This position is a non-supervisory technical position in the Research Service, Veterinary Medical Unit (VMU) in Cincinnati, Ohio. The primary purpose of this position is to provided the overall care, safety and well-being of the research animals housed in VMU.

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 may be 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, 05/20/2024. 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-05/GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04/GS-05. 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. Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. AND A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. GS-5: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One (1) year of Specialized Experience equivalent to at least the GS 4 (next lower grade level) grade level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience includes: 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.NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. * 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. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: Successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 6 semester hours of courses must have been directly related to the position to be filled. The successful completion of a full course of study of at least 12 months in a school for clinical laboratory technicians may be substituted for the 1 year of specialized experience for positions involving microbiology and biochemistry technician work. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: I have the equivalent combinations of specialized experience and successfully completed graduate education as described above to meet the total qualification requirements to qualify at the GS-5 level. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. GS-6: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level (the next lower grade level) related to the work of the position and is performed in a controlled environment. Examples of specialized experience include: Monitor usage of supplies and notify supervisor so necessary items can be ordered in a timely manner; adhere to all safety and health standards, regulations, work practices and use proper personal protective equipment as required; administer proper medical treatment according to protocol specifications, and humanely and safely restrains animals as needed, 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. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. * 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. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE I have successfully completed six (6) months of graduate education that includes courses directly related to the work of this position (i.e. biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics) that may be substituted for the experience required. Such graduate education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: Equivalent combinations of specialized experience and successfully completed graduate education as described above to meet the total qualification requirements to qualify at the GS-6 level. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Animal Husbandry Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) 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 Cincinnati ORD VISN 10 3200 Vine Street Cincinnatti, OH 45220 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]