Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer (GS-15)

Chief, Rocky Mountain Veterinary Branch

Attending Veterinarian, Rocky Mountain Laboratories

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

National Institutes of Health

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)—a major research component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—is recruiting a supervisory veterinary medical officer to serve as chief of the Rocky Mountain Veterinary Branch (RMVB) and attending veterinarian, Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML). This position is located on NIAID’s RML campus in Hamilton, Montana. 

The selected candidate will provide active and visible leadership to the RML Animal Program and oversee all policy matters and administrative management of RMVB. The incumbent will oversee the execution of a multimillion-dollar budget and ensure safe conduct of animal research in biosafety level (BSL) 3 and BSL-4 laboratories. The incumbent will also provide expert scientific input and support to RML investigators and research groups for the planning, design, execution, and analysis of infectious disease research studies involving the use of animals. The incumbent will direct the development and implementation of comprehensive RML plans to ensure that the animal facilities will meet immediate and future research needs, which includes the capability to provide overall veterinary clinical and pathology services required by RML researchers. The incumbent will maintain liaison with leaders in laboratory animal medicine, care, and use, including national and international societies and organizations. In addition, the incumbent will maintain up-to-date knowledge of all animal health, animal utilization, and environmental conditions required by oversight organizations, such as the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International. The incumbent will be responsible for assuring compliance with all animal care and use policies of the Public Health Service and other regulations.

Applicants must have a D.V.M. or equivalent doctoral veterinary degree and be specialty board certified by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. The ideal candidate will have considerable experience working in animal biosafety level (ABSL) 4 containment, several years’ experience working with nonhuman primate models of emerging infectious diseases, experience working with select agents, and demonstrated experience leading a large, complex, species-diverse laboratory animal program. The selected candidate must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance to work with select agents and must be physically capable of working in BSL-3 and BSL-4 environments for up to five hours at a time.

Salary is commensurate with experience and accomplishments. A full civil-service package of benefits (including retirement; health, life, and long-term care insurance; Thrift Savings Plan; etc.) is available. Women and people from other groups underrepresented in biomedical research are especially encouraged to apply. U.S. citizenship is required.

To Apply

Visit www.USAJobs.gov and access vacancy announcement NIH-NIAID-DH-22-11422708 from May 16 – 20, 2022.

Please include in your curriculum vitae (CV) a description of your leadership, mentoring, and outreach activities—especially those involving women and persons from other groups that are underrepresented in biomedical research—to promote inclusive excellence in the biomedical research workforce.

For additional information email John Barr at barrjo@mail.nih.gov.

Visit NIAID Careers for more information about NIAID and additional career opportunities.

HHS, NIH, and NIAID are equal opportunity employers. NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community through its training and employment programs.