Veterinary Medical Officer

Summary

The facility is the central coordinating point for active research projects sponsored by the VA National Institutes of Health, federal agencies, pharmaceutical companies and private or nonprofit research foundations. The complex, dynamic nature of VA research, its sensitive data, and that several agencies have oversight regarding research activities require the services of a Veterinary Medical Officer to provide medical support to the Animal Research Facility and the Veterinary Medical Unit.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

04/16/2024 to 05/03/2024

• Salary

$122,198 - $158,860 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 14

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Augusta, GA

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent -

• Work schedule

Part-time

• 20 Hours

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

None

• Job family (Series)

0701 Veterinary Medical Science

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CARX-12385388-24-KSm-DH

• Control number

786993000

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This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.

• The public

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

Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

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Duties

This is a bargaining unit position.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards

Work Schedule: Part-time 20 hours per week

Telework: Available: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Position Description/PD#: Veterinary Medical Officer/PD108830

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Physical Demands: The work involves some physical exertion to inspect or investigate conditions, products, and facilities of small animal populations. It may involve walking, stooping, bending, lifting, and climbing, but also in handling, sampling, and the treatment and inspection of animal facilities.

Major Duties:

• Provide medical and surgical care for rodent animal research facility integrated with medical research, education, research support and services in lab animal medicine, science, and technology.

• Provide professional and technical support to the development and conduct of multidisciplinary investigations requiring use of lab animals.

• Serve as Veterinary behaviorist advisor and consultant to stakeholders.

• Plans, designs, initiates, conducts, analyzes, and reports on variety of clinical veterinary topics.

• Perform animal immobilization and lab diagnostics techniques, imaging, surgery and other clinical procedures related to specialty/expertise.

• Organize and direct comprehensive training and education of medical and allied health personnel in the area of clinical laboratory veterinary medicine and research.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.

• Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.

• Selectees may be required to serve a probationary period.

• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.

• A complete application package, i.e., Resume, Transcripts, etc., as required by job announcement.

• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

• Participation in the Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program for VHA Health Care Personnel (HCP) is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs HCP.

• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.

• Pre-employment physical examination/evaluation may be required.

• 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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/03/2024.

You may qualify based on your education and experience as described below.

A transcript must be submitted with your application.

Individual Occupational Requirements:

Possess the Basic Requirements of the Individual Occupational Requirements for the 0701 Veterinary Medical Science Series as outlined below:

• Basic requirements: Degree

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree, i.e., Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD), obtained at a school or college of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA). The AVMA web site, http://www.avma.org(external link), has a listing of all AVMA-accredited veterinary medical schools.

or

• Graduates of foreign veterinary medical schools that are not accredited by the AVMA Council on Education (Refer to AVMA web site, http://www.avma.org(external link)for information about schools in this category) must meet one of the following requirements.

• Proof of certification of their final transcript by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG).

• Possession of a permanent, full, and unrestricted license to practice veterinary medicine in a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States that includes successful completion of the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) or its predecessors, the National Board Examination (NBE) and the Clinical Competency Test (CCT).

• Proof that the education obtained in a foreign veterinary medical program is equivalent to that gained in a veterinary medical program that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. Under this provision, equivalency is established only if an AVMA-accredited veterinary medical school or college accepts the graduate's final transcript from the foreign veterinary medical school at full value for placement into an advanced degree, postgraduate educational program, or training program (e.g. residency or graduate program).

• Graduates of foreign veterinary medical programs must also provide proof of proficiency in the English language by successfully completing one of the nationally and internationally recognized examinations that incorporate assessments of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Examples of examinations that assess mastery of the English language are shown below:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Minimum scores for the TOEFL are 560 for the paper-based version; 220 for the computer-based version; or overall score of 83 for the internet-based version (including 26 or higher in speaking, 26 or higher in listening, and 17 or higher in writing). For the computer-based and paper-based test versions, applicants must also complete the Test of Spoken English (TSE) and the Test of Written English (TWE). Minimum required scores are 55 for the TSE and 5.5 for the TWE;

• Academic tests (listening, writing, and speaking) offered by the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 7.0, with at least 7.0 in speaking, 6.5 in listening, and 6.0 in writing;

or

• Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL). Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 70, with at least 60 in speaking, 60 in listening, and 50 in writing.

Basic requirements to qualify for the GS-14: Possess the following Experience as outlined in the Basic Requirements for the 0701 Veterinary Medical Science Series: Scientific presentations before professional groups; publication of medical reports in professional journals or publications; participation in seminars, advisory/working groups, and research groups; mastery of clinical medicine; or other related activities that contribute to the advancement of veterinary medical science are positive indicators of the quality of an applicant's experience.

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as overseeing a large animal research facility with an active and varied program for medical research, education, research support and services in laboratory medicine, science, and technology; providing medical and surgical care for a large number of animal subjects required for the multidisciplinary program of medical research and education; serving as a veterinary advisor and consultant to key officials and scientific leaders with the research and clinical institution; planning, designing initiation, conducting, analyzing, and reporting on research regarding clinical veterinary medicine.

Board Certification: Applicants mustpossess Board Certification by a specialty board recognized by the American Board of Veterinary Specialties (ABVS) of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Pathology

• Research

• Education and Training

• Stakeholder Management

• Organizational Performance Analysis

Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.

To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp.

Education

PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. 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.

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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

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.

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• Benefits

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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 window

Learn more about federal benefits.

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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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.