Calling all Biologists (Bioinformaticians, Computational Biologists, and Software Developers too)!

Important messages

When you apply to this selection process, you are not applying for a specific job, but to an inventory for future vacancies. As positions become available, applicants who meet the qualifications may be contacted for further assessment.

Calling all Biologists (Bioinformaticians, Computational Biologists, and Software Developers too)!

The breadth and depth of experience may be considered during screening, assessment and/or selection of candidates. The inventory will be updated every 120 days. You will receive a notice in your applicant account 10 days before the end of your active period to determine whether or not you wish to keep being considered for an additional 120 days. Also, as part of the screening questions, please indicate for which stream(s) you are submitting an application.

Sample streams we will be hiring for:

Laboratory Biologist : The Laboratory Biologist provides their NML program, the program collaborators, and external stakeholders with technical expertise in applying modern molecular-based analyses (both in the laboratory generating data and in analyzing data) to priority initiatives, programs and/or research communications for transferring knowledge. In doing so, the Laboratory Biologist applies cutting edge approaches to solve important public health issues and provides leadership befitting the
Agency's mandated role and capabilities in public health response, diagnostic and reference services, surveillance or infectious disease research (pathogen or host analyses, depending on the hiring section).

Bioinformatics: The Bioinformatics Section at the National Microbiology Laboratory is involved in the development and application of cutting edge tools, algorithms, and analytical methods for public health research, surveillance, diagnostics and outbreak response. We are seeking individuals for (1) the development of bioinformatics software and/or algorithms to analyze DNA sequence data (bioinformaticians or software developer) and (2) bioinformatics analysis of complex biological data (advanced computational biologist). As your future coworkers, we are committed to providing you with lots of exciting learning opportunities in an open and collaborative environment. Working in one of the top bioinformatics labs in Canada, you’ll be amongst a team working at the forefront of scientific computing for use in investigating the world’s deadliest microorganisms!
To see examples of some of our software please visit: https://github.com/phac-nml

Scientific Project Coordinator: The Laboratory Surveillance and Surge Capacity (LSSC) Section of the NML seeks to optimize national capacity for infectious disease outbreak preparedness and response by providing strategic support for laboratory-based surveillance activities across NML program areas. This includes the central coordination of Laboratory Liaison Technical Officer (LLTO) Program support for interjurisdictional surveillance, microbiological reference testing, outbreak preparedness and response activities at provincial LLTO host sites across Canada. The Coordinator position will support national LLTO Program coordination and supervision; coordinate internal cross-training activities for NML surge capacity personnel; and provide targeted support for various laboratory-related infectious disease surveillance activities and initiatives.

Duties

The incumbent will work in one of the various sections of the National Microbiology Laboratory to: participate in the research projects, develop next generation tools and applications for infectious agents, do laboratory testing and evaluation, assess, review and analyze scientific information, work on quality control/assurance, develop and impart training, provide scientific advice, manage projects and/or supervise multi-disciplinary teams. The candidates are encouraged to visit the National Microbiology Laboratory website (https://www.nml-lnm.gc.ca/) for more information on various programs and services.

Work environment

The Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) provides scientific expertise and laboratory capacity for infectious disease monitoring, detection, investigation and outbreak response to support national and international public health action. NML strives to be the employer of choice for Canadian and international scientific and non-scientific staff. Our employees contribute leadership, ingenuity, expertise and innovation to safeguard the health of Canadians and the global community.

Intent of the process

The process will initially be used to staff the following positions:
1. A Coordinator position will be staffed to support national LLTO Program coordination and supervision; to coordinate internal cross-training activities for NML surge capacity personnel; and to provide targeted support for various laboratory-related infectious disease surveillance activities and initiatives.

