Summary These positions are located in the Department of Research and Development at the VA Portland Health Care System in Portland, OR. The Animal Facility provides essential operational and technical support in a wide variety of animal studies for biomedical programs involving animal subjects. Responsibilities THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION NOTE: This is a TERM appointment (not-to-exceed 1 year). Term appointments are non-status, non-permanent appointments of limited duration. Term employees are eligible to earn leave and generally have the same benefits as permanent employees including health and life insurance, within-grade increases and Federal Employees Retirement System and Thrift Savings Plan coverage. Term appointments may be extended without further competition. Duties will include but may not be limited to the following: Responsible for the day-to-day operation and management of assigned rooms and areas within the animal facilities. Receiving animal subjects, equipment, supplies and services delivered to the Animal Facility. Preparing and maintaining various species of animals, in programs of research, testing, development and training, as substitute models for the study and understanding of human health and disease. Regularly monitors general health of animals. Inspecting animals upon arrival and records receipt and findings in animal logbook. Monitoring environmental conditions in animal rooms. Recognizing deviations from established norms and follows appropriate procedures for reporting and/or correcting any problems. Performing recordkeeping, feeding, watering, bedding, environmental enrichment, animal identification, daily cage and room monitoring, urgent or emergency situations. Performing other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: Work is a mixture of sitting, standing, walking, bending, stooping and lifting. The employee may be required to stand long periods of time and may be required to lift weights of up to 60 pounds for short periods of time. Work is performed in an animal room and/or animal laboratory, operating room, and cage wash area. Work area is adequately lit, heated and ventilated. Protective clothing is worn while on duty and a shower is recommended before changing back to street clothes. An occupational health examination is available upon request every year. Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Required Documents" below for details. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-6 LEVEL YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in the Federal service, that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. 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. ADDITIONAL SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE INCLUDES: setting up initial records for new research animals; weaning and sexing animals in breeding colony; maintaining records for animal care, feeding, treatment, disposal and environmental monitoring; maintaining the laboratory facilities, equipment, and supplies; administering proper medical treatment to protocol specifications; using standard aseptic procedures and safeguards for processing specimens; animal husbandry. (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE.) ~OR~ SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: You must have successfully completed one-half (1/2) year of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree in a field directly related to the work of this position. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) ~OR~~ COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You must possess combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of this position to meet total qualification requirements. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information 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. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. 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 80 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/.
