Competency-Based Minimum Qualifications Instructions
This job class uses competency-based minimum qualifications.  Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class. 

Competency Description           
The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class.  They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency.  They typically list expectations instead of specific tasks and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines.   A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to meet the competency successfully but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation.

Please ensure your application (through work history, training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports/demonstrates you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.   

 

Public Health Microbiologist 1 

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in:

 

• Biology: Knowledge of the environment, plant and animal living tissue, cells, organisms, and entities, including their functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Chemistry: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of the composition, structure, and properties of substances, and of the chemical processes and transformations, including uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Evidence-Based Practice: Integrates best research practices with clinical expertise and patient values for optimum care and participates in learning and research activities to the extent feasible.
• Public Health: Applies knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, methods, and tools associated with protecting and improving the health of people and their communities, including promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious diseases.

Equivalent to those typically gained by:

Bachelor of Science degree or higher from an accredited institution in Medical Technology, Microbiology, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Biological Science, or Chemistry, with training and/or course work in Medical/Clinical Laboratory Sciences;
 AND
 Experience conducting, analyzing, and evaluating clinical microbiological tests.
 
Special Note: 
Positions in this class may require a background investigation. Applies only to work covered under the Public Health Security and Bio-terrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 or other relevant state or federal law.
 
Positions in this class require the incumbent to be immunized against infectious diseases.

 

“Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on-line, self-study, and on-the-job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long-duration (such as a post-secondary degree) and short-duration (such as a seminar) programs.

Public Health Microbiologist 2 

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in:

 

• Biology: Knowledge of the environment, plant and animal living tissue, cells, organisms, and entities, including their functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Chemistry: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of the composition, structure, and properties of substances, and of the chemical processes and transformations, including uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Evidence-Based Practice: Integrates best research practices with clinical expertise and patient values for optimum care and participates in learning and research activities to the extent feasible.
• Public Health: Applies knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, methods, and tools associated with protecting and improving the health of people and their communities, including promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious diseases.
• Quality Assurance: Knowledge of the principles, methods, and tools of quality assurance and quality control used to ensure a product fulfills functional requirements and standards.
• Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.
• Written Communication: Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.

Equivalent to those typically gained by:

Bachelor of Science degree or higher from an accredited college in Medical Technology, Microbiology, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Biological Science, or Chemistry, with training and/or course work in Medical/Clinical Laboratory Sciences;
 AND
 Progressively responsible professional microbiologist experience in a clinical or hospital laboratory.

Special Note: 
Positions in this class may require a background investigation. Applies only to work covered under the Public Health Security and Bio-terrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 or other relevant state or federal law.
 
Positions in this class require the incumbent to be immunized against infectious diseases.

 

“Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on-line, self-study, and on-the-job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long-duration (such as a post-secondary degree) and short-duration (such as a seminar) programs.

 

“Professional experience” means work that is creative, analytical, evaluative, and interpretive; requires a range and depth of specialized knowledge of the profession's principles, concepts, theories, and practices; and is performed with the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment.

 

“Progressively responsible” means indicating growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility.

At the time of the interview, please provide the following:

1. Three (3) professional references whom we may contact by phone, one (1) of whom must be your current or most recent supervisor, if not already provided in the application. 
2. Professional licenses, if available
3. A copy of academic transcripts (unofficial are okay; please ensure that the institution name/URL is listed on the transcripts) is used to support that you meet the minimum qualification competencies and to ensure CLIA requirements are met.

If chosen for the position, the candidate will be required to provide the following items before employment: 

1. A copy of your current driver's license.

Please read the below information carefully. This applies to your application submission.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS

For your application to be evaluated, you must answer the Supplemental Questions. 

 

The State of Alaska uses four proficiency levels to measure and describe an applicant's level of competence in applying certain behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities to accomplish a specific task. The four proficiency levels are Mastery, Fluency, Literacy, and Discovery. You must rate your proficiency level for each competency listed in the supplemental questions. 

 
FLEXIBLY STAFFED
This position is flexibly staffed. Depending on the applicant's training and/or experience, this vacancy may be filled at either the 1 or 2 level. The full range of salaries is listed above. The starting salary will be determined by the position level. If filled at a lower level, promotion to the higher level will only occur upon successful completion of the probationary period and required training, and the applicant meets the minimum qualifications of the higher job class and final approval by the supervisor. 

EDUCATION
To verify education is being used to meet and/or support the required minimum qualifications/competencies, you must fill in the Education section of the application. If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed. Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials used to meet or support the minimum qualifications/competencies for a position and are required with each application. (Unofficial is okay; please ensure the institution/URL name is listed on the transcripts). Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or provided at the time of interview; if not, transcripts will be required before employment.
 
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION
If education is completed in a foreign college or university, it may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable. If utilizing this education, you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs or an accredited U.S. state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. The omission of the required documentation listed will result in an incomplete application, and you will not receive further consideration. 
 
WORK EXPERIENCE
When using work experience not already documented in your application, please provide the employer's name, your job title, employment dates, and whether you were working full-time or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and if minimum qualifications are met. Work experience needed to meet the minimum qualifications must be documented in the application. If the application does not support minimum qualifications, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment. A resume will not be used to determine that minimum qualifications have been met for the position to which you are applying.
 
If you have currently or previously been appointed to a flexibly staffed position, please ensure your work experience within a flexibly staffed position indicates the actual dates employed at each level. Ensure your time and any subsequent flex promotion(s) are documented as a separate position. This is required as minimum qualifications require experience at a particular level in which the lower level may not be considered. If this information is not accurately reflected in your application, this may cause the processing of your application for consideration to be delayed.
 
NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application. Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.
 
The State of Alaska does not provide VISA Employer sponsorships.
EEO STATEMENT
The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities who require accommodation, auxiliary aides or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at P. O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal-opportunity employer.
 
WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE
Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll-free) or (907) 465-4095 if you are in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to recruitment.services@alaska.gov.
 
For applicant password assistance, please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword.