusbandryCritical ThinkingKnowledge ManagementResearch IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. 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. Physical Requirements: The employee will work in the animal research facility. This position requires occasional heavy lifting and the ability to handle farm animals including swine subjects up to 100 kg in size. The facility does possess lifting devices for handling large animals which the employee will be expected to operate. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS - Omaha 4101 Woolworth Avenue Omaha, NE 68105 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]