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Agriculturalist (please note specific degree requirements in description)

Hello and thanks for your interest in a career with USDA APHIS PPQ!

Please note this is an Outreach Notice to make you aware of 3 vacancies with USDA APHIS PPQ in our Raleigh, North Carolina office.

This vacancy is with Science and Technology at their Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis (PERAL) Lab .

The vacancy announcement is open until midnight on May 4th.

FOR THE GS-11 LEVEL: 
Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-09 grade level) that demonstrates:
  • Experience working on analytical tasks and applying problem solving and analytical skills to provide solutions to technical and scientific issues.
  • Experience developing communications, keeping frequent personal contact with appropriate supervisory levels of the agency, and tailoring communication to the appropriate group.
  • Experience in analyzing and extracting meaning from a range of factual information. Integrate diverse themes and lines of reasoning to create new insights for the issue at hand.

OR 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in biological sciences, or closely related

OR Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level.

Summary
The incumbent serves as an Interdisciplinary Risk Analyst with the Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory (PERAL) under PPQ-Science and Technology in Raleigh, North Carolina. The mission of PERAL is to address complex issues in safeguarding, exotic pest management and assuring safe trade. PERAL conducts risk assessments and other analyses in support of PPQ programs, policies and actions.





Responsibilities


Duties may include, but are not limited to:
Use information from the scientific literature and other sources to assess likelihood and impacts of pest introduction and spread in the U.S., considering ecological factors, human activities, spatial population dynamics, and pest/host interactions.

Develop well-written, scientifically-sound documents that provide input for PPQ decision-making

Develop statistically sound sampling procedures for surveys of quarantine-significant pests.

Design, evaluate, and optimize strategies for detecting incipient populations of exotic pests of plants, using simulation models and other tools.

Manage research through cooperative agreements with universities and other organizations

Participate in the development of international standards for phytosanitary measures.

Write and review work plans, research proposals, experimental plans, manuscripts, and proposed PPQ protocols.

I wish you the best in all your career pursuits! Please reach out to me with any recruiting questions.

Best,

Tom Colarusso

Thomas.W.Colarusso@usda.gov

USDA APHIS PPQ

Outreach and Recruitment

Call/ Text: 518-420-9779