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Summary This position is located within the VA Boston Healthcare System, Research Service, Veterinary Medical Unit (VMU) in Boston, MA. The (VMU) supports our biomedical researchers by offering a state-of-the-art, internationally accredited laboratory animal research facility where they can work towards achieving their breakthroughs. The primary purpose of this position is to assist in providing care in the handling of animals; the work done ensures a sanitary and safe environment for research animals. Responsibilities This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of WG-05. At the WG-04 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of WG-05. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. Duties include, but are not limited to the following. Clean and disinfect animal cages and cage racks using automatic cage washer, repair cages and related equipment when necessary. Dump old bedding, dispose of animal waste, cages, or housing floors as instructed by VMU supervisor. Sterilize cages and bedding using autoclave. Perform basic animal husbandry duties necessary for the care, feeding, and watering of laboratory animals. Replenish feed of various animal species as directed by VMU supervisor; replenish water bottles or watering containers and distribute among cages. Proficient use of automatic watering systems for animals. Determine type and amount of feed animals receive including any special feed requirements, different types of feed and feed supplements as indicated in animal protocol. Transports or assists in transporting, loading, or unloading cages, animals, supplies, as needed for the care of laboratory animals or conduct of research. Use of a government vehicle (truck or van) may be required. Assists in treating minor husbandry problems in laboratory animals such as ear mites, overgrown or mal-occluded teeth, overgrown claws and ectoparasites as directed by VMU lead animal caretaker or supervisor. Observes animals' appearance and activity for obvious signs of illness, disease, discontent, and their general physical condition; report obvious signs of illness, disease, injury, or unusual activity to VMU Supervisor and Veterinary Medical Officer (VMO). Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday, 7:00am - 3:30pm, Rotating weekends Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Pre-employment physical required Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period 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 agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency 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 order to qualify for this position, you MUST meet the below requirements. WG-4, Screen Out - Related experience includes assisting in providing care in the handling of animals; ensuring a sanitary and safe environment. OR WG-5, Screen Out - Related experience includes assisting in providing care in the handling of animals; ensuring a sanitary and safe environment; assisting in treating minor husbandry problems in animals. AND PHYSICAL EFFORT AND WORK CONDITIONS: Physical Effort Often requires lifting and carrying feed materials weighing up to 75 pounds and frequently handling items such as feed trays weighing up to 20 pounds. Requires walking or standing for extended periods and frequently working in a bent position. Light physical effort required to lift or handle docile animals. May need to use greater strength or agility to capture and restrain stronger or more active animals. Working Conditions The work is performed in a laboratory setting but mostly in the ARF. Conditions may be dirty at times due to the presence of the animals and their waste products. The employee may be exposed to animal bites, unpleasant odors, animal waste, and noise. May also be exposed to cuts, abrasions, and injuries through the use of a variety of tools and equipment. Exposure to animals may promote allergic reactions. Work may require contact with unpredictable or ill-natured animals exposing worker to greater possibility of injury from bites, scratches, kicks. Animal caretakers may be exposed to contagious diseases. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualifications. For this position, the job element method is used to match what you, the applicant, can do against what the work calls for. Your knowledge, skills and abilities will be compared to the knowledge, skills and abilities (called job elements) needed for success. Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element (WG-2 and higher only; screen-outs are not applicable to WG-1). Applicants who appear to meet the screen out element are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated from consideration. The potential eligibles are rated against the remainder of the job elements. While a specific length of training and experience is not required, your responses to the questionnaire must be supported by detailed descriptions of your experience on your resume. You will be rated on the following Job Elements as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Ability to Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (Other Than Blueprint Reading) Dexterity and Safety Knowledge of Materials Technical Practices (Theoretical, Precise, Artistic) Use of Measuring Instruments Without more than normal supervision 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. Education Additional Information Note: Per "Executive Order 14251: Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs", this position is no longer eligible for bargaining unit participation. 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. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.