Veterinary Medical Officer (Import/Export)

Full Job Description

If selected, you will be responsible for reviewing the health status and disease potential of livestock and other animals, and their products and byproducts, being exported and/or imported from/to the Veterinary Services Field Operations Area.

You will make recommendations to Area staff and coordinate timely inspection and approval of import or export facilities.

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

TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree, i.e., Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD), obtained at a school or college of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA).

The AVMA website has a listing of all AVMA-accredited veterinary medical schools.

AVMA website: https://www.avma.org OR Graduates of foreign veterinary medical schools that are not accredited by the AVMA Council on Education must meet one of the following requirements: a) Proof of certification of their final transcript by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG); b) Possession of a permanent, full, and unrestricted license to practice veterinary medicine in a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States that includes successful completion of the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) or its predecessors, the National Board Examination (NBE) and the Clinical Competency Test (CCT); OR c) Proof that the education obtained in a foreign veterinary medical program is equivalent to that gained in a veterinary medical program that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.

An AVMA-accredited veterinary medical school or college must have accepted the final transcript from the foreign veterinary medical school at full value for placement into an advanced degree, postgraduate educational program, or training program (e.g., residency or graduate program).

In addition, graduates of foreign veterinary medical programs must also provide proof of proficiency in the English language by successfully completing one of the nationally and internationally recognized examinations that incorporate assessments of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.

Examples of examinations that assess mastery of the English language are shown below: a) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Minimum scores for the TOEFL are 560 for the paper-based version; 220 for the computer-based version; or overall score of 83 for the internet-based version (including 26 or higher in speaking, 26 or higher in listening, and 17 or higher in writing).

For the computer-based and paper-based test versions, applicants must also complete the Test of Spoken English (TSE) and the Test of Written English (TWE).

Minimum required scores are 55 for the TSE and 5.5 for the TWE. b) Academic tests (listening, writing, and speaking) offered by the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 7.0, with at least 7.0 in speaking, 6.5 in listening, and 6.0 in writing; OR c) Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL).

Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 70, with at least 60 in speaking, 60 in listening, and 50 in writing.

Graduates of foreign veterinary medical programs must submit test results with their application. Results of more than one test or testing session cannot be combined to meet the standard.

Waiver Provision: English language proficiency assessments may be waived for qualified job applicants whose native language is English (i.e., the official or common language of an individual's country of birth is English) who submit a diploma or other official documentation as proof of graduation from a high (secondary) school where the entire curriculum and educational programs were taught in the English language for the entire 3 or 4 years of full-time attendance.

FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL: In addition to the Basic Requirements, applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Interpretation and translation of veterinary medical, scientific, and regulatory information and terms into language easily understood by a variety of customer contacts.

Gaining compliance, exchange of information, application of regulations, and resolution of problematic issues with industry representatives. Compliance with relevant veterinary regulations and laws.

OR Successful completion of a Master's degree in an area of specialization including, but not limited to: animal science, avian medicine, food safety, infectious diseases, veterinary clinical sciences, pathobiology, biomedical sciences, veterinary anatomy, veterinary preventive medicine, comparative biological sciences, epidemiology, veterinary parasitology, molecular veterinary biosciences, public health, microbiology, pathology, immunology, laboratory animal medicine, toxicology, wildlife, zoological animal medicine, or other sciences related to the work of a veterinary medical officer position.

OR RESIDENCY/POST GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THE GS-12 GRADE LEVEL: Successful completion of two years of an internship, residency program, or fellowship training program in a discipline related to the position.

Applicants should provide a certificate or letter documenting the completion of this program.

TRANSCRIPTS are required if: This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified. You are qualifying for the position based on education.

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:

• Supervising subordinates less than 25% of the time including, but not limited to, monitoring work, providing advice, evaluating performance, initiating awards, and authorizing leave approval.
• Review, certify, and endorse eligible international health certificates and related documents for animals, animal products, animal byproducts, pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents and other materials.
• Develop and recommend new procedures and practices for properly releasing, retaining and/or quarantining problem animals or products.
• Diagnose a variety of domestic and foreign animal diseases, especially those of significant economic impact which have been targeted by the Agency for prevention, control and eradication.
• Review and analyze eligibility for entry of import of animals, animal germplasm, poultry, pet birds, aquatic animals, and other products.
• Provide assistance to importers to facilitate permit process and review filed inspection procedures and reports to ensure compliance with import regulations.
• Provide information and guidance to port veterinary medical officers in the Area to ensure consistent delivery and interpretation of existing and new import regulations, guidelines, and policies.
• Review and analyze inspections and compliance agreements of establishments approved to handle restricted imports to ensure products are processed and released only after proper treatments.