Veterinary Medical Officer

Full Job Description

The Ready Response Corps (RRC) is an APHIS-wide cadre dedicated to rapidly deploying in support of animal and plant health-related emergencies and all hazards' events to safeguard American agriculture.

This position performs emergency management response work including deploying, coordinating, and managing response efforts to mitigate the spread of agricultural pests and diseases requiring travel up to 75 percent of the time.

Recruitment Incentive may be authorized, but not guaranteed.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Current 4th year students in a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (or equivalent) degree program at a school accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education and will complete all degree requirements by June 15, 2026 will be considered.

All applicants must meet the Basic Requirement outlined in the Education section below.

FOR THE GS-11 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants who meet the basic requirements as outlined in the "Education" section qualify for this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required.

This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified.

This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college or university.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Major Duties:

• The duties described are for the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity.
• The duties may include, but are not limited to:
• Deploys to agricultural emergencies, primarily animal disease outbreaks to assist with emergency response, containment, and mitigation risk reduction activities through the Ready Response Corps.
• Coordinates emergency response depopulation activities with Incident Management Teams (IMT) following the direction of the Incident Commander or other onsite leadership.
• Serves in various roles while deployed such as: Case Manager, Disease Reporting Officer, Depopulation Lead, and/or as a member of an Incident Management Team.
• Establishes and enforces surveillance, quarantine, movement control areas to stop the spread of animal and plant pests and diseases.
• Promotes the smooth transition of operational activities from one responder to the next ensuring continuity of operations while on deployment.
• Assists in program work that develops strategies, tools, techniques, and other measures to reduce adverse effects of animal related hazards and facilitates, promotes implementation of these measures.
• Develops, prepares, and/or finalizes a variety of published materials to educate groups about the impacts of animal disease on livestock producers and the United States food supply.
• Participates in emergency response planning activities, including table-top exercises with states, industry, and tribal partners to enhance preparedness.
• Works with states and industry on biosecurity assessments and improvements to prevent the introduction of pests and diseases.