Research Scientist

Important messages

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Assessment accommodation

PLEASE ENSURE YOU READ ALL POSTER NOTES THOROUGHLY AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT WILL BE REQUIRED IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS. FAILURE TO READ THE NOTES AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS COULD RESULT IN YOUR APPLICATION MISSING CRITICAL INFORMATION PROVIDING FOR INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION FOR THE ASSESSMENT BOARD TO COMPLETE YOUR ASSESSMENT RESULTING IN YOUR ELIMINATION FROM THE PROCESS.

*All Research Scientist (RES) appointments are incumbent based. Therefore, the level of the position is determined by the qualifications/accomplishments of the successful candidate as determined by a committee.

*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/.

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.

Screening questions have been built into the application process, 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. Candidates will not be solicited for incomplete or missing information.

Duties

The successful candidate will engage in studies designing, implementing and analyzing factors important for resistance and susceptibility to HIV, STBBI and related comorbidity infection in the context of female reproductive health. Specific emphasis will be placed on studies of the microbiome that play a role in protection or susceptibility to infectious disease. The successful candidate will work with a diverse team of research scientists, biologists and clinicians from across Canada and globally. The candidate will develop external collaborative partnerships with academia and other government departments and agencies.

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 immediate need is to staff one (1) English Essential Indeterminate position, with a Secret Security Clearance.

A pool of qualified candidates will be created and this pool may be used to staff immediate and future vacant positions within the National Microbiology Laboratory:
* various tenures,
* various language requirements and linguistic profiles,
* various geographic locations,
* various security requirements and/or
* various conditions of employment.

We are seeking research scientists with a wide variety of expertise and experience to provide the National HIV and Retrovirology Laboratories with cutting-edge science across the breadth of its activities in the area of female reproductive health and the microbiome as they relate to HIV, STBBI and related comorbidities. Particular emphasis is placed on research to support the efforts of the Division in meeting its mandated activities in the Federal Initiative on HIV/AIDS, new objectives outlined in the Government of Canada’s five-year action plan on Sexually Transmitted Blood-Borne Infections (STBBI), and the NML’s Innovative Diagnostic Program (IDP) to provide innovative approaches in reaching the undiagnosed as part of its population-based public health approach.

The specific expertise sought will contribute to attaining the following goals:

Goal #1: Expand the knowledge base of HIV/AIDS in the international scientific community by defining mechanisms in the female reproductive tract involved in HIV disease progression.

Goal #2: Provide a better understanding of reproductive health factors involved in susceptibility and resistance to HIV, STBBI and related comorbidity infections.

Goal #3: Develop novel approaches for understanding HIV/STBBI and related comorbidity coinfection and defining factors that impact HIV disease progression.

Goal #4: Develop/validate and lead efforts to support innovative technologies related to STBBI diagnostic testing in the context of female reproductive health.

Goal #5: Expand HIV, STBBI and related comorbidity diagnostic capacities in remote underserved Canadian communities.

Goal #6: Develop and implement novel bioinformatics for evaluating STBBI in the microbiome of the female reproductive tract.

Positions to be filled: 1

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

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

Education:
Graduation with an acceptable doctoral degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in a field of the natural sciences with a specialization in microbiology, immunology or related field.

Degree equivalency

Experiences:
1. Experience in providing specialized scientific, technical expertise or recommendations.
2. Experience in leading, organizing and delivery of scientific projects in a laboratory setting.
3. Experience in basic microbiological, immunological and/or molecular biological techniques.
4. Experience in communicating scientific findings (publications, presentations).
5. Experience in microbiological methods relevant to female reproductive health

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

Various language requirements
English Essential
French Essential
Bilingual Imperative (BBB/BBB, CBC/CBC, CCC)

Information on language requirements

Knowledge:
1. Knowledge of trends, emerging issues and concerns relating to minimizing risks of human illnesses arising from the interaction between humans.
2. Knowledge of microbiome and female reproductive health.

Competencies:
1. Demonstrating integrity and respect
2. Thinking things through
3. Showing initiative and being action-oriented
4. Collaboration and Partnerships
5. Innovation
6. Productivity
7. Impact

Abilities:
1. Ability to collect date information and perform an analysis
2. Ability to transfer and exchange knowledge
3. Effective oral communication
4. Effective communication in writing

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

Experience:
1. Experience in leading, managing and delivery of mandated scientific programs related to public health.
2. Experience being an expert representative for national or international conferences, symposia, seminars or workshops.
3. Experience in training scientific personnel.
4. Consulting, engaging and liaising with scientific collaborators (nationally and or internationally)
5. Demonstrated research experience and expertise in HIV and STBBI related areas
6. Experience with research pertaining to female reproductive health
7. Experience with –omics investigations related to microbiome and host immunity

Knowledge:
Knowledge of PHAC’s mandate, surveillance and outbreak response systems.

Organizational Needs:
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:
1. Willingness and ability to occasionally work overtime
2. Willingness and ability to travel nationally and internationally.
3. Other operational requirements may also apply, depending on the position being staffed.

Conditions of employment

Secret security clearance

Medical clearance (depending on the position)

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

For this selection process, it is our intention to communicate with candidates via email for screening and assessment purposes. This will include communication of screening results and invitations to written tests and interviews. To that end, candidates must include a valid email address in their application. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that this address is functional and that it accepts messages from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email). It is also the candidate’s responsibility to ensure accurate information is provided and updated as required.

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

Candidates may be assessed using one or more of the following tools: standardized tests, written exam, interview, simulation exercise and reference check.

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. As English is essential for the position, the applicant’s ability to communicate scientific information related to the position orally and in writing in English may be tested as part of the selection process.

Candidates may be required to meet the asset qualifications, the operational requirements or the organizational needs, depending on the requirements of the specific position being staffed.

The hiring Department will only accept on-line applications. All job applications must therefore be submitted through the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS).

To submit an application on-line, please click on the button "Apply Now" below.

Persons with disabilities preventing them from applying online are asked to contact us toll free at 1-800-645-5605 and press '0' for assistance.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

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