Veterans Health Administration Logo
Position Title
Animal Scientist
Agency
Veterans Health Administration
Announcement Number
CARX-24-12441815-BSv Opens in new window
Open Period
Monday, June 24, 2024 to Friday, June 28, 2024
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
1. Do you claim Veterans’ Preference? (limit characters)
2. Are you a current or former federal employee displaced from the agency hiring for this position? If yes, confirm:
  • you are located in the same local commuting area of the vacancy; AND,
  • you are applying to a position that is at or below the grade level of the position from which you were or will be separated; AND,
  • your grade is equivalent to or below the grade level of the vacancy; AND, 
  • your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent.

For more information, review the USAJOBS Help Center.

To verify your eligibility, you must submit supporting documentation such as a Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice or a Proposed Removal/Separation notice to include your latest performance rating (if the notice does not have this information included, you must submit a copy of your most recent performance appraisal) and a copy of your latest Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50.
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Preferences
1. Which of the following items describes your current or recent (within the last five years) political appointee service?

If you responded yes to any of the items below, you will need to include a SF-50 specifying your prior service.
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Resume Reminder - Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:
  • Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
  • Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
  • Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
  • Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
  • Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.
Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications. Do not include a photograph or video of yourself, or any sensitive information (age, date of birth, marital status, protected health information, religious affiliation, social security number, etc.) on your resume or cover letter. We will not access web pages or encrypted, and digitally signed documents linked on your resume or cover letter to determine your qualifications.
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Accuracy of Application Reminder:
By submitting your application, you are certifying, to the best of your knowledge and belief, all the information submitted by you with your application for employment is true, complete, and made in good faith, and that you have truthfully and accurately represented your work experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and education (degrees, accomplishments, etc.). The information you provide as part of your application may be investigated. You are also certifying, and acknowledging, that misrepresenting your experience or education, or providing false or fraudulent information in, or with your application, may affect your eligibility for appointment and/or continued employment. False or fraudulent statements may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (18 U.S.C. 1001).
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2. In accordance with VA Notice 22-13: Pre-Employment References Policy, pre-employment reference checks have been incorporated into the selection process. Hiring officials must conduct pre-employment reference checks with a current or previous supervisor prior to HR staff extending a tentative offer.

In the textbox below, please provide the name, telephone number and email address of at least 4 professional references. Two of these references must be a current or previous supervisor. If two supervisory references are not available, provide the name, telephone number and email address of individuals who were in a position to directly observe your work.

Please also indicate in the textbox below if you prefer to be contacted before your current or previous supervisor is contacted, or if you prefer to provide your references upon request.

*Note: Hiring Officials may request alternate/additional references.
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Assessment 1
Thank you for your interest in a position with Department of the Veteran Affairs. We will evaluate your resume and your response to this occupational questionnaire to determine if you are among the best qualified for this position. Your responses are subject to verification. Choose the answers below which best describe your employment and experience. Please review your responses for accuracy before you submit this questionnaire. The following section is used to determine your eligibility for appointment in the federal government or your eligibility (status) for referral consideration. Please select the most appropriate response to the following questions. Applicants are responsible for claiming their appropriate eligibility/eligibilities. (limit characters)
1. I am eligible under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP). To be considered eligible to apply, you must submit the following documents: (1) Your Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a directed geographic relocation outside the local commuting area, certification of expected separation, or other official agency certification or notification indicating that you have been identified as surplus or eligible for discontinued service retirement; (2) Your Notification of Personnel Action(s), SF-50(s), or other official documentation that shows: (a) You are a career or career-conditional competitive service employee, in tenure group 1 or 2, or (b) a current VA employee (for CTAP); and the position you may be or are being separated from (a) Is the same or higher grade as the job announced; and(b) has the same or higher promotion potential than the job announced; and (c) is in the same local commuting area as the job announced; And (3) Your most recent performance rating of record (which must be rated at least fully successful or equivalent). NOTE: Failure to submit all of the documents will result in applicants not being eligible under this authority.
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The following section is used to determine your job-related experience and/or education. Your education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the work. Please select the most appropriate response to the following questions. Select only one response. Do not overstate or understate your level of experience and demonstrated capability. You should be aware that your selections are subject to evaluation and verification based on the resume and other relevant documents you submit. Later steps in the selection process are specifically designed to verify your stated level of experience and demonstrated capability. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you or for dismissing you from the position following acceptance. (limit characters)
Specialized Experience, Education or Combination: This section includes questions about the Specialized Experience, education or combination for this vacancy. Carefully read the following descriptions below, select ONE statement below that best describes how your experience meets the Specialized Experience for a  Animal Scientist, GS-0487-11.

Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, Specialized Experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Read all responses before making your selection. Failure to provide the required information will render your application ineligible for consideration. If using education to qualify, you MUST submit an official or unofficial transcript. From the responses below, select ONE response that best describes how you met the basic requirements for this position.

Note: Experience/Education MUST be substantiated in your resume and transcripts. Failure to provide the required information will render your application ineligible for consideration.
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2. The Individual Occupational Requirement required for the Animal Science 0487 Occupational Series is as follows:

Basic Requirements
  • Degree: 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.
OR
  • 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 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Most universities offering appropriate programs confer degrees in "animal science" rather than in "animal husbandry," although some universities still confer degrees in "animal husbandry." Therefore, reference to course work in respective animal, dairy, or poultry husbandry, where applicable, may be considered synonymous with corresponding course work in animal, dairy, or poultry science.

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.

Evaluation of Education: 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.

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.

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. Course work in dairy science includes those subjects dealing with the specific kinds and classes of dairy animals; their nutrition and management; the utilization of their products; and courses dealing with the establishment of lineages, various phases of a dairy operation, milk quality, etc.

Course work in poultry science includes those subjects dealing with the kinds and classes of poultry; their breeding and development; the establishment of specific strains; their nutrition and management; the utilization of their products; and courses dealing with specific areas peculiar to poultry science, such as genetic or environmental factors, or rearrangement of cycles.

Do you possess the Individual Occupational Requirement for this position?
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3. From the descriptions below, please select the response that best reflects your level of experience that qualifies you for the Animal Scientist at the GS-11
grade level.
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The following is a Certification of Understanding. RESPONSE TO THIS STATEMENT IS MANDATORY. Please note, if you do not answer this question, it will result in not being considered for this position. (limit characters)
4. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, all of the information included in this questionnaire is true, correct, and provided in good faith. I understand that if I make an intentional false statement, or commit deception or fraud in this application and its supporting materials, or in any document or interview associated with the examination process, I may be fined or imprisoned (18 U.S.C. 1001); my eligibilities may be cancelled; I may be denied an appointment; or I may be removed and debarred from Federal service (5 C.F.R. part 731). I understand that any information I give may be investigated and that responding "No" or providing no response to this item will result in my not being considered for this position.
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