Biologist

Summary

The position is located in Fort Collins, CO at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Wildlife Services (WS), National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) which is responsible for research on wildlife damage and wildlife disease issues that relate to human health and safety. The incumbent will perform and assist in laboratory and field studies on wildlife diseases.

Duties

• The duties may include, but are not limited to:
• This position will consist of approximately 50% field and captive animal studies, 30% laboratory work, and 20% data analysis, management, and archiving.
• Perform a variety of field, captive animal, and laboratory procedures, including the use of BSL-2 and BSL-3 animal and laboratory facilities.
• Work independently in the field and laboratory with minimal supervision.
• Prepare and conduct field and captive animal studies designed to assess the risk of pathogen transmission among wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.
• Use of Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT) tags and animal trapping devices such as mist nets, target nets, crow traps, Sherman traps, Tomahawk traps.
• Immobilization and euthanasia under field conditions; collecting and processing biological specimens (e.g., blood and tissue).
• Handle specimens that potentially contain infectious agents, such as viruses and bacteria.
• Comply with Biosafety and Biosecurity Procedures, Good Laboratory Practices, Animal Welfare Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and applicable state and federal laws.
• Identify, analyze, and troubleshoot problems encountered in the field, in animal studies, or in the laboratory.

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 REQUIREMENT: Degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major (24 semester hours/36 quarter hours), as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. FOR THE GS-09 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Coded with R statistical software. Designed experiments and research studies on live wildlife. Collected tissue samples from wildlife for pathogen detection and isolation. OR 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required if: This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified. You are qualifying for the position based on education. You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education. This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university. COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-09 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level. 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. How You Will Be Evaluated

Applications will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Examining Procedures and USDA policy using category rating. This means you will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses to the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Applicants who meet basic minimum qualifications will be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Category placement will be determined based on applicants' quality of experience and the extent they possess the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Teamwork Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Those determined to be in the best qualified category will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, please visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13069850 Other Information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. First time hires to the federal government normally start at the lowest rate of the salary range for the grade selected. Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expense associated with reporting for duty will be the responsibility of the selected employee. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.