Forensic Biologist

The US Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory (USACIL) is an organization that provides full-service forensic support (traditional, expeditionary and Reach-Back) to both Army and DoD entities worldwide. The USACIL also provides specialized forensic training and research capabilities as well as forensic services to other federal departments and agencies.

The primary purpose of this position is to serve as member of the EFL as a biologist in the performance of professional and scientific work in the area of forensic serology and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Must locate, identify, and individualize body fluids and body fluid stains and perform forensic DNA analysis using the most current DNA technology (PCR, STR, and robotics).

DUTIES:

· Investigates via testing, and performing analysis of DNA on physical evidence and material consisting of body fluid stains, hair, bone, dental pulp, and other human tissue.

· Conducts routine examinations to develop evidence and data/information for intelligence exploitation.

· Travels with investigative personnel to provide on-site expert forensic scientific support at major crime scenes and Sensitive and Tactical Site Exploitations; travels to various court proceedings worldwide as required; testifies in various court systems as an expert witness for cases that are not complex, sometimes on short notice; presents forensic scientific testimony in layman's terms, defends analytical approach and results against rigorous cross examination.

· Prepares technical information papers and training materials, facilitates and conducts formal training for legal personnel, special agents, and military police, all other military personnel from outside the USACIL and civilian personnel in support of the Army’s criminal investigation programs.

· Plans, organizes and devises the approach necessary to obtain useful forensic information from the evidence and material submitted, taking into consideration the requirements established by agency regulations, federal law, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the intent of intelligence organizations and the joint force commander.

· Prepares formal written reports suitable for legal presentation and intelligence exploitation which state results, interpretation, and professional opinions/conclusions. Is directly responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the forensic examinations performed.

· Establishes and updates databases for use in determining the statistical significance of evidence findings.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

Basic Qualification Requirements: A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources 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 appropriated experience or additional education.

Specialized Experience for the GS-09: In addition to meeting the Basic Education Requirement, Qualified applicants must ALSO identify in their resume that they possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the federal service in performing simple Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing and analysis on physical evidence and material.

Education Substitution: 2 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D.

Specialized Experience for the GS-11: In addition to meeting the basic Education requirement, qualified applicants must ALSO identify in their resume that they possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the federal service performing duties in the analysis of DNA on physical evidence and material. Serves as a scientist who specializes in DNA analysis, provides technical support. Identifies and recommends the need for improved equipment, programs, methods and procedures.

Education Substitution: 3 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

Specialized Experience for the GS-12: In addition to meeting the basic Education requirement, qualified applicants must ALSO identify in their resume that they possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the federal service performing duties in the analysis of DNA on physical evidence and material. Conduct complex examinations to develop evidence and data/information for intelligence exploitation.

Specialized Experience for the GS-13: In addition to meeting the basic Education requirement, qualified applicants must ALSO identify in their resume that they possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the federal service performing duties in the analysis of DNA on physical evidence and material. Technical expert in the specialty area on forensic DNA analysis provides technical support as necessary. Identifies, recommends, and conducts research and development of new or improved equipment, programs methods and procedures.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency (knowledge, skills, abilities) in the following area:

· Knowledge of the biological sciences including biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, molecular genetics, and recombinant DNA technology sufficient to understand the foundations of forensic DNA analysis.

· Knowledge in the area of forensic DNA analysis which includes a wide variety of instrumental, microscopic, physical, biological, chemical, biochemical, and immunological techniques suitable for analyses.

· Knowledge of theory and technology related to the principles and practices of biological sciences and established DNA protocols of the appropriate methodologies in order to analyze assigned samples and materials, to set up new or modified procedures, and to prepare routine reports of findings and make presentations.

A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

B. Combination of education and experience -- Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

BENEFITS:

The Department of Defense offers excellent benefits programs some of which may include:

Comprehensive health and life insurance

Competitive salaries

Generous retirement programs

Paid holidays, sick leave, and vacation time

Flexible work environment to include use of Telework and alternate work schedules

Paid employment related training and education

Possible student loan repayment

Payment of licenses, certification, and academic degrees as applicable

Bonuses, incentives, and awards as appropriate for the job.

OTHER INFORMATION:

• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.

• The Department of Defense (DoD) policy on employment of annuitants will be used in determining eligibility of annuitants. The DoD policy is available at http://www.cpms.osd.mil/ASSETS/E8AB932EA1E44617BAC7222922E42A62/DoDl140025-V300.pdf.

• In accordance with section 9902(h) of title 5, United States Code, annuitants reemployed in the Department of Defense shall receive full annuity and salary upon appointment. They shall not be eligible for retirement contributions, participation in the Thrift Savings Plan, or a supplemental or redetermined annuity for the reemployment period. Discontinued service retirement annuitants (i.e. retired under section 8336(d)(1) or 8416(b)(1)(A) of title 5, United States Code) appointed to the Department of Defense may elect to be subject to retirement provisions of the new appointment as appropriate. (See DoD instructions 1400.25, Volume 300, at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives.)

• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Your resume: If you submit a resume with inappropriate material e.g. photos, you will not be considered for this vacancy. Your resume may be submitted in any format. For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). Resumes that do not contain this information will be marked as insufficient and applicants may not receive consideration for this position.
2. Your responses to the questionnaire
3. Additional required documents (see Required Documents section below)

The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Friday, August 24, 2012.

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process.
To fax supporting documents you are unable to upload, complete this cover page http://staffing.opm.gov/pdf/usascover.pdf using the following Vacancy ID724017. Fax your documents to 1-478-757-3144.

If you cannot apply online, you will need to provide the same information obtained in the online process. You will need three documents to complete this process: the Occupational Questionnaire, the scan response form, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Occupational Questionnaire (OPM Form 1203-FX), and a separate document described in item #3. below.

1. Download the scan response form, OPM Form 1203-FX, from http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/OPM1203fx.pdf.

2. View Occupational Questionnaire. Use this information to guide you in completing the OPM Form 1203-FX. Note that you may be instructed to leave some responses blank on the scan response form.

3. On a separate document, please identify which position(s) on your resume (include title, organization, and employment dates) support any response of “E” ("I am considered an expert in performing this task....").

4. Fax the completed OPM Form 1203-FX, along with your required and supporting documents, to 1-478-757-3144. Your OPM Form 1203-FX will serve as a cover page for your fax transmission.

PLEASE NOTE: The numbering on the OPM Form 1203-FX will not match the Occupational Questionnaire. Section 25 of the OPM Form 1203-FX continuously numbers from number one, while the Questionnaire starts each section of questions with number one. When entering your responses please continue regardless of number sequence. This issue has been identified and will be resolved as soon as possible.

It is your responsibility to verify that information entered, uploaded, or faxed (i.e., resume) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Faxed documents must be completely transmitted by 11:59p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the closing date of the announcement.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

The following documents are required:

Resume: If you submit a resume with inappropriate material e.g. photos, you will not be considered for this vacancy. Your resume may be submitted in any format. For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). Resumes that do not contain this information will be marked as insufficient and applicants may not receive consideration for this position.
If the position has an education requirement or you are qualifying based on a combination of education and experience or solely on education, you must submit your college transcripts with your application.
If you are claiming Veterans Preference or Military Spouse preference (MSP), to verify your preference claim you MUST submit supporting documents with your application package. These documents may include, but are not limited to: for MSP claims, PCS orders and marriage certificate; for verification of Veteran Preference, DD214 (which indicates character of service) SF-15, VA Letter and/or Activation/Deactivation orders.
If you are currently serving on active duty: You MUST submit a certification from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is signed. If you supply a certification at this stage, your preference/eligibility will be verified prior to appointment. For more information about Veteran's Preference, please click this link:

http://www.opm.gov/employ/veterans/html/vetguide.asp. Please upload veteran's documents under the appropriate category.

If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and will not be considered any further.

PLEASE NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents like military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for other than the applicant.These documents may be sanitized to remove such personal information before submission with the application. Applicants may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents upon selection to confirm eligibility.

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:

Central Resume Processing Center
Phone: (410)306-0137
Email: APPLICANTHELP@CONUS.ARMY
.MIL

Agency Information:
W2MBAA USACIL EFD EF LAB 1
4930 N 31st Street
Bldg 925
9CCA
Forest Park, GA
30297-5122
USA

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:

Once the application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account, select My Applications, and click on the more information link under the application status for this position.

For questions regarding the status of your application, eligibility or qualifications determination contact: applicanthelp@conus.army.mil

Other Requirements:
Click here for more information.

Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.

You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.

One year trial/probationary period may be required.

Direct Deposit of Pay is Required.

Must be able to obtain and maintain a secret clearance.

Physical exam required. Incumbent must meet DoD/DA physical screening requirements for deployment to OCONUS locations established by the CONUS Replacement Center (CRC) for OCONUS deployment, to include meeting the deployment requirements for physical and dental deployment readiness.

Requires temporary duty travel (TDY) travel up to 25% of the time.

Incumbent is required to lift boxes of evidence that weights up to 70 pounds to working heights of 48 inches.

Must participate in DNA profiling database within the USACIL.

Position is subject to Lautenberg/Domestic Violence Misdemeanor amendments.

May be required to carry firearm.

Job will require shift work with normal 8-hour shifts but may require working extended 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week.

Position require extended temporary duty travel (TDY) and/or deployment to contingency and/or humanitarian relief areas, worldwide, in support of the mission of the USACIL.

