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Biological Science Information Specialist

Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Marketing and Regulatory Programs
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located within the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS), Strategy & Policy (S&P), Center for Informatics unit. Strategy and Policy is dedicated to safeguarding the health of all animal species critical to animal agriculture, facilitating trade in animals and animal products and strengthening animal health infrastructures both nationally and internationally through surveillance, monitoring, risk analysis, spatial epidemiology, and modeling.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
09/12/2025 to 09/18/2025
Salary
$88,621 to - $155,164 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Locations
6 vacancies in the following locations:
Montgomery, AL
Little Rock, AR
Fort Collins, CO
Ames, IA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
DH-12798099-25-VS
Control number
845589100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

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  • The duties described are for the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity. The duties may include, but are not limited to:
  • Analyzes a variety of data sources to provide data-driven insights to the organization to streamline Federal program evaluation and oversight, including efforts to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
  • Derives meaning from big data including structured, loosely structured, and unstructured data.
  • Provides professional leadership in developing policies, standards, and operating procedures pertaining to data collection and analyses.
  • Develops data products such as dashboards, reports, and visualizations using Tableau and other data visualization platforms such as Microsoft Power Business Intelligence.
  • Plans, develops, implements, and manages data and information requirements for emerging issues, emergency response, and national and international animal health and genetics related information.
  • Translates complex concepts, findings, and limitations into concise, plain language and presents results of data analyses to non-technical audiences.
  • Provides advice and guidance to team members on project decisions and recommendations.
  • Directs internal process or system reviews, studies, projects, and data validation efforts, which provide a means to evaluate system performance and vulnerabilities.
  • Advises Federal and contractor staff on implementing, managing, tracking and evaluating large scale and extremely complex data projects and their associated requirements and risks.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Individuals who were born male after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/
  • All USDA employees are required to be enrolled in Continuous Vetting, which authorizes government agencies to receive notifications of criminal activity on individuals who hold low risk, public trust, or national security positions.

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: 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, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 grade level) that demonstrates:
- Creating automation tools using scripting tools such as Python, JavaScript, VBScript, or other object oriented scripting language.
- Designing, developing and programming data visualizations in tools such as Tableau, Power BI, other dashboards, or web data tables, to report and present data trends or statistical data.
- Participated in developing quantitative and qualitative design approaches to effectively perform evaluations or other data analytics and communicating results to both technical and nontechnical audiences.

Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level.

FOR THE GS-13 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates:

- Creating automation tools using scripting tools such as Python, JavaScript, VBScript, or other object oriented scripting language and/or statistical software such as SAS, R, or other statistical software.
- Designing, developing and programming data visualizations in tools such as Tableau, Power BI, other dashboards, or web data tables, to report and present program results, data trends, risk analyses, or statistical data.
- Developing quantitative and qualitative design approaches to effectively perform evaluations or other data analytics and communicating results to both technical and nontechnical audiences.

Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level.

TRANSCRIPTS are required:

  • This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified.
  • This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university.

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.

Additional 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 well qualified, which means having knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or competencies that exceed the minimum qualification requirements for this position. CTAP/ICTAP applicants may be required to take a manual assessment and 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.
  • Locality pay will vary based upon the selectee's duty location. A final salary determination will be made upon selection.
  • Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This is a Direct-Hire Authority position, all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any specialized experience and/or selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. CTAP/ICTAP applicants may be required to take a manual assessment and must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100 to receive selection priority. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, your application is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements. A rating will not be used; veteran's preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position.
Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, 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.

To preview the application questionnaire, please visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12798099

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