Duties

Summary

This Direct-Hire position is in the Food and Drug Administration, with multiple locations throughout the U.S. and its territories.See the sections below for more details on the duties & qualifications for this position.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• This position is located in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM).
• As a Chemist, you will perform duties that are commensurate with your grade level. The duties will be within the scope of the following:
• You will apply chemistry knowledge and experience to the assessment of regulated products to assure their safety and effectiveness.
• You will evaluate data and information from a variety of sources to determine the safety and effectiveness of regulated products as well as anticipate ancillary problems and suggests appropriate courses of action.
• You will collaborate with and advise others on chemistry issues related to regulated products, laws, regulations, and policies.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Citizenship Requirement: You must be a U.S. Citizen to be considered for this advertisement unless explicitly stated otherwise.
• Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically deposited into a bank account with a financial institution of your choice.
• Background Investigation Requirement: All employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal or legal action. If hired, you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time.
• FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information will be processed through e-Verify to determine your employment eligibility. If a discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.
• Certification of Accuracy: All information concerning eligibility and qualification is subject to investigation and verification. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection, or appropriate legal action.
• This position may be subject to completion of a 1-year probationary period (unless you have already satisfied this obligation).
• If you were born male, after, December 31st 1959, you must be registered with the Selective Service System, or have an approved exemption. Learn more at www.SSS.gov.
• 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. Your application may be shown to multiple hiring offices.
• You may be asked to provide additional information at a later time. All interview requests and selection decisions are at the full discretion of the hiring office.
• Telework is at the discretion of the supervisor.
• Financial Disclosure is required for GS-13 only.

Qualifications

The position of Chemist falls under the 1320 occupational series. To qualify for this position at grade GS-11/12/13, you must meet the following:

Basic Requirements: Possess a degree in physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics. OR possess a combination of education and experience -- Courses equivalent to a major as shown above, including at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics, plus appropriate experience or additional education (must submit transcript).

NOTE: Applicants must submit all relevant transcripts that demonstrate you possess the required education to meet the Basic Qualifications.

Specialized Experience. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.

Minimum Qualification Requirements for GS-11: Possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Experience includes applying knowledge of the principles and practices of chemistry-related methods and study designs to the review and analysis of scientific animal study data OR possess 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR possess a combination of education and experience. If qualifying based on experience, this experience must be reflected in your resume. Volunteer experience can be used as qualifying experience.

Minimum Qualification Requirements for GS-12: Possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service. Experience includes applying knowledge of the principles and practices of chemistry-related methods and study designs to the review and analysis of scientific animal study data; and providing analytical interpretations, conclusions, or recommendations on regulatory and compliance issues in the chemistry field related to regulated animal products.

Minimum Qualification Requirements for GS-13: Possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service. Experience includes applying knowledge of the principles and practices of chemistry-related methods and study designs to the review and analysis of scientific animal study data; and providing analytical interpretations, conclusions, or recommendations on regulatory and compliance issues in the chemistry field related to regulated animal products; and providing chemistry-related expertise in support of the development of guidance and policy documents related to regulated animal products.

All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 09/16/2020. 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. You must continue to meet all requirements through the hiring process.

You may be asked to provide additional information at a later time. All interview requests and selection decisions are at the full discretion of the hiring office.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date . To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login , select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

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.

Education

If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. If you are using education completed in 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. For further information, click on foreign education .

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 only receive consideration and credit for the information we can access.

See the Application Manager Documentation for tips on submitting your paper-based documents.

Additional information

Additional Conditions of Employment:

• Pre-employment physical required: No
• Drug testing required: No
• License required: No
• Mobility agreement required: No
• Immunization required: No
• Bargaining Unit Position: Yes
Telework eligible position: Telework is at the discretion of the supervisor.
• Financial disclosure statement, OGE-450, required for GS-13 only: Please be advised that this position may be subject to FDA's prohibited financial interest regulation and may require the incumbent of this position to divest of certain financial interests. Applicants are advised to seek additional information on this requirement from the hiring official before accepting this position.

Additional Information:

• Additional selections may be made for similar positions across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) of the location identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) at HHS. Clearance of CTAP/ICTAP will be applied for similar positions across HHS.
• If you are serving, or have served in the last 5 years (from 09/16/2020) as an Executive Branch political, Schedule C, or Non-career SES appointee, HHS/FDA may be required to obtain approval by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) prior to beginning employment. You can find out if you have held one of these appointment types by looking at your Standard Form 50s in your Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF), in Section 5 where the legal authorities are listed. If you have served or are currently serving, you must provide a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, documenting this appointment. In addition, you will be required to respond to the question in the assessment and certify your responses to the questionnaire. See Political Appointee FAQ - OPM for more..
• Reasonable Accommodation: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact the Bethesda Center Help Desk (888) 478-4340; TTY/TDD: (866) 539-4484; or by email quickquestions@fda.hhs.gov . The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. See the Reasonable Accommodation Policy for more information...
• Equal Employment Opportunity: The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor See the EEO Policy for more information...

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This is a direct hire announcement. Traditional rating and ranking of applications, and veterans' preference does not apply to this vacancy. We will evaluate you against the basic qualifications. Qualified applicants will be referred for consideration in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management direct hire guidelines. Note: Volunteer experience can also be used as qualifying experience.

Once the job opportunity announcement closes (at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 09/16/2020), a review of your résumé 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.

If you are referred to the hiring manager for consideration, you may be further evaluated based on an interview; review of requested work samples, writing samples, most recent performance evaluation(s), or professional references; or results of an oral presentation or work-related test. Failure to comply with any of the additional assessment requirements will result in removal from further consideration. These assessment methods/tools may also be listed under Key Requirements.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process

Required Documents

• Resume
• Transcript

A document that is required must be submitted by all applicants because the document is needed to verify your qualifications, education, or other eligibility information. Failure to provide one of the documents in the list below may result in your application being considered incomplete.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other supporting documentation not listed above
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

These documents may be required for some applicants . Applicants relying on education to qualify, those seeking consideration under a special hiring authority, or those who need to verify a license or certification, will need to submit appropriate supporting documentation from this list. RESUME REQUIREMENTS:
The federal government has very specific resume requirements. If you have not written a federal resume before, you should 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.
At a minimum your resume should list the position title, employer, start and end dates (including month and year), salary (or grade and step), hours worked per week, and a list of duties performed or accomplishments, for EACH position listed. A CV (curriculum vitae) may not contain enough information to meet these resume requirements.

Learn more about supporting documents and documentation requirements on USAJOBS:

• How to Understand the Required Documents Section
• What Types of Documents May I Need?
• How to Manage Your Documents on USAJOBS

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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.