Technician/Support

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

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. You must respond to all statements in all categories in order to proceed to the next steps.

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.

Duties

The incumbent will work in the Antimicrobial and metal tolerance Unit of the One Health Division. The duties will include primary isolation of bacteria (E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter), antimicrobial resistance testing and maintaining quality control (ISO 17025). The group includes 7 technicians and the laboratory is located in St-Hyacinthe, Québec.

Work environment

The 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.

The St-Hyacinthe NML laboratory is in charge of primary isolation and AMR testing of diverse bacteria from agrifood samples. These data are used for national surveillance program such as CIPARS and FoodNet Canada.

Intent of the process

This process will initially be used to staff two indeterminate EG-04 positions in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
 
The result of this selection process will also be to establish a pool of qualified candidates that may be used for future acting, specified period, deployment, assignment, secondment or indeterminate appointments within the Public Health Agency of Canada in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

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

Education (common to EG-03 & EG-04):
• Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology, Biology or other related discipline; or
• Current active registration with the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) as a general Medical Laboratory Technologist (MLT) and current active provincial MLT registration in the province in which the position is located, or pending registration, while awaiting the Medical Laboratory Sciences National Exam results. Documentation of equivalent standing within the relevant jurisdiction will be considered; or
• An acceptable combination of education, training and experience with specialization in a biological science relevant to human health.

Degree equivalency

Experience (common to EG-03 & EG-04):
1. Experience providing support/assistance and/or performing experiments and projects in a laboratory setting.
2. Experience in operation of laboratory equipment and/or field instrumentation.
3. Experience in performing routine biological techniques or methods in microbiology/bacteriology.

Experience (only for EG-04)
• Experience in the collation, review and analysis of data and results generated in a laboratory.

If you possess any of the following, your application must also clearly explain how you meet it (other qualifications)

Asset Experience:
Experience in performing routine biological techniques or methods in molecular biology.

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

Bilingual - Imperative (BBB/BBB)

Information on language requirements

Knowledge (common to EG-03 & EG-04):
• Knowledge of safe lab practices/clean-up procedures
• Knowledge of the methods used in conducting laboratory and/or field study experimentation, testing or evaluation.

Knowledge (EG-04 only):
• Knowledge of the theories, current principles, techniques or procedures used in microbiology.

Competencies (common to EG-03 & EG-04):
• Demonstrating integrity and respect
• Thinking things through
• Working effectively with others
• Showing initiative and being action-oriented
• Communication (oral and written)

Abilities (EG-04 only):
• Ability to plan, organize and manage multiple simultaneous tasks.
• Ability to plan experiments, compile data and interpret results.
• Ability to troubleshoot laboratory procedures or techniques

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

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:
• Must be available during core hours.
• Willingness and ability to occasionally work overtime.
• Willingness and ability to assist, mobilize, or deploy to fulfill operational requirements including outbreak and emergency laboratory responses.
• Willingness and ability to work with human and animal laboratory specimens.
• Willingness and ability to work with infectious agents and toxic chemicals.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

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

 
 
ASSESSMENT
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.

In assessing candidates, assessment boards may use a variety of tools and methods including, but not limited to, reviews of past performance and accomplishments, written tests, interviews, simulations, PSC tests, reference checks, board member knowledge etc. In addition, all information obtained throughout the selection process, from the time of application to close of process, may be used to evaluate the candidates.

Candidates must meet the essential qualifications to be appointed to a position.

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.

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.
- The organizational need of restructuring/budgetary constraints

Proof of education will be required. 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.

COMMUNICATION
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.

Are you ready to apply?

To apply for any position, you need to first create a profile in the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS), which should only take about 10 minutes. Then, after ensuring you meet the position requirements, scroll to the bottom of the poster and click on "Apply online."

Work your way through the list of requirements, completing each section and saving as you go. Before submitting your application, please ensure that there are green check marks on every single category before submitting your application.
If there are any red Xs on the categories, please click into that category and ensure that everything has been filled out. Screening questions have been built into the application process and occasionally an applicant may miss a field on the Screening Questions page. Please thoroughly review to ensure that you have responded to each question, including all the "Yes / No " questions.

PSRS will automatically disconnect candidates without warning after 60 minutes if there is no activity. You need to save or move to a new screen to maintain your connection. Typing information without saving does not prevent you from being disconnected. Applicants may find it helpful to first use a word processing software to complete their responses using concrete and detailed examples, then copy and paste the responses into PSRS afterwards.

If you have further questions on how to apply or experience technical difficulties with your application, please visit the following website: http://www.cfp-psc.gc.ca/contact-jobs/index-eng.php

We will only accept on-line applications received via the Public Service Jobs site. Persons with disabilities or residing in locations that prevent them from applying on-line are asked to contact 1-800-645-5605.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, 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.