Laboratory Technician

Important messages

ONLY APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED ON-LINE USING THE 'APPLY ON-LINE' BUTTON ABOVE WILL BE CONSIDERED.

Persons with disabilities preventing them from applying on-line are asked to contact 1-800-645-5605.

Work environment

The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is a federal department responsible to ensure the integrity and marketability of grain for the domestic and international grain trade, from producer to global customer.

The CGC is a significant part of Canada’s dynamic and diverse agriculture sector. We regulate grain handling in Canada, set grain standards and conduct research on grain. At the CGC we strive to live our values of Excellence, Integrity, Respect and Accountability.

We promote work/life balance and we have an Employee and Family Assistance program to support you and your family.

Intent of the process

The intent of this process is to staff the following position:
-1 full time specified period position in Montreal (Bilingual imperative BBB/BBB)

A pool of candidates may be created to staff similar positions with various linguistic profiles and tenures (indeterminate, specified term, acting, assignment, deployment, secondment)within the Canadian Grain Commission.

Positions to be filled: 1

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)

Essential Qualifications
Education:
Graduation with a degree or diploma in science from a recognized university or college with specialization in a field related to the position.

Degree equivalency

Experience:
-Recent* experience in performing laboratory procedures.
-Recent* experience in the operation and maintenance of laboratory equipment for cereal chemistry OR food chemistry OR analytical chemistry.

* Recent experience is defined as the depth and breadth of experience normally associated with having worked in a laboratory during the past three years.

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

Various language requirements
Language Proficiency:
English Essential
Bilingual imperative (BBB/BBB) (Montreal only)

Information on language requirements

Knowledge:
-Knowledge of theories and principles of analytical techniques including operation of basic laboratory equipment.
-Knowledge of basic chemical and physical composition of grains and/or oilseeds.
-Knowledge of laboratory safety practices.

Behavioral Competencies:
-Adaptability
-Analytical Thinking
-Being a Team Player
-Commitment to Quality
-Effective Interactive Communication
-Initiative

Abilities & Skills:
-To perform standard laboratory procedures related to the analysis of grains, feedstuffs and foods.
-To calibrate, maintain and troubleshoot analytical instruments and laboratory equipment.

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

Asset Qualifications
Education:
Graduation with a degree or diploma from a recognized university or college in disciplines associated with chemistry OR biochemistry OR plant science OR food science.

Degree equivalency

Experience:
-Recent* experience in a laboratory environment utilizing chemical OR biochemical techniques and instrumentation specific to grains, feedstuffs and foods.
-Recent* experience utilizing scientific methods to extract and quantitate mycotoxins in grains, feedstuffs and foods.
-Recent* experience in the operation, maintenance and troubleshooting of Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) or Gas Chromatography (GC)
-Recent* experience in operating within a quality management system.
-Experience using a Waters’ ACQUITY UPLC system and Empower software.
-Experience in carrying out research projects under supervision.

* Recent experience is defined as the depth and breadth of experience normally associated with having worked in a laboratory during the past three years.

Knowledge:
-Knowledge of basic statistical analyses.

Ability and skills:
-Ability to evaluate and interpret data, and prepare a summary of results using word processing and spreadsheet applications.

Organizational Needs:
-Membership in one of the designated Employment Equity groups.

Conditions of employment

Conditions of Employment:
-Reliability status.
-Valid driver’s license OR personal mobility in the time and manner normally associated with possession and use of a driver’s license.
-Ability and willingness to wear protective clothing and/or equipment.
-Ability and willingness to be exposed to and work with hazardous chemicals and equipment.
-Ability and willingness to maintain standing and/or sitting position for extended periods.
-Ability and willingness to be exposed to grain and flour dust.
-Known allergies must be controlled through the use of personal protective equipment and/or medication, and must not impinge upon the work to be performed.
-Ability and willingness to enter a grain elevator office environment.
-Ability and willingness to move and/or lift items (up to 20 kg.).
-Availability and willingness to work shifts and/or overtime, as required.
-Availability and willingness to travel, as required.
-Adherence to laboratory safety standards and procedures.

Note: Candidates must meet all of the Conditions of Employment at the time of appointment and must continue to meet these during the period of appointment.

Other information

Candidates will be asked, as per the application process, to answer screening questions for each essential and asset criteria (education and experience). Candidates will have to provide specific examples, for each screening question demonstrating how they have acquired the education and experience criteria. Please note that it is not sufficient to only state that the qualification is met or to provide a listing of current or past responsibilities. Resumes will be used as a secondary source to validate your answers to the screening questions. Failure to clearly demonstrate in your answers how you meet the screening criteria (education and experience) may result in the rejection of your application.

FOR EACH EXPERIENCE CRITERIA, please provide the following MANDATORY information: 1 - Name of the department or organization where the experience was acquired;
2 - Title of the position occupied and duration for which you exercised the functions; and
3 - Specific details of tasks, projects or accomplishments demonstrating how the experience was acquired.

The ASSET qualification(s) may be used for screening of applications and/or may be invoked at any time of the selection process. If you meet these asset qualifications(s), PLEASE CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE IN WRITING HOW YOU MEET THEM. Provide examples and describe the work/duties you have performed. Failure to do so may result in your application not being considered further during the screening process.

Candidates from outside the federal public service may be required to pay for their own travel.

Communication for this process will be sent via email. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure accurate contact information is provided and updated as required. Candidates who apply to this selection process should include an email address that accepts email from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email). Candidates are strongly encouraged to check their email on a regular basis.

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.

Receipt of applications will not be sent; only candidates successful in the screening process will be contacted. Depending on the requirements of the position being staffed from this process, for current or future vacancies, any or all of the asset qualifications, operational requirements, and organizational needs may be applied at the time of screening.

Appointment decisions may be based on one or more of the following criteria:
- Matching of the individual's experience or qualifications to the strengths and weaknesses of the work team;
- Matching of the individual's experience or qualifications to the specific duties of the position being staffed;
- Depth, breadth, type of work-specific experience;
- Level/degree of one or more competencies/qualifications.

Appointment decisions may be based on organizational needs. We therefore encourage candidates to self-declare their membership to any of the following employment equity groups: visible minority, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, or women, should the organizational need be invoked during the appointment process.

All communication relating to this process, including email correspondence, may be used in the assessment of qualifications.

Other sources of information (such as performance agreements, work samples, board member knowledge, etc.) may be used to assess the criteria identified on the Statement of Merit Criteria.

Candidates invited to an interview will be required to bring proof of their education credentials, in the form of a diploma or official transcript (original documents only).

A “Top Down” assessment process may be used during any stage of the selection process. Please note that simply meeting the essential qualifications and/or achieving a pass mark on any of the assessment used does not mean you will move forward in the selection process. Management may decide to use breadth and depth of the screening criteria, assessed qualifications and/or a cut-off mark that is higher than the pass mark on any evaluation used throughout the process.

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.