Chemist 5 (PCN 061942)

Full Job Description

As Chief Chemist, you will:

• Lead and mentor a team of skilled chemists and laboratory professionals.
• Oversee cutting-edge analytical chemistry and toxicology programs at the Alaska Public Health Laboratory.
• Develop innovative analytical methods and set high standards for quality and performance across all chemical testing.
• Serve as the division’s recognized technical expert in public health chemistry, toxicology, and chemical threat response.
• Secure and manage federal grants and contracts that support and advance Alaska’s chemistry programs.

This is a rare opportunity to combine scientific expertise, program leadership, and public service to make a tangible impact on the well-being and safety of Alaskans.

Mission and Values/Culture:

The mission of the Division of Public Health is to protect and promote the health and well-being of all Alaskans.

Our core values guide everything we do:

• Accountability – We use human, financial, and environmental resources responsibly.

• Respect – We provide services to all Alaskans without discrimination or judgment.

• Potential – We believe in helping every Alaskan reach their full potential for health and in building strong, healthy communities.

• Integrity – We act with honesty and ethics in all that we do.

• Scientific Excellence – We are dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge and using the best available data to inform public health policy.

We’re proud to offer a generous benefits package that includes 12 paid holidays each year, personal leave that grows with your service, hybrid telework options, flexible scheduling, and excellent insurance coverage. To learn more, check out the “Benefits” tab on this posting!

The position is part of a collaborative work group of professional staff collectively working towards goals to protect and improve the health and well-being of Alaskans. The Division of Public Health includes a large and broad range of experienced, dedicated, and supportive staff. We enjoy tackling the challenges of our tasks and value each employee's contributions. We view public health as a critical piece of homeland security, and we remain committed to collaborating with internal and external partners across Alaska and the United States to protect the overall health of our population.

• Technical Expertise: Effectively applies technical knowledge to solve a range of problems; develops technical solutions to new or highly complex problems that cannot be solved using existing methods or approaches; is sought out as an expert to provide advice or solutions in the technical area.
• Oral and Written Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral and written presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Financial Management: Prepares, justifies, and/or administers the budget for program areas; plans, administers, and monitors expenditures to ensure cost-effective support of programs and policies; assesses financial condition of an organization.

• Position requires that the incumbent share on-call duties with other staff to respond to situations occurring after hours.

The incumbent must meet the minimum qualifications specified in CLIA ´88 regulations,42CFR Subpart M-Personnel for Moderate Complexity (Including the Subcategory) and High Complexity Testing, section 493.1449Standard; Technical Supervisor Qualifications.

Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications for the Chemist V series will always meet this CLIA standard, as a bachelor´s degree (or higher) in Chemistry satisfies the CLIA requirement.

• A bachelor´s degree or higher from an accredited college with a major in chemistry is required.

Six years of professional chemistry laboratory experience (up to two years may have been within a program of graduate study) are required.

Expertise with the operation and maintenance of several analtyical instuments (GC-MS, LC-MS/MS and/orICP-MS).Intensive specialization in the quantitative and qualitative analysis of at least one class of chemical compounds.

Experience with clinical samples is highly desired. At least two years of Laboratory Management is experience is expected.

• Incumbent must pass federal security clearances pursuant to Public Law 107-188, Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, June 12, 2002

• This position is required to obtain a US Department of Justice Security Clearance of at least "Secret".

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree from an accredited college in chemistry, chemical or biomolecular engineering, forensic chemistry, biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, geochemistry, environmental chemistry, environmental engineering, molecular biology or other physical or natural science.
AND
Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in:

• Chemistry: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of the composition, structure, and properties of substances, and of the chemical processes and transformations, including uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

• Managing Human Resources: Plans, distributes, coordinates, and monitors work assignments of others; evaluates work performance and provides feedback to others on their performance; ensures that staff are appropriately selected, utilized, and developed, and that they are treated in a fair and equitable manner.

• Planning and Evaluating: Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

• Scientific Research: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of scientific principles related to environmental, ecological, biological, or physical science and the methods, and processes used to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry; including study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and the reporting of results.

Equivalent to those typically gained by:
Education from an accredited college in chemistry, chemical or biomolecular engineering, forensic chemistry, biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, geochemistry, environmental chemistry, environmental engineering, molecular biology or other physical or natural science.
AND
Progressively responsible professional level experience independently performing a broad variety of analytical methods, tests and procedures that includes assessing, adapting, and validating a variety of chemical tests, methods and procedures and operation of more than one form of instrumental analysis (e.g., mass spectrometry, gas chromatography).

