Job Description

Posting number: 54638

Department: Health

Division: Public Health

Job classification: Public Health Microbiologist 1

Posting type: Open

Categories: Public Health, Laboratory, Sciences

This Individual Position is Exempt from the Hiring Freeze. Qualified Applicants are Encouraged To Apply.

Welcome to the Department of Health!

We’d be delighted to have you join our team.

If you envision yourself in this role and are ready to start an exciting career with us, apply today!

What you will be doing:
In this role at the Anchorage State Public Health Laboratory, you will perform testing for tuberculosis, foodborne and waterborne illnesses, sexually transmitted infections, parasites, and antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

You will act as a “General Supervisor” as defined by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) 1988 (42 CFR 493).

This position also conducts a variety of analytical and scientific procedures to determine the disease state of patients using robust detection and susceptibility methods. This may include characterizing other bacterial, fungal, protozoan, and viral pathogens found in clinical specimens such as tissues, body fluids, excreta, lesions, or reference cultures from partnering hospitals

Our organization, mission, and 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.

The benefits of joining our team:

When you join the Public Health Laboratory administrative team, you’ll be part of a fun, supportive, and collaborative group dedicated to making Alaska an even better place to live, work, and play. Be part of our mission and help drive positive changes across the state!

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 working environment you can expect:

The Anchorage State Public Health Laboratory is surrounded by six beautiful mountain ranges and is near the city trail system for walking, running, biking, and skiing. Options for dining out for lunch are plentiful and diverse in Alaska’s largest city.

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 working through the challenges of our tasks and value the contributions of each employee. 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.

Who we are looking for:
The ideal candidate will possess some or all of the following position-specific competencies in addition to the minimum qualifications listed below:

• Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving: uses a logical, systematic, sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by drawing on one’s knowledge and experience base and calling on other references and resources as necessary.
• Flexibility: Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior or work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles; effectively deals with uncertainty.
• Self-Management: Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior.

To view the general description and example of duties for this job class, please go to the following link and search for Public Health Microbiologist 1https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/Alaska/classspecs

Examples of duties

Competency-Based Minimum Qualifications Instructions
This job class uses competency-based minimum qualifications. Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

Competency Description
The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class. They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency. They typically list expectations rather than specific tasks and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines. A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to successfully meet the competency, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation.

Please ensure your application (through work history, training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports/demonstrates that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in:

• Biology: Knowledge of the environment, plant and animal living tissue, cells, organisms, and entities, including their functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.
• Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Evidence-Based Practice: Integrates best research practices with clinical expertise and patient values for optimum care and participates in learning and research activities to the extent feasible.
• Public Health: Applies knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, methods, and tools associated with protecting and improving the health of people and their communities, including promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious diseases.

equivalent to those typically gained by:

Bachelor of Science degree or higher from an accredited institution in Medical Technology, Microbiology, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Biological Science, or Chemistry, with training and/or course work in Medical/Clinical Laboratory Sciences;
AND
Experience conducting, analyzing, and evaluating clinical microbiological tests.

Special Note:
Positions in this class may require a background investigation. Applies only to work covered under the Public Health Security and Bio-terrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 or other relevant state or federal law.

Positions in this class require the incumbent to be immunized against infectious diseases.

“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, are required. One (1) of these references must be your current or most recent supervisor, if not already provided in the application.
2. Current performance evaluation, if available.
3. 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 qualifications competencies.

If chosen for the position, the candidate will be required to provide the following items before employment:

1. A copy of your current driver’s license.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS
For 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 competence in applying specific 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.

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

Supplemental information