2. A laboratory biologist position will be staffed within the Bioforensics Assay Development and Diagnostics section at the NML. This position acts to support the Canadian Laboratory Response Network (CLRN), the Microbiological Emergency Response Team (MERT), and client provincial laboratories. Specifically, this position has roles in maintaining the CLRN through ongoing communication, provision of reagents, training, exercises and proficiency panels to the provincial laboratory nodes. As such, this position is embedded in the diagnostic/reference services within that lab and will be involved in mobile laboratory operations and deployments, providing lab oversight,
training and ongoing assay development.
Depending on the needs, candidates may be randomly selected from the inventory for assessment purposes. This process may be used to establish a pool of qualified candidates which may be used to staff positions with various linguistic profiles, various security profiles, various tenures such as indeterminate, term and casual positions in within the Public Health Agency of Canada National Microbiology Laboratories across Canada.

We may appoint candidates by applying one or more of the following criteria:
• Depth, breadth, type of work-specific experience;
• Matching of the individual's experience or qualifications to the strengths and weaknesses of the work team.
• Matching individual experience assets or qualifications to the need of the organization;
• Level/degree of one or more competencies/qualifications.

All federal organizations listed in Schedules I, IV and V of the Financial Administration Act (FAA) may use this selection process to appoint a candidate to its organization in a similar position.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

You must meet all essential qualifications in order to be appointed to the position. Other qualifications may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed. Some essential and other qualifications will be assessed through your application. It is your responsibility to provide appropriate examples that illustrate how you meet each qualification. Failing to do so could result in your application being rejected.

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

Graduation with a degree from a recognized post­secondary institution with specialization in a biological science (e.g.: Bachelor of Science in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, etc.);
OR
Graduation with a degree from a recognized post­secondary institution in a natural, physical or applied science with specialization in a field relevant to the duties of the position (i.e.: Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, etc.)

Note:
The courses for the specialization must be acceptable and must have been taken at a recognized post­ secondary institution, but not necessarily within a degree program in the required specialization.

Degree equivalency

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

Various language requirements

Information on language requirements

1. Dependability
2. Demonstrating integrity and respect
3. Thinking things through
4. Working effectively with others
5. Showing initiative and being action oriented
6. Communication
7. Leadership
8. Data Information Collection and Analysis
9. Collaboration and Partnerships

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

Successful completion of a graduate degree from a recognized post­secondary institution with acceptable specialization in a biological science and/or infectious disease epidemiology.
OR
Successful completion of a graduate degree from a recognized post­secondary institution in a natural, physical or applied science with specialization in a field relevant to the duties of the position (i.e.: Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, etc.)

Degree equivalency

Candidates MAY be required to meet ONE OR MORE of the following experience qualifications, depending on the requirements of the specific position being staffed as they may be deemed as either an Essential or Asset qualification. Candidates must clearly indicate on their online applications which qualifications they meet and describe the depth and breadth to which they meet it.

1. Experience communicating complex scientific subject matter orally and in writing (publishing scientific papers, reports, documents, graphs, presentations or other material) in the area of expertise. and/or other material in the area of expertise.
2. Experience in microbiological, immunological and molecular methodologies.
3. Experience leading, managing, or coordinating science-based projects.
4. Experience leading, managing, or coordinating software projects.
5. Experience working in a lab environment and with Biosafety Level 2 pathogens.
6. Experience in the cultivation and handling of Risk Group 3 organisms in a containment environment.
7. Experience in performing molecular methods with specialised software.
8. Experience with proteomics methods and applications.
9. Experience with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometer operations and methods.
10. Experience with bioinformatics methods and databases, and using open-source bioinformatics software (installation and usage).
11. Experience with high performance computing.
12. Experience with comparative “–omics” data analysis (genomics, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, etc.)
13. Experience programming in one or more of the following languages: Perl, Python, R, Bash, Java, HTML, JavaScript, SQL.
14. Experience managing relational databases such as MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, etc.
15. Experience working in a professional software development environment.
16. Experience with statistical methods.
17. Experience in training scientific personnel.
18. Experience in designing and conducting proficiency testing programs.
19. Experience in providing support for laboratory-related outbreak preparedness and response activities.

Candidates MAY be required to meet ONE OR MORE of the following qualifications, depending on the requirements of the specific position being staffed as they may be deemed as either an Essential or Asset qualification and would be assessed once screening is complete.

