Videos

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

The Supervisory Animal Scientist requires an expert candidate who has mastered capabilities, experience and knowledge in animal care policies and research animal safety guidelines to provide specialized guidance to research investigators for animal model selections and experimental methodology. Major duties and responsibilities include but not limited to:

Supervisory

• Setting work schedules and agendas and supervising staff to ensure that all matters of animal program administration are addressed
• Planning work to be accomplished by subordinates, setting and adjusting short term priorities, preparing schedules for completion of work, assigning work to subordinates based on priorities, the difficulty of the work to be performed and the capabilities of employees and developing performance standards for subordinates
• Advising, counseling and/or instructing all subordinates on both work and administration matters

Program Management

• Setting the overall objectives and resource allocations to support all research activities within the Research Animal safety and care programs
• Developing and analyzing animal care and use program priorities and objectives and providing the ACOS/R&D with evaluations and recommendations for review and concurrence
• Overseeing all Research Animal safety and care matters for the entire Research Service
• Communicating with a wide range of research personnel to gather information regarding any noncompliance complaints, providing recommendations to resolve conflicts and coordinating or communicating with multiple services within the medical facility and within the ORD

IACUC, SRS, IBC Program Administration

• Acts as a subject matter expert and consultant to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
• Maintaining/revising the standard operating procedures for the Animal Care and Use Program and Animal Facility standard operating procedures and emergency plans
• Reviewing all animal use protocols and considers the number of animals to be used and strive to use the smallest number of animals in order to evaluate the research hypothesis
• Working closely with the facility Research Safety and Chemical Hygiene Officer to ensure all research personnel are working in a safe environment

Quality and Compliance

• Serving a critical support role in developing and coordinating internal review systems to assure that animal welfare, scientific, and administrative activities are in compliance with agency and accrediting and regulatory requirements
• Maintaining facility accreditations/approvals by submitting annual reports to AAALAC, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), Chief Veterinary Medical Officer (CVMO) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Responding to Facility administration, VISN officials, Office of Research and Development personnel or congressional members to complete special projects and/or requested data
• Serving the Principal Investigators on several protocols including health monitoring procedures, training procedures and holding protocols
• Reviewing and determining if repairs vs. replacement are indicated and determines if new equipment is needed to improve efficiency or meet requirements or guidelines

Work Schedule: Monday to Friday; 08:00 a.m. to 04:30 p.m.
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

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
• 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)

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 period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: The following are basic requirements for appointment as a Supervisory Animal Scientist in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which all applicants must meet.

• Basic Education: Degree - bachelor's (or higher) degree in animal science, dairy science, poultry science; or a related discipline or field of animal science that included at least 30 semester hours in the basic biological and agricultural sciences, and 20 semester hours in animal science. For animal scientist positions, at least 10 of the required 20 semester hours in animal science must have been in courses dealing with the breeding, feeding, production, and management of livestock, and the care and preparation of their products. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: Education must have been obtained at an accredited college or university. If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.)

• Basic Combination of Education and Experience: Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in the basic biological and agricultural sciences, including a minimum of 20 semester hours in appropriate animal science subjects, as described in "Basic Education" above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. For animal scientist positions, at least 10 of the required 20 semester hours in animal science must have been in courses dealing with the breeding, feeding, production, and management of livestock, and the care and preparation of their products. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT AND/OR CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Education must have been obtained at an accredited college or university. If you do not submit the required document, your application may not be reviewed.)

Note Regarding Evaluation of Education: (a) Course work in such subjects as agronomy, animal, dairy, or poultry science, biology, botany, zoology, microbiology, physiology, genetics, and biochemistry may be used to meet the general 30-semester-hour requirement in the basic biological and agricultural sciences; (b) Course work in such subjects as zoology, embryology, animal breeding or genetics, physiology, biochemistry, and any phase of animal, dairy, or poultry science may be used to meet the 20-semester-hour requirement in animal science; (c) Course work in animal science includes those subjects dealing with the specific kinds and classes of livestock, e.g., cattle, swine, sheep, or fur bearers, their breeding and development, nutrition, management, and utilization; and the qualities and uses of their products, e.g., meat, wool, or leather.

Note Regarding Graduate Education: To be qualifying, graduate study must have been in animal, dairy, or poultry science; or in a specialized subject-matter area of science directly related to these sciences, such as feeds and feeding or nutrition, breeding, and development, physiology, or genetics, where the curriculum or pattern of training placed major emphasis on one of the recognized specialized subject-matter areas of animal, dairy, or poultry science. Graduate study in related disciplines or fields of science, such as agronomy, microbiology, biochemistry, biophysics, and dairy, food, or fiber technology (if it dealt with pertinent products or their production) may also be qualifying, provided the graduate work placed a sufficient amount of emphasis on one of the recognized fields or subject-matter areas of animal, dairy, or poultry science.

~AND~

Minimum Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements one of the following minimum requirement criteria must be met to be qualified for this position.

• Specialized Experience (GS-13): You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you 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 position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (i.e., GS-12) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: Supervising/Leading as an Animal Scientist for an Animal Care and Research Safety Program; performing animal husbandry for multiple species, veterinary nursing, veterinary surgical procedures and assistance, veterinary anesthesia, regulatory oversight, and budget analysis; interfacing with federal and state regulatory agencies, and demonstrating success with required certification reviews and procedures; preparing required annual reports for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), National Institutes for Health (NIH), and Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC); and resolving regulatory/compliance issues identified by the above-noted oversight agencies. (CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Your resume must show complete information for each job entry, such as beginning and ending dates of employment, duties performed, and/or total hours worked per week.)

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Animal Husbandry
• Communications
• Compliance
• Critical Thinking

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: The duties performed require both regular and recurring walking, bending and carrying of moderately heavy equipment (<50 pounds). The incumbent must be able to assist other research staff with the unloading of heavy feed and bedding bags and the pushing/pulling of very heavy stainless mobile caging units. The incumbent must be able to take over all duties of subordinates in the event of absence or need.

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/.

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.