Special Note:
“Competencies” means a combination of interrelated knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that enable a person to act effectively in a job or situation.

“Typically gained by” means the prevalent, usual method of gaining the competencies expected for entry into the job.

“Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on-line, self-study, and on-the-job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long-duration (such as a post-secondary degree) and short-duration (such as a seminar) programs.

“Professional experience” means work that is creative, analytical, evaluative, and interpretive; requires a range and depth of specialized knowledge of the profession's principles, concepts, theories, and practices; and is performed with the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment.

“Progressively responsible” means indicating growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility.

Qualifications

At the time of the interview, please provide the following:

1. Three (3) professional references whom we may contact by phone, one (1) of whom must be your current or most recent supervisor, if not already provided in the application.

A copy of academic transcripts (unofficial is okay; please ensure that the institution name/URL is listed on the transcripts) is used to support that you meet the minimum qualification competencies.Please read the information below carefully.

This applies to your application submission.SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONSFor your application to be evaluated, you must answer the Supplemental Questions.

The State of Alaska uses four proficiency levels to measure and describe an applicant’s level of competence in applying certain behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities to accomplish a specific task.

The four proficiency levels are Mastery, Fluency, Literacy, and Discovery. You must rate your proficiency level for each competency listed in the supplemental questions.


CLASSIFICATION
This Position Description is currently being reviewed by the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations, Classification Section. Depending on the outcome of the allocation, this recruitment pool may or may not be utilized to fill this vacancy.


EDUCATION
To verify education is being used to meet and/or support the required minimum qualifications/competencies, you must fill in the Education section of the application If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials used to meet or support the minimum qualifications/competencies for a position and are required with each application (Unofficial is okay; please ensure the institution/URL name is listed on the transcripts) Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or provided at the time of interview; if not, transcripts will be required before employment.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION
If education is completed in a foreign college or university, it may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable. If utilizing this education, you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs or an accredited U.S. state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university.It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. The omission of the required documentation listed will result in an incomplete application, and you will not receive further consideration.

WORK EXPERIENCE

When using work experience not documented in your application, please provide the employer's name, job title, employment dates, and whether you worked full-time or part-time Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and if minimum qualifications are met Work experience needed to meet the minimum qualifications must be documented in the application If the application does not support minimum qualifications, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment A resume will not be used to determine that minimum qualifications have been met for the position you are applying for.

If you have currently or previously been appointed to a flexibly staffed position, please ensure your work experience within a flexibly staffed position indicates the actual dates employed at each level Ensure your time and any subsequent flex promotion(s) are documented as a separate position This is required as minimum qualifications require experience at a particular level in which the lower level may not be considered If this information is not accurately reflected in your application, this may cause the processing of your application for consideration to be delayed.

NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application.

Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination that your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.

The State of Alaska does not provide VISA Employer sponsorships.

MULTIPLE VACANCIES
This recruitment may be used for more than one (1) vacancy. The applicant pool acquired during this recruitment may be used for future vacancies for up to ninety (90) days after this recruitment closes. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply to each recruitment notice to ensure consideration for all vacancies.

APPLICATION NOTICE
You can ONLY apply for this position through the Workplace Alaska website or via a hard copy application. If you accessed this recruitment bulletin through a job search portal such as AlaskaJobs or another database, you MUST use a Workplace Alaska online or hard-copy application to apply successfully. Instructions on how to apply with Workplace Alaska may be found on the Workplace Alaska "How to Apply" webpage, found here: http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/workplace/help/.

NOTICE
Questions regarding the application process can be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 800-587-0430 (toll-free) or (907) 465- 4095. If you choose to be contacted by email, please ensure that your email address is correct on your application and that your spam filter will permit emails from the 'governmentjobs.com' domain. For information on allowing emails from the 'governmentjobs.com' domains, visit the Lost Password Help page at https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword.

EEO STATEMENT
The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities who require accommodations, auxiliary aids, or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at P.O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal-opportunity employer.

WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE
Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll-free) or (907) 465-4095 if you are in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to recruitment.services@alaska.gov.

For assistance with applying for a password, please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword.

Additional Information

For specific information about the position, feel free to contact the hiring manager at:
Jayme Parker, PhD, AAB(HCLD) Chief, Public Health Laboratories
Phone: 907-371-1005
Email: jayme.parker@alaska.gov