The VA Office of Research and Development is seeking a full-time Biological Science Laboratory Technician at the VA Boston Healthcare System located in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. This is a term (temporary) position, not to exceed September 30, 2026. Extension beyond that date is subject to availability of research project funding. SOME EVENING AND SATURDAY SHIFTS WILL BE REQUIRED

Duties

The incumbent will serve as a research laboratory technician in the VA Central Biorepository (VACB) which is part of the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC). As such they will be responsible for biomedical laboratory processes and procedures in a comprehensive research setting, providing day-to-day laboratory processes and site support for the VA Research Program. The work specifically involves processing blood and other biological specimens, isolating nucleic acids like DNA or RNA from these specimens, preparing immortalized cells and cryopreservation. The technician will be required to retrieve archived specimens from storage, prepare aliquots and ship specimens for analysis as required by the study investigator. The incumbent will be responsible for sample receipt, preparation of biospecimens, quality control, data entry into the laboratory information management system (LIMS), storage and general lab maintenance. All work must be performed in conformance with established practices and prescribed procedures. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm; WITH SOME EVENING AND SATURDAY SHIFTS Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Biological Science Laboratory Technician/PD451260 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. NOTIFICATIONS: This is an AFGE bargaining unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. Veterans' preference does not apply for current permanent Federal agency employees.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/23/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: 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. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. 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. SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: A selective placement factor (SPF) represents knowledge, skills, or abilities that are essential for successful job performance and cannot reasonable be acquired on the job during the orientation period. Applicants who do not possess the identified SPF will not be considered. The SPF for this position is: Experience and understanding of procedures related to processing samples in a lab environment. PLEASE NOTE: Your description of your work experience in your resume must reflect this SPF in order for you to be considered. If the Selective Placement Factor is met, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-6) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying specialized experience must have been related to the work of this position (research activity or control program work; laboratory experience). OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate level education that is directly related to the position, and included scientific or technical courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) . OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a Bachelor's degree. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Biomedical Equipment TechnologyInformation Technology Research and DevelopmentQuality AssuranceTechnical Competence 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion, such as regular and recurring walking, bending, or climbing scaffolds to add or remove specimens from cryotanks. Must be able to handle cryogenic materials with proper protective equipment including lifting 50 lb blocks of dry and 20 lb racks containing specimens from cryotanks and freezers. In many situations the duration of the activity (such as most of a workday) contributes to the arduous nature of the job. In other situations, such as in a laboratory, there are special requirements tor agility or dexterity such as exceptional hand/eye coordination in order to carry out the work. 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

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Boston ORD VISN 1 JFK Federal Building, 15 New Sudbury St Boston, MA 02203-9928 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]