Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/20/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: SPFs are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position: Must have experience performing phlebotomy and other specimen collections on humans to include drawing blood by means of venipuncture (Must be able to draw blood using a needle). You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings; or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled; and performing phlebotomy and other specimen collections on human patients to include drawing blood by means of venipuncture, obtaining urine and other specimens. Resume must clearly demonstrate the required experience to be creditable. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semesters hours in subjects appropriate to the position to be filled. Major study includes instruction in chemistry, hematology, blood banking, and microbiology (including serology). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience, as described above, are also qualifying. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Diagnostic Medical Testing Patient Care Technology Application Veteran and Customer Focus 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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, pushing and reaching over head, and manual dexterity. Position requires lifting up to 20 pounds, and transferring patients and objects. Employee may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations or operative/invasive procedures; and utilize all safety practices and equipment in compliance with local and accrediting agency requirements. Employee must be mature, flexible, sensible and capable of working effectively in stressful situations, and able to shift priorities based on patient needs. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.