Supervisory Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal)

Supervisory Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Boston, Massachusetts

Salary Range: $83742 - $108859 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located in the Veterinary Medical Unit (VMU) of the Research and Development Service at VA Boston Health Care System in Boston, MA. The Supervisory Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal) serves as a VMU Supervisor, overseeing the operations of VA Boston animal facilities at two locations (Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury).

Major Duties:

• ***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 Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal) is completely responsible for the management of the (VMU). Major duties and responsibilities include but not limited to: Overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Veterinary Medical Unit and special areas within the centralized facility such as experimental surgery, necropsy, cage washing, waste disposal, and diet preparation areas Controlling the animal population level by setting limitations, approving new animal purchases, and working with investigators to ensure population levels are consistent with the facility's ability to provide proper care Ensuring that the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) standards are maintained and that animal population is treated humanely under guidelines Serving as a permanent consultant to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and keeping them informed on the condition of the facility and research involving animals Overseeing ongoing major construction and maintenance projects occurring in the VMU that can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to complete Administering policies established by the IACUC and SRSS, as well as local and national policies relevant to animal care in a research setting Providing technical consultation to investigators, including facility resources, appropriate animal models, sources of supplies, animals, and equipment, and techniques for animal handling and procedures Assisting with training programs for investigators and technicians who use animal subjects Overseeing the administrative duties concerned with the budget, property, personnel management, and other healthcare facility services in matters of Veterinary Medical Unit operation and management Keeping abreast with up-to-date knowledge and maintains a file of products and sources of medications, instruments, hardware, equipment, and all supplies commonly used in the VMU Originating reports annually regarding facility operations to USDA-APHIS, Department of Human Health Services (DHHS), and AAALAC, Int., Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), and Chief, VMO in VACO Monitoring the cost of animal care, recommending rate adjustments when needed. Handles personnel management and cost analysis, budgetary and bookkeeping matters about the VMU Supervising the VMU facility staff including all aspects such as day-to-day operations and procedures, scheduling assignments, performance evaluation, counseling, instructions, training, etc. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday; 08:00 a.m. to 04:30 p.m. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Qualifications: Minimum Requirement: The following are minimum requirements for appointment as a Supervisory Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which all applicants must met. Specialized Experience (GS-11): 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 GS-09 level in the Federal service. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: research activity or control program work; nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment; work comparable to that with a large dairy farm where production records, animal environment, and sanitary conditions were kept in accordance with modern dairy practice. In addition, to qualify at this GS-11 level, applicants must also have experience performing duties in a laboratory setting utilizing knowledge of animal physiology, anatomy, restraint, and handling. NOTE: Farming experience that was not performed in a controlled environment, or experience as a laborer who was not responsible for planning and scheduling his/her own work, but only performed assigned tasks, would not qualify as specialized experience. (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.) OR Education (GS-11): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education, in a course of study that directly reflects the job-related KSAs/competencies necessary to satisfy the minimum qualifications and perform the duties of the position, i.e., Supervisory Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal). NOTE: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) OR, Combination (GS-11): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level (i.e., 36 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-11. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Administration and Management Analytical Thinking Database Management Systems 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: Moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 lbs); As needed - Straight pulling, pushing, walking, standing, repeated bending, reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required; both legs required; ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; emotional stability; ability to see and distinguish depth perception, basic colors, and shades of colors; hearing (aid permitted). Some of the work may need to be performed under hoods. In addition, the ability to deal with constant noise, work around machinery with moving parts, work closely with others or alone and work protracted or irregular hours. 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 to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 12/19/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12851980. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. If initial application submission is updated and resubmitted with a new resume, only the most current resume will be reviewed for consideration. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities), and/or disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (202) 020-2020. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Application Deadline: 2025-12-19