This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, in Fort Collins, CO. To support U.S. agriculture in producing high-quality food, feed, and fiber, the Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research Unit provides genetic security by focusing on: Acquiring, evaluating, preserving, and distributing critical genetic resources including plant, animal, insect, and microbial material for industry and the research community.

Duties

Provides scientific and curatorial leadership for the seed germplasm collection at NLGRP, which serves as the back-up site for USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS)’s collection of plant genetic resources. Develops, modifies, and implements “Best Practices” to assure the highest possible quality of physical samples and the data associated with each accession and that both sample and data are safe, secure, and available to requesters. Serves as the expert resource for long-term preservation of seed genetic resources under proper storage conditions. Ensures collections are backed up in long-term preservation and that they meet international quality standards. Provides leadership and mentoring of seed curators related to expanding the management educational/training programs for NPGS, university, industry, and international seed curators and gene banks. Ensures accurate and standardized seed inventory data that are recorded in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Works with national/international data systems which are state-of-the-art computer systems and software in support of activities. Keeps abreast of new technologies and searches literature for the most applicable procedures, techniques or analyses relevant to projects.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• 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/

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. Plant Physiology - Series 0435 Basic Requirements: Degree: botany or plant physiology; or a related scientific discipline that included at least 10 semester hours in plant physiology. Evaluation of Education: The 10-semester-hour requirement in plant physiology is specific. Course work is qualifying if it dealt with plant physiology, some phase of plant physiology, or methods and techniques applied in plant physiology work. Other course work in borderline areas should be evaluated on the basis of content. Botany - Series 0430 Basic Requirements: Degree: botany; or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany. or Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in botany or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester hours in botany, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Genetics - Series 0440 Basic Requirements: Degree: genetics; or one of the basic biological sciences that included at least 9 semester hours in genetics. Graduate Education: Genetics, or a curriculum or pattern of training that placed major emphasis on genetics. Graduate study in related fields such as agronomy, horticulture, animal, dairy, or poultry husbandry, entomology, microbiology, plant pathology, chemistry, molecular and cellular biology, and physiology that involved cross-training in genetics is qualifying, provided it placed sufficient emphasis on genetics. Evaluation of Education: Most students in the field take graduate work because specific training in genetics may be limited at the undergraduate level. Under these circumstances, it may be necessary to evaluate undergraduate course work in genetics in one of two ways, as described below, to determine whether or not it is qualifying. Courses dealing with genetics, some phase of genetics, or specific techniques that are applied in genetics work are acceptable. This includes courses in genetics, plant or animal genetics, molecular and cellular biology, mathematics and statistics (as they apply to genetics), population dynamics, and certain techniques such as those dealing with irradiation. Course work consisting of an appropriate combination of basic courses in genetics and cytology or statistics are also acceptable. AND Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: At the GS-12 Qualifying experience for GS-12 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-11 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is Experience leading a research project focused on plant genetics. At the GS-13 Qualifying experience for GS-13 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-12 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is; Experience leading a research project focused on plant genetics; and Experience with the collection and curation of plant genetic samples. At the GS-14 Qualifying experience for GS-14 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-13 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is; Experience leading a research project focused on plant genetics and Experience with the collection and curation of plant genetic samples; and Experience developing new or improved procedures for plant genetic resource conservation. At the GS-15 Qualifying experience for GS-15 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-14 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is; Experience leading a research project focused on plant genetics and Experience with the collection and curation of plant genetic samples and Experience developing new or improved procedures for plant genetic resource conservation; and Experience managing a research project's budget. Physical Demands: The majority of the work is in the office. Some activity requires moving and lifting boxes, large trays, and carts of seed weighing up to 50 pounds with appropriate support. Storage area is maintained at -18 °C where some work is done. Work with liquid nitrogen is also necessary. Travel to maintain professional contacts and develop strategies for seed germplasm conservation is also required. Work Environment: Work is performed in an office, laboratories, walk-in freezers, cryotanks with liquid nitrogen, field sites, international settings and greenhouse situations that require safety precautions. Work in the laboratory requires wearing protective gear (clothing, masks, gloves, etc.). Recommended standard safety and health precautions are employed during all operations. 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

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 2150 Centre Avenue Building D, Suite 300 Fort Collins, CO 80526 US
• Name: Michelle Malott
• Email: [email protected]