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LOCATION: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Commissioner (OC), National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR), Office of Scientific Coordination in Jefferson, Arkansas.
Additional selections may be made from this vacancy, within the same geographical area, by other organizational elements from within FDA, through shared corporate recruiting activities.
04/07/2020 to 04/20/2020
$43,251 - $56,222 per year
The salary listed in the vacancy announcement includes the geographical locality pay.
GS 7
1 vacancy in the following location:
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Not required
No
Recent Graduates
Full-Time
Excepted
9
No
No
FDA-OC-20-RG-10781230-WW
563965400
Recent graduates who have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution; veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree, due to military service obligation, have as much as six years after degree completion to apply.
Individual Occupational Requirement for the Biologist, GS-401-7 positions
A. Bachelor's or higher degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. -OR-
B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
For GS-7:
A. Applicants must have at least one full year of specialized experience, equivalent to at least the GS-05 level in the Federal service which includes collecting and testing specimens in a laboratory setting; and analyzing scientific samples using various laboratory instruments and computer systems. -OR-
B. Completion of one year of graduate level education related to the position being filled from an accredited college and/or university.-OR-
C. A bachelor's degree as described in the Basic Qualification Requirements above AND meet Superior Academic Achievement provision (S.A.A.) criteria (visit the site for more detail information). S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. -OR-
D. Have a combination of experience as described in "A" above and education as described in "B" above, that when combined equals 100% of the total requirements.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume.
We may make additional selections for similar positions across the entire Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) identified in this vacancy announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with any interested selecting official(s) at HHS. There is no option to opt-out as your information will not be shared with other hiring agencies outside of HHS.
EDUCATION STATEMENT - Individual Occupational Requirement: This position has an education requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcripts (or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed and grades) to document that you have met the education requirement. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package; however, official transcripts will be required prior to beginning employment. Most colleges and universities offer unofficial transcripts online - please check your school website to obtain a copy quickly.
Foreign Education: If you are using education completed at foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program. If you have transferred educational credit from a foreign institution to one in the U.S., you must still show that your foreign education was evaluated by an organization recognized by the Department of Education, even if that foreign education was accepted as transfer credit by a domestic college or university. For more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website for Foreign Education Evaluation.
SUBMITTING YOUR TRANSCRIPTS: Positions which are scientific or technical in nature often have very specific educational requirements. A transcript is required to verify educational achievement. Pay careful attention to the Qualifications and Education sections to identify vacancies where a transcript is required. Even if you hold a similar position or are a current employee, you are not exempt from transcript requirements.
Electronic Transcript Caution: If you have obtained your transcripts electronically, the file might contain security measures that could prevent our application system from reading the file. Therefore, you should consider asking the institution to provide the file in a non-secured electronic format. Alternatively, you could scan or take a photo of the printed copy of the transcript. If your uploaded transcript cannot be read by our system, you may receive consideration and credit for the information we can access.
See the Application Manager Documentation for tips on submitting your paper-based documents.
More information on the Pathways Programs for Recent Graduates can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/students-recent-graduates/
The Pathways Recent Graduates may be non-competitively converted to a term, career-conditional, or career appointment following successful completion of at least one year of continuous service, demonstrated successful job performance, and after meeting all other qualification requirements in accordance with 5 CFR 362.305. To be eligible for conversion to a permanent or term position, Recent Graduates must:
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Once the job opportunity announcement closes (at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 04/20/2020), a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted, the information will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your eligibility for Federal employment, and then whether you are qualified for this particular position.
If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your responses when compared to your background information, you may be deemed ineligible, or your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your skills and abilities.
Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
About Category Rating (DEU) Procedures (Basis for Rating):
These documents will be required for ALL applicants:
If you need instructions or assistance with submitting documentation, please see the Applicant Help Site - Documents page.
These documents may be required for some applicants except the documents listed above under the "Required Documents:
Documents in this list are being accepted from all applicants, but may be required for some. If you are unsure what documents might apply to you, please review the USAJOBS FAQ article: "What types of documents might I need to provide?" or contact the FDA Applicant Help Desk.
TRANSCRIPTS: Transcripts MUST reflect the degree/certificate program and the degree conferred date (Official transcript is required upon selection). Positions which are scientific or technical in nature often have very specific educational requirements. A transcript is required to verify educational achievement. Pay careful attention to the Qualifications and Education sections to identify vacancies where a transcript is required. Even if you hold a similar position or are a current employee, you are not exempt from transcript requirements.
RESUME REQUIREMENTS: The federal government has very specific resume requirements. If you have not written a federal resume before, you may want to watch this Resume Writing Tutorial video on the USAJOBS YouTube channel, or read through a helpful Resume Writing FAQ on the USAJOBS Help Site to learn what details you should, and should not, include in your resume. A CV (curriculum vitae) may not contain enough information to meet these resume requirements.
DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS WHEN CLAIMING VETERANS PREFERENCE: Must submit a copy of your DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from the armed forces that has the dates of service and discharge status.
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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
To apply for positions with the Food & Drug Administration, you must have a USAJOBS Login.GOV account and be signed in to that account before you click the "Apply Online" button. See the USAJOBS Help Article "How does the application process work?" for more on this process.
Additionally, you must provide a resume and any required supporting documentation listed on the announcement, and you must complete all assessment questionnaires BEFORE 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement, 04/20/2020. We recommend that you start the application process early enough that you can complete and submit your application before this deadline.
Please note that you cannot submit documentation or make changes to your application after the deadline, and in most cases, only experience and education obtained by this date will be considered.
If you would like to learn how to use USAJOBS including: accessing and managing your account, adding saved documents, building a resume, or starting an application; we recommend you visit the USAJOBS How To site, and read up on any topic that you need help with. This site is located at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/. Additionally, if you need technical assistance with USAJOBS (such as account issues) please visit the main USAJOBS Help site at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/. FDA's Applicant Help Desk is not able to support USAJOBS-related issues.
The Food & Drug Administration uses a system called Application Manager (USA Staffing) to post jobs and accept applications. If you are not familiar with Application Manager or you encounter any difficulty with the site, we recommend that you visit the Applicant HELP Site at: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Applicant. This help site contains step-by-step instructions for completing the application process, submitting documentation, and completing questionnaires, and should be very helpful to you!
You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. The FDA will provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities who are not able to apply online. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please contact the Applicant Help Desk. Decisions on granting a reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
If after reviewing the USAJOBS and Application Manager help sites, you're not able to find the answer to your question or concern, or if you wish to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact the FDA Applicant Help Desk at 888-478-4340, or e-mail QuickQuestions@fda.gov. The Applicant Help Desk is staffed between the hours of 7am and 6pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except for government holidays. If you contact the Applicant Help Desk, please provide the following Vacancy Identification Number (VIN) 10781230 so that we may assist you faster.
Once your application is submitted, you will receive an email notice confirming that your submission was successful. You will receive additional application status updates by email and through USAJOBS as the process unfolds.
How to check your application status and understand what each status means.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/563965400. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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The Recent Graduate Program is a new program that provides employment opportunities for recent graduates and individuals who obtained certificates from qualified educational institutions or programs. The program enables individuals to explore Federal civil service employment at the beginning of their careers; and engages them at the onset of their work lives, before their career path are fully established. The program duration is one year. Upon successful completion of the program and at the agency's discretion, the appointee may be converted to a term or permanent position in the competitive service.
