What are the responsibilities and job description for the Biological Science Laboratory Technician position at Agricultural Research Service?
Summary
This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research Unit in Logan, UT.
In this position, you will actively participate in one or more phases of the research process by performing a variety of technical duties in a laboratory, field, farm or greenhouse environment.
This job is open to
- The public
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
Clarification from the agency
US Citizens and Nationals; no prior Federal experience is required.
Videos
Duties
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
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.
GS-07
Specialized Experience : Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are : Qualifying experience for GS-07 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-06 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience participating in a research project; collecting, identifying or preparing biological samples (i.e. insects, birds, plants), and maintaining specialized equipment used for test and evaluation procedures.
Education : Successful completion of one full year of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include : Biology, Microbiology, Entomology, Environmental Science, Botany, Ecology or Horticulture.
A combination of graduate level education and experience as described above.
GS-08
Specialized Experience : Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are : Qualifying experience for GS-08 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-07 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience participating in one or more phases of a research process; collecting, identifying or preparing insect samples; and operating, maintaining or calibrating specialized equipment.
Education : Successful completion of two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include : Biology, Microbiology, Entomology, Environmental Science, Botany, Ecology or Horticulture.
A combination of graduate level education and experience as described above.
GS-09
Specialized Experience : Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are : Qualifying experience for GS-09 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-08 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is participating in all phases of a research process; collecting, identifying or preparing insect samples related to bees; management, propagation, and / or research of solitary bee species, statistically analyzing, summarizing or tabulating data and operating, maintaining, calibrating or synchronizing a variety of highly specialized complex equipment.
Education : Successful completion of two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include : Biology, Microbiology, Entomology, Environmental Science, Botany, Ecology or Horticulture.
A combination of graduate level education and experience as described 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; 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
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.
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.
Applications will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Examining Procedures and USDA policy using category rating. Applicants who meet basic minimum qualifications will be placed in one of three categories : Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Category placement will be determined based on applicants' quality of experience and the extent they possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) or competencies :
Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Those determined to be in the best qualified category will be referred to the selecting official for consideration.
You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. Eligible applicants will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and / or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Applicants with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.
Note : If, after reviewing your resume and / or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or 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.
Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.
To view the application form, visit : https : / / apply.usastaffing.gov / ViewQuestionnaire / 12665479
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.
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.
As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes : 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) other qualifications.
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11 : 59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8 : 00a.m. - 4 : 00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE : Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded resumes must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats : GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
Agency contact information
Frances Ozyurt
Phone
703-259-9383
frances.ozyurt@usda.gov
Address
Agricultural Research Service
800 Buchanan Street
Albany, CA 94710
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer. An applicant may submit a complaint or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance. To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to lynda.smith@usda.gov subject line : Fair Chance Act.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Criminal history inquiries
Required Documents
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11 : 59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8 : 00a.m. - 4 : 00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE : Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded resumes must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats : GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
Agency contact information
Frances Ozyurt
Phone
703-259-9383
frances.ozyurt@usda.gov
Address
Agricultural Research Service
800 Buchanan Street
Albany, CA 94710
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer. An applicant may submit a complaint or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance. To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to lynda.smith@usda.gov subject line : Fair Chance Act.
Fair & Transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