1. Knowledge of current principles, techniques and/or procedures used in microbiology and molecular biology.
2. Knowledge of laboratory quality systems, including ISO.
3. Knowledge of containment level 3 guidelines and practices.
4. Knowledge of Bioinformatics methods and databases.
5. Knowledge of high performance computing technologies.
6. Knowledge of UNIX or LINUX operating systems.

COMPETENCIES:
1. Biomedical Investigation and Intervention
2. Emergency Preparedness and Response
3. People Management
4. Information Processing
5. Surveillance
6. Quality/ Service Improvement
7. Knowledge Transfer and Exchange
8. Development and Innovation

1. Ability to program in one or more of the following languages: Java, HTML, JavaScript, R, Bash, Python, and/or Perl.
2. Ability to design and implement relational database schemas and write SQL queries.

ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS:
Selection for appointment may take into consideration employees who have been or will be impacted by organizational restructuring. Appointments may be made based on the department's commitment to employment continuity of indeterminate employees and no involuntary job loss.

The Public Health Agency of Canada is committed to Employment Equity. In order to ensure a diversified workforce, preference may be given to candidates self-identifying as belonging to one or more of the following Employment Equity groups: aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minority groups provided the candidate meets all essential qualifications listed on the job opportunity notice and any applicable asset qualification(s).

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Willing and able to work overtime during times of operational need.
Willing and able to provide assistance with outbreak and emergency laboratory response situations.
Willing and able to travel in order to participate in meetings, training and potential outbreak and emergency response.

Conditions of employment

Secret or Reliability security clearance (as per the requirement of the position)
Medical clearance (depending on the requirement of the position)

Other information

How can you apply?
We want to attract top talent. Therefore we are focusing on your competencies not your knowledge.
We are also taking a simplified approach for you to apply to this process. To apply for this process, you:
• don’t need to provide a cover letter (just a résumé);
• answer screening questions online.
You will be required to complete an online experience questionnaire when you apply. The information you provide in the questionnaire must be true. When answering the screening questions you must provide concrete and detailed examples to clearly demonstrate how you meet the qualification. We can’t make any assumptions about your experience. Simply saying you have the required qualifications or listing your current duties is not enough. Instead, provide concrete and detailed examples that clearly explain where, when, and how you gained the experience. We’ll only use your
résumé as a secondary source of information. The breadth and depth of experience may be considered during screening, assessment and/or selection of candidates.
Management can decide to pull applications at any point so please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible.
The first pull of candidate applications could happen as early as September 2017.

All communication throughout the entire staffing process, including email correspondence may be used in the assessment of qualifications. Based on the hiring division’s needs, additional essential qualifications, asset qualifications, organizational needs, operational requirements and/or conditions of employment may be identified and applied during the assessment and/or selection of candidates.

When opportunities arise and to manage volume, we may randomly select candidates from the inventory.

We will communicate with applicants by e¬mail. It is your responsibility to verify your e-mails regularly to ensure that you do not miss out on any opportunities. Failure to respond in the prescribed timeframe will result in your application not being referred to the hiring manager. The applicant shall ensure that the e¬mail address provided is valid and make sure this address is functional at all times and accepts messages from unknown users.

We may assess the essential and asset qualifications using interviews, written tests, reference or a combination of these methods.

Candidates from outside the public service may be required to pay for travel and relocation costs associated with this selection process.

Proof of citizenship will be requested if you are considered for a position.

Proof of education may be requested if you are considered for a position. Candidates with foreign credentials must provide proof of Canadian equivalency. Consult the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials for further information at http://www.cicic.ca/

All job applications must be submitted ONLY ONLINE through the Public Service Resourcing System. Persons with disabilities who cannot apply online are asked to contact 1¬-800-¬645-¬5605.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice. Applicants are asked to indicate their preferred official language in their application.

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled, diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. As a result, it promotes employment equity and encourages candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a member of a visible minority group.

The Public Service of Canada is also committed to developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environments. If contacted in relation to a job opportunity or testing, you should advise the Public Service Commission or the departmental official in a timely fashion of the accommodation measures which must be taken to enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner. Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.