Biological Science Lab Technician (Animal)

In order to qualify for this position at the GS-5 level you must meet the following: This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placements Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: You must possess working experience of animal husbandry to follow correct procedures with respect to husbandry as requirements specified by Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC), and capable of assisting training new staff in animal husbandry duties. (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE.)
AND
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower graded level (GS-4) in Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has provided you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Experience must have been related to the work of the position for which application is made. The specialized experience required for some positions in this series is normally work performed in a controlled environment. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: 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. 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. In addition to the experience above, you must also possess the following specialized experience: operating various equipment to maintain facility such as sterilizer, cage washer, glassware washer, incinerator, etc.; maintaining routine records for animal care such as feeding, treatment, disposal, and environmental monitoring; weaning and sexing animals in breeding colony; recognizing deviations from normal health status and administering proper medical treatment according to protocol specifications; collecting blood, body fluids, and tissue samples for research study. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.)
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 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 required at the GS-5 level for positions involving microbiology and biochemistry technician work. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION)
OR
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: Equivalent combinations of specialized experience and successfully completed graduate education as described above to meet the total experience requirements to qualify for this position? (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE AND COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:
Animal HusbandryCustomer ServiceTechnical 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. 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/.