This position is located with the USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Tropical Crops & Germplasm Research in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. In this position, you will serve as curator in the collection of tropical/subtropical fruit, beverage, and confectionary crop germplasm providing technical guidance in acquiring, producing high quality, well characterized germplasm and conduct research on the maintenance, taxonomy, systematics, characterization, enhancement, and evaluation of germplasm.

Duties

Plans, organizes, and carries out service activities with other scientists the mission, including acquisition, maintenance, characterization, evaluation, and distribution of tropical/subtropical fruit, beverage, and confectionary genetic resources. Preserves and propagates clonal and seed-propagated tropical/subtropical fruit and related species collections. Collects or acquires genetic resources of cultivated and wild tropical/subtropical fruit, beverage, and confectionary species in response to needs expressed by users. Coordinates with onsite personnel to ensure data are entered and available for the tropical/subtropical fruit collections. Coordinates activities with other scientists or other research and service scientists in the National Plant Germplasm System. Keeps up to date with scientific literature pertaining to the genetic diversity, preservation, genetic characterization, evaluation, and maintenance of tropical/subtropical fruit germplasm.

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. Basic Requirements for Genetics Series, 0440 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. 1. 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. 2. Course work consisting of an appropriate combination of basic courses in genetics and cytology or statistics are also acceptable. Basic Requirements for Horticulture Series, 0437 Degree: horticulture; or a related discipline of basic plant science that included at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, of which at least 16 semester hours were in horticultural subjects such as those dealing with the breeding, care, management, production, and post harvest handling of horticultural crops. OR Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in horticulture or a related discipline of basic plant science that included course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Evaluation of Education: Courses in botany, plant physiology, plant taxonomy, plant pathology, genetics, agronomy, horticulture, and similar courses may be used to meet the 30-semester-hour requirement in basic plant sciences. The 16-semester-hour requirement in horticulture includes course work in basic horticulture and course work related to any of the recognized subject-matter fields of horticulture, i.e., fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, nursery work, seed production, or course work in related areas of science, such as micro-biology, entomology, plant pathology, plant physiology, or genetics that is directly related to horticultural work. GS-12 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: 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 preserving and propagating clonal and seed propagated tropical/subtropical fruit and related species collections; using global information system to document and distribute plant genetic resource and keeping up to date with scientific literature pertaining to the genetic diversity, preservation, genetic characterization, and evaluation. GS-13 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: 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 implementing new procedures to increase the efficiency of the maintenance, evaluation, characterization, and distribution of germplasm; developing proposals to acquire support for national and international germplasm collection and making presentations on crops, developments, and activities to grower, civic, and industry groups. GS-14 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: 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 serving as the curator of the tropical or subtropical fruit, beverage, and confectionary crop germplasm; conducting research on the maintenance, taxonomy, systematics, characterization, enhancement, or evaluation of germplasm and coordinating with Global personnel to ensure data is entered and available for tropical or subtropical fruit collections. 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 141 Experimental Station Road Stoneville, MS 38776 US
• Name: Nelly Wilson
• Phone: (703) 259-9360
• Email: [email protected]