Animal Health Technician

Summary
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.
This job is open to

• The public
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Videos
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
Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• 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
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 Husbandry
• Attention to Detail
• Technical 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).
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities), and/or disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (202) 020-2020.
The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

• Benefits
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  Review our benefits
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).
Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Application of Veterans' Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

• Benefits
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  Review our benefits
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
• Required Documents
  As a new or existing federal employee, yo...