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Animal Keeper

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Front Royal, Virginia
Closing date
May 8, 2021
Duties

Summary

This position is located in Smithsonian Institution, National Zoological Park. The purpose of this position would be to perform a variety of duties that ensure the proper preparation, procurement, and distribution of diets for all animals in the NZP collection.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

  • Receives work assignments and training to prepare for participation in the creation of an overall environment for collection animals, which ensures the health and welfare of the specimens and provides an enriching and memorable experience for the visiting public.
  • Performs a variety of duties under close supervision to develop skills that ensure the proper care, feeding, exhibition, and propagation of a collection of wild and exotic animals, many of which are rare and endangered.
  • Responsible for the daily care and feeding of assigned animals.
  • Performs duties involved in the receipt, inspection, storage, inventory, preparation, and issuance of food and dietary supplements, forage, and bedding materials.


Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
09

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
  • May need to complete a Probationary Period
  • Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.


Physical Requirements:
The work requires the ability to lift and carry materials weighing up to 100 pounds. The work also requires extended periods of standing, walking, bending, and stooping.

Working Conditions:
The work is performed indoors and outdoors in all weather conditions. The incumbent is exposed to dust and to unpleasant odors and noises from the animals and to cleaning solutions and other chemicals. The work is performed on concrete floors and other hard surfaces. The work may be performed in closed or cramped spaces. The incumbent is exposed to bites, scratches, and animal waste, and may be exposed to animal parasites
and zoonotic diseases.

Other Significant Facts:
The incumbent must receive immunizations to guard against zoonotic diseases and is subject to regular medical screening.

The incumbent may be assigned to any eight hour shift and is subject to call at any time, including weekends and holidays.

The incumbent is considered to be emergency personnel for purposes of being on call during government shutdowns due to inclement weather, Code Red terrorism alerts, and other emergency situations, to ensure adequate animal care is provided as required.

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the job opportunity announcement.

For information on the Job Qualification System for Trades and Labor Occupations, see OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/x-118c/index.htm.

Qualifications

In order to be rated qualified, an applicant's overall experience and training must indicate possession of the minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the duties of this position.

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.

Education

Additional information

Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/
Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com
Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

How you will be evaluated:
Applications will first be evaluated to determine whether the following screen out element is met:
  • Ability to do work of the position without more than normal supervision.

  • If an applicant meets the screen-out element, the following Job Elements will be evaluated:
  • Skill in caring for cheetahs in a zoological (or similar) setting.
  • Skill in observing exotic felids to interpret unusual behavior, symptoms of illness or injury.
  • Skill in handling wild or exotic felids in a safe and non-stressful manner; and following animal care procedures in feeding, cleaning enclosures, and capturing and transporting wild exotic and/or endangered animals.
  • Knowledge of the physical, environmental and behavior patterns of wild exotic and/or endangered animals such as cheetahs.
  • Skill in using hand and mechanical tools in order to care for animals and to construct exhibits.
  • Ability to communicate in writing to maintain records, produce reports and record observations of animal behavior.
  • Ability to communicate orally in order to provide information to the public in an educational setting.
  • Skill in training exotic felids.
  • Skill in implementing animal enrichment programs for wild or exotic animals.

  • Applicants who meet or exceed the screen-out element will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:
    • Best Category - Meets the screen-out element and excels in most of the job related elements above.
    • Better Category - Meets the screen-out element and satisfies most of the job related elements above.
    • Good Category - Meets the screen-out element, but does not satisfy most of the job related elements above to a substantive degree.

    This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-veterans within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no veteran in that category is passed over to select a non-veteran in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied.
    Veterans who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher.

    Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the announcement questions will not be considered for this position.

    Important Note:

    Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience.

    Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

    To preview questions please click here .

    Background checks and security clearance

    Security clearance
    Other

    Drug test required
    No

    Position sensitivity and risk
    Moderate Risk (MR)

    Trust determination process
    Suitability/Fitness

    Required Documents

    Your application package should include the following documents:
    • Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. If you want to receive full credit for relevant experience your resume MUST contain the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), duties, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary.

      USAJOBS has guidance on how to ensure that you submit a complete resume: If you have not written a Federal resume before, you may watch this Resume Writing Tutorial video on the USAJOBS YouTube channel , or read through a helpful Resume Writing FAQ article on the USAJOBS Help Site to learn what details you should, and should not, include in your resume. If any of the above information is not included in your resume we may not be able to fully credit you for your experience.
    • Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
    • Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
    • Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.


    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.

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