The Animal Health Technician is located with in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development Veterinary Medical Unit, located in Richmond, VA. The position assists with the day-to-day operations, organization, and implementation of animal husbandry, and provides care for a variety of research animal species (I.E., sheep, swine, rabbits, rodents, etc.). The position and ensures duties are completed within local, state, and federal regulations.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• Selectees may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• A complete application package, i.e., Resume, Transcripts, etc., as required by job announcement.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Participation in the Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program for VHA Health Care Personnel (HCP) is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs HCP.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Pre-employment physical examination/evaluation is required.
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/26/2024. CTAP/ICTAP selection priority: Applies to vacancies at your same (or lower) grade, and with no higher promotion potential than your current (or last) position. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be a well-qualified surplus or displaced employee to be eligible for this job announcement. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ctap_guideline.pdf Well qualified specialized experience is defined as independently determines care needs (I.E. nutrition- food and water; cleaning cages/enclosures/equipment, etc.) for research animals based on knowledge of each species; uses instructions to provide specialty care needs; provides post-operative care to a variety of animal species while providing information to the veterinary staff about the research animal; independently observes animal behavior and appearance and reports abnormalities; independently maintains breeding colonies while ensuring identification and proper husbandry processes are followed (I.E. ID tags/tattooing, cage/enclosure identification, separation of litters, nursing/pregnant female from male separation, etc.); independently resolves technical issues with instruments used to care for the research animals; Preferred experience with direct large animal care (I.E. sheep, swine)with-in a Medical Center that is an AAALAC accredited research facility. AND You must also meet the minimal qualification requirements for the GS-0704 job series. The minimal qualification education/experience/combination is as described below. Individual Occupational Requirements: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include work: As a laborer, manager, or owner of a livestock ranch or farm involving direct work with livestock. With livestock in a feed lot. As a Livestock Market Inspector. As an Animal Welfare Inspector. As an assistant to a veterinarian who works with livestock. AND Minimal Qualification Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as applies regulations and guidelines governing care of animals to complete animal husbandry duties, care for animals, and maintain facility; provides nutrition to research animals; uses standard processes to properly clean of animal cages, equipment, and enclosures; uses standard processes maintain breeding colonies for research animals; reports observed behavior and appearance changes in the animals; and maintains accurate ID system according to standard procedures. Preferred experience with direct large animal care (I.E. sheep, swine) with-in a Medical Center that is an AAALAC accredited research facility; OR Minimal Qualification Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have more than one full year of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position; OR Minimal Qualification Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond one full year of graduate education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Animal Husbandry Attention to Detail Technical Competence Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties. To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above. 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. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp.

Education

PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. 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.

Contacts

• Address Richmond ORD VISN 6 1201 Broad Rock Boulevard Richmond, VA 23224 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]