Pharmacologist/Physiologist/Toxicologist
Summary
Join the team! This position is located in the Office of Risk Reduction, Directorate for Health Sciences. The Directorate provides pharmacological, toxicological and physiological evaluations of deaths, injuries and illnesses in support of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) actions to protect consumers. The Directorate provides management/analytical and scientific support to other offices within the Commission.
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Duties
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The incumbent serves as a Pharmacologist, Physiologist, or Toxicologist providing the full range of professional support and assistance to the Division on matters concerning numerous areas of chemical and non-chemical hazards of consumer products, including supporting poisoning hazards, choking hazards, and suffocation hazards (which encompasses hazard assessment and risk characterization) related to relevant consumer products.
The Pharmacologist, Physiologist, or Toxicologist will be responsible for:
- Performing analyses of chemical and non-chemical hazards related to consumer products that fall within the Division's responsibility as determined by the needs of the Division and writes technical reports.
- Analyzing, performing reviews, evaluations, and interpretations of information and data from scientific literature, agency reports, research studies, and laboratory studies, consumer product incident reports, proposed standards, and project proposals from agency and non-agency sources.
- Focusing analyses on potential human health effects, injuries, or illnesses related to chemical and non-chemical hazards in consumer products. Based upon these reviews and analyses, makes recommendations concerning research studies, investigative reports, and accident studies in terms of their relationship to the Division's responsibilities for supporting the Agency's Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, and the Consumer Product Safety Act.
- Performing Division tasks including, but not limited to, internet searches, database searches, and scientific literature searches as requested to locate and extract scientific information for inclusion in reports; assembling, compiling, and summarizing information (both scientific and non-technical) from files and documents in the office or other available sources for use by staff members, Division director, and management.
- Keeping abreast of information sources with respect to current data on potential poisoning and physiological hazards in consumer products, and potential health effects that may be related to exposures to hazardous substances in consumer products or other sources.
- Supporting Division engagement with consumers, industry, and other agencies within the government; responds to inquiries in writing and orally; serving on interagency committees as assigned, and supporting Agency participation in voluntary standards activities by representing the Agency in meetings and by providing technical analyses of pertinent data and other information or review of associated scientific literature, agency reports, research data, laboratory study data, or consumer product incident reports.
At the full-performance level you serve as a subject matter expert in risk assessment for poisoning and physiological hazards in consumer products.
Requirements
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Conditions of employment
- U.S. Citizenship Required.
- A background investigation is required.
- Must meet education requirements.
Must be a U.S. Citizen.
This is a Public Trust Position. Employment in this position requires a background investigation. If you are selected and cannot meet the criteria requirement for the pre-employment waiver and/or a favorable suitability determination within a reasonable period of time due to disclosed or undisclosed background issues, the employment offer may be withdrawn.
If you are a male born after December 31, 1959 you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Please see [click to reveal website link] for more information.
Selectees will be required to complete a "Declaration of Federal Employment", (OF-306), prior to appointment and the appropriate background investigation forms to determine suitability for Federal employment. False statements or responses on these forms can jeopardize your employment opportunity and subject you to disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.
The selectee will be required to complete a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the I-9 Form. We will compare information provided on the I-9 Form to records available from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The system confirms employee's identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period (depending on your status) during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the CPSC;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the CPSC or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
In addition to the mandatory education requirement, all applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.
Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
GS-11: 1) Experience applying knowledge of toxicological, pharmacological, and/or physiological principles, theories, methods, and research to support determinations regarding whether exposure to and/or use of specific products presents potential hazards, and 2) Contributing to the development of scientific analyses and reports within these disciplines.
GS-12: 1) Demonstrated experience applying professional knowledge of toxicological, pharmacological, and/or physiological principles, theories, methods, and research to assist in conducting hazard assessments related to exposure to and/or use of specific products; 2) Developing scientific analyses that contribute to the preparation of technical reports; and 3) Participating in multidisciplinary evaluations to inform regulatory or scientific determinations.
GS-13: 1) Demonstrated experience independently applying advanced toxicological, pharmacological, and/or physiological principles, theories, methods, and research to evaluate and determine whether exposure to and/or use of specific products presents potential hazards; 2) Independently developing comprehensive scientific analyses; 3) Preparing authoritative technical reports; 4) Providing expert guidance on complex or novel issues; and 5) Contributing to scientific or regulatory decision-making processes requiring a high degree of technical judgment.
Evidence of the above specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience or based on job titles alone. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).
Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
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.
Applicants must meet the qualifications for this position by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
Mandatory Education Requirement. All applicants must meet one of the following requirements to qualify:
FOR 0405 PHARMACOLOGY SERIES: Degree: major in an appropriate biological, medical, veterinary, or physical science, or in pharmacy that included at least 30 semester hours in chemistry and physiology and 12 semester hours in pharmacology.
FOR 0413 PHYSIOLOGY SERIES: Degree: in one of the basic animal sciences or physiology; or a related discipline or field of science that included at least 24 semester hours in the basic animal sciences, of which 10 semester hours were in animal physiology.
FOR 0415 TOXICOLOGY SERIES: Degree: toxicology; or an appropriate discipline of the biological, medical, or veterinary sciences that included at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, biochemistry, or physiology, and 12 semester hours in toxicology.
In addition to meeting the basic requirement indicated above, applicants must have specialized experience and/or directly related education as indicated below:
GS-11: 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR PhD or equivalent doctoral degree OR 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to a GS-9 OR a combination of graduate level education beyond the second year of progressively higher graduate study and appropriate specialized experience.
GS-12: There is no substitution for specialized experience for this grade level. Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience (as stated above) equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level.
GS-13: There is no substitution for specialized experience for this grade level. Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience (as stated above) equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level.
You MUST provide transcripts to support your educational claims.
Unofficial transcripts are acceptable during the application process. Official transcripts will be required upon appointment. All education claimed by applicants will be verified.
All materials must be submitted by the closing date of this announcement.
Additional information
CPSC provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please contact the Human Resources Specialist listed in this vacancy announcement.
Payment of relocation expenses is not authorized.
All the information you provide will be verified by a review of the work experience and/or education as shown on your application, by checking references and through other means, such as the interview process. Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempts to conceal information may be grounds for not hiring you or for firing you after you begin work.
Additional selections may be made through this vacancy announcement.
As a condition of employment, the selectee must reside in the local commuting area of the duty station listed in this announcement. Proof of residence may be required.
Must meet the criteria requirement for the pre-employment waiver and/or a favorable suitability determination within a reasonable period of time, otherwise the employment offer may be withdrawn.
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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
CPSC offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes: paid vacation, sick leave, 11 paid holidays per year, life and health insurance, Long Term Care insurance, dental and vision insurance, flexible spending account program, and retirement savings and investment plan similar to 401(k) (Thrift Savings Plan).
CPSC also offers a broad array of work-life flexibilities and services to employees such as, flexible work schedules, transit subsidies, fitness center, and employee assistance and wellness programs.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.