Employee will serve as a Animal Health Technician aligned within Research and Development, Veterinary Medical Unit located at the Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Central Virginia Healthcare System in Richmond, VA.

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: Animal Care and Husbandry: Provides specialized care for animals, follows instructions, and use knowledge of the species to make independent decisions regarding the type of care required for the individual animals, based on needs and circumstances. Shifts frequently from one species to another and understanding that each species requires substantially different equipment, husbandry techniques and methods. Applies knowledge of post-operative care with a variety of animal species. Observes, assesses, and reports behavioral and activities of the various species. Determines whether group-housed animals need to be separate due to health or behavioral issues. Administers medicines using specialized techniques and proper aseptic procedures. Makes judgement regarding breeding colony maintenance; identifies animals by ID, cage card, gender, age and the type/quantity of feed provided to animals. Recognizes when to separate litters from parents, adult males from each other or from nursing/pregnant females. Facility Maintenance and Operations: Identifies work that needs to be done to maintain operations, address and resolve problems with complex machinery and instruments involved in the day-to-day operations. Applies knowledge of the Animal Welfare Act Regulations, The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, The Public Health Service Policy, and other regulations and guidelines. Prepares for and coordinates a variety of site visits, including animal facility inspections. Performs other duties as necessary. Work Schedule: Full-time, 6:00am - 2:30pm, 5 days per week, includes weekends and holidays. Duty days will vary based on the needs of the Veterinary Medical Unit. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires at least one year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the Federal service. 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. In addition to the examples above for entry-level positions, specialized experience for this grade includes performing animal husbandry duties and care for various types of animal species; maintaining/identifying animals (ID tags; cage card; gender; age, etc.), determining the quantity/type of feed and equipment for the various species; observing and reporting behavior and appearance changes in the animals; and preparing for and coordinating site visits and inspections. Preferred Experience (Not Required): Experience with direct large animal care (i.e., sheep, swine) within a medical center that is accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC). -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Successfully completed one year, 6 months (1½ years; 27 semester hours) of Graduate education meets the requirements for this GS-8 position if related to the position, i.e., zoology, biology, chemistry, or agricultural subjects. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Equivalent combinations of successfully completed related graduate education and specialized experience as described above. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Animal HusbandryAttention to DetailTechnical Competence 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: Work requires some physical exertion. Most activity will be walking, but other activities will involve standing for extended periods, considerable bending, climbing of step stools/ladders, and carrying items greater than 50 pounds. Involvement in pre-surgical situations may involve lifting of larger animals such as dogs or pigs; and may involve moving modestly heavy equipment such as transport carts or cage racks, while using appropriate mechanical assistance (cart, dolly, etc.) 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

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]