Emergency Essential position. Incumbent of this position will be subject to on-call and irregular work hours. Position is considered essential to support DA’s mobilization and wartime mission during period of increasing tension or mobilization. Position is considered emergency essential because (1) no qualified and immediate replacement exists and (2) leaving position vacant would (a) impair the effective operations of essential military support systems, or (b) adversely impact the combat mission of deployed forces.

Applicants must possess a valid motor vehicle operator’s license at the time of appointment, must maintain license while employed in the position and will be required to operate motor vehicle in accordance with applicable OPM regulations and related requirements of Department of the Army.

Mandatory Mobility Agreement is required.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in the vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

Your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be reviewed to verify that you meet the basic eligibility and qualification requirements. Your responses to the questionnaire will be used to evaluate your relevant personal, educational, and work experiences. Only the most recently submitted resume will be considered.

Basis for Rating: Qualified candidates will be assigned to one of three quality categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified and Qualified. Veteran preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. Well-qualified is defined as meeting all of the minimum qualification standards and eligibility requirements as well as possessing skills that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Under competitive delegated examining, an ICTAP eligible will be considered well-qualified if they attain an eligibility rating of 90 or higher, not including points for veterans' preference. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/ctap/index.asp.

VETERANS PREFERENCE: If selected, applicants must submit the following: SF15, DD214, and VA/Service Documents. For information on veterans preference, please refer to the following website:

http://www.opm.gov/veterans/html/vetguide.asp#2Types.

MILITARY SPOUSE PREFERENCE: For information on military spouse

preference, please refer to the following website:

http://www.cpms.osd.mil/fas/staffing/pdf/st006.

Civilian employees serve a vital role in supporting the Army mission. They provide the skills that are not readily available in the military, but crucial to support military operations. The Army integrates the talents and skills of its military and civilian members to form a Total Army.

Thank you for your interest in forensic science and our Expeditionary Forensic Division. The EFD needs forensic scientists in the disciplines of DNA, Chemistry, Explosives, and Latent Prints. We anticipate job announcements for these positions to be posted in the very near future to recruit applicants for training and deployment in October 2012 and April 2013.

Upon acceptance, YOU WILL BE DEPLOYED. Deployment cycle is 6 month deployed followed by 12 months of Reach Back analyses at USACIL. At present, all deployments are to Afghanistan.

ALL POSITIONS REQUIRE US CITIZENSHIP.

ALL POSITIONS ARE 4 YEAR TERM WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT.

The positions will be announced in the near future on USAJOBS (http://www.usajobs.gov). Type USACIL in the What: keyword search text box. This will lead you to our current open positions.

Positions will also be announced through the Army Civilian Personnel (http://www.armycivilianservice.com/). The Army site requires that you prepare a resume. This is the listed site for the resume builder for job applications (https://resumebuilder.cpol.army.mil/resumebuilder/builder/index.jsp).

As the position will only be open for a short time, I would suggest building a resume as soon as possible. You can also upload information into the Army web site. When the job is announced, I would fine tune your resume to meet the requirements and then self nominate for the position. I would urge you to be very comprehensive and detailed in filling out the provided application form. Also, answer the questions in a sentence format rather than bullet format, and use good active tense language.

For examples, LIST your current instrumental experience: I have operated and maintained GS/MS instruments, and analyzed drug and explosive samples, written appropriate reports, and testified in a moot court setting.

OR LIST your related coursework: I have taken courses in instrumental analysis, capillary electrophoresis, and FTIR Analysis of Drugs and Explosives. I have also completed two courses in Forensic Chemistry which covered the chemical and instrumental analysis of paint, drugs, explosives, inks, and dyes. My forensic biology coursework covered presumptive and confirmatory tests for blood, semen, saliva, and fecal material, and included detailed explanations and applications of the Takayama test for hemoglobin, acid phosphatase test for semen, amylase test for saliva, and urobilinogen test for fecal material. I also covered the serological testing of other biological fluids such as the urea test for urine. In the second half of my forensic biology course I learned forensic DNA technology including mitochondrial and Y-STR analyses. Additionally, I completed an internship at the ABC Crime Laboratory in XYZ USA from June to August 2010 using an ABI 3130 Genetic Analyzer, and assisted in the validation of new Y-STR kits. I have also successfully completed related and relevant forensic DNA coursework in biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, population genetics, and statistics.

OR LIST your relevant research: I worked with faculty and staff to complete a research project on the aging of dried bloodstains. I supervised a group of high students and fellow students who assisted me with this project. I presented this research as an oral presentation at the Northeast Association of Forensic Sciences Annual Meeting in November 2010. This research has been submitted to the Journal of Forensic Sciences, and I am the first author on the paper.

If you meet the minimum qualifications for these positions, you will then be contacted for a telephonic interview by our technical selection committee.

1. If accepted for employment, you will be a full time salaried employee from the beginning and all training.

2. There are no incentives for housing while in training, but while deployed, all housing and travel costs are covered.

Thank you for your interest in our Expeditionary Forensic Program.