Research Scientist – Food-borne and Veterinary Parasitology

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

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is a separate employer and is not subject to the Public Service Employment Act.

MANDATORY COVID-19 VACCINATION
On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced details of its plans to require vaccination across the federal public service.

As a separate employer, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has implemented the Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, that requires all CFIA employees to attest to their vaccination status and to be fully vaccinated, unless accommodated based on a medical contraindication, religion, or another prohibited ground for discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act. The requirement for employees to be fully vaccinated applies whether they are teleworking, working remotely or working on-site. This is a condition of employment and it applies to indeterminate (permanent), determinate (term), assignment and student hiring to the CFIA. Should you reach the point in the staffing process where it is necessary to verify terms and conditions of employment, the hiring manager will contact you.

The CFIA considers applications from individuals who have legal status to work in Canada and does not give preference to Canadian citizens.

We will only accept applications received through the GC Jobs website, therefore you must submit your application by clicking on “Apply online” in this advertisement. Persons who are unable to apply online must use the “Contact information” below, prior to the closing date, to request specialized accommodation.

Duties

Reporting to the Director of the Saskatoon Laboratory, the research scientist ensures that the Centre for Food-Borne and Animal Parasitology (CFAP) at the Saskatoon Laboratory has a sound scientific base in food-borne and veterinary parasitology to support strategic and effective policies, regulations and programs to anticipate and meet the future needs and challenges of the CFIA in parasitology under its Food and Animal Health business lines. The CFAP is an OIE Reference Laboratory for Trichinellosis and an OIE Collaborating Centre for Food-Borne Zoonotic Parasites.

The position requires scientific innovation and leadership: the successful research scientist will lead an integrated team of scientists to anticipate and address federally regulated parasitology issues. They will also work with stakeholders from academia, government, and industry, applying their expertise to help resolve challenges associated with these issues.

The research scientist will participate in, plan, organize, coordinate and lead the development of technologies to ensure Canada fulfills its regulatory commitments. They and their team will generate hypotheses and conduct independent studies to test these hypotheses, develop diagnostic methods, and train staff, students, and other parties in the procedures or methods used or under development in the laboratory. They will provide scientists and other professionals with information to facilitate decision-making for evidence-based regulations; and analyze and evaluate data, draft reports, publish scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, and present findings to stakeholders, policy makers and the scientific community.

The researcher is expected to manage multiple projects in a multidisciplinary setting requiring collaboration with other scientific teams both within and external to the CFIA. They will be expected to seek internal and external funding and collaborators to support the research program and to effectively manage resources to achieve the desired outcomes. The researcher will be required to modify and change the program as technology and research evolves, and as Agency priorities shift. They will also be encouraged to seek adjunct faculty appointments in relevant departments at academic institutions such as the University of Saskatchewan (e.g. Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine).

Work environment

We offer a bilingual, science-based environment, with excellent benefits, flexible hours, opportunities for advancement, an emphasis on learning and development, and a high level of employee satisfaction. Join a workforce that’s as diverse as the people it serves. You can find some more great reasons to join us on our website: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/cfia-jobs/top-10-reasons-to-join-us/eng/1299859095075/1299859142835.

Intent of the process

A pool of qualified candidates may be established. This pool may be used to staff positions with similar qualifications, with various language requirements, various conditions of employment and/or various tenures including term appointments, indeterminate appointments, acting appointments and/or assignments.

Positions to be filled: 1

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter "(1,000 words maximum). The cover letter should be used to highlight your qualifications and your professional goals. Essential education and experience required will be evaluated through the screening questions. Your entire application, including cover letter, will be used to evaluate your written communication ability."

Contact information for 3 references.

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

ESSENTIAL EDUCATION

EEd1: Graduation with a doctoral degree* from a recognized post-secondary institution with a specialization in food-borne and/or veterinary parasitology or related disciplines. The research, training and experience must clearly demonstrate the ability to conduct and supervise research of doctoral degree caliber.

* Doctoral degree only includes PhD and excludes DVM and MD (although these are considered assets).

Applicants submitting education credentials from a non-Canadian institution are responsible for obtaining certification that these credentials are the equivalent of the Canadian education level required for the position.

Please refer to the link below for more information.

Degree equivalency

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE

EE1: Experience guiding and coordinating financial and collaborative requirements of a research team conducting research projects, including test method development, on parasites such as Trichinella or others of public health, zoonotic and/or animal health significance.

EE2: Experience aligning organizational research priorities with emerging research needs and focusing energies and talents of multidisciplinary teams toward reaching organizational and client goals.

EE3: Experience fostering, mentoring and guiding the continuous learning and development of others (e.g. staff, students, colleagues, peers).

EE4: Experience in supervising staff including setting goals and assessing performance.

EE5: Experience communicating complex research developments and results to diverse audiences, including the general public, and in publishing research findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

EE6: Experience in responding to issues related to food-borne or veterinary parasitology in a regulatory (or other) setting and providing authoritative, broad-based advice on the subject.

EE7: Experience in laboratory quality assurance in accordance with the ISO 17025 (or similar) standard.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE

EK1: Expert*** knowledge of public health, zoonotic and veterinary parasitoses and the development of diagnostic tests including serological and molecular methods.

*** Expert knowledge is defined as at least 5 years of experience or training.

EK2: Expert*** knowledge of food-borne and veterinary parasitology such as that pertaining to Trichinella spp., Tritrichomonas foetus and Toxoplasma gondii.

*** Expert knowledge is defined as at least 5 years of experience or training.

EK3: Knowledge of ISO and/or other applicable quality assurance standards.

EK4: Knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of other government departments and agencies, academia, industry and other national and international stakeholders such as the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Commission on Trichinellosis (ICT).

ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES

EC1: Effective interpersonal relationships

EC2: Initiative

EC3: Ability to communicate orally

EC4: Ability to communicate in writing

EC5: Ability to synthesize information

EC6: Judgement

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

English essential

Information on language requirements

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

ASSET EDUCATION

AEd1: A degree in Veterinary Medicine (DVM or equivalent), public health, or other related specialty.

Degree equivalency

ASSET EXPERIENCE

AEx1: Experience in managing the quality system of a reference laboratory in accordance with the ISO 17025 (or similar) standard.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance - Applicants who have not lived in Canada for the past five (or ten, depending on security level) years may be required to submit a police certificate from each country in which they have lived for six months or more during this period, as well as other documentation required for the security screening process. Failure to submit this documentation if requested will eliminate the application from further consideration.

The following conditions of employment are required for an appointment:
• Adherence to the CFIA Code of Conduct.
• Adherence to the CFIA Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Policy.
• Compliance with the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector.
• Legal status to accept employment for the entire period of employment.
• In accordance with the Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, all employees of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and attest to their vaccination status unless accommodated based on a medical contraindication, religion, or another prohibited ground for discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act.


Any of the following conditions of employment may be required for an appointment:

• To use in the prescribed circumstances and manner all prescribed safety materials, equipment, devices and clothing.

• Willing and able to carry and wear 20 kg of protective equipment while performing duties.

• To use prescribed and provided respiratory equipment that meets the respiratory program requirements; to undergo fit testing (e.g. may need to be clean-shaven, depending on the respirator design).

• Security clearance under the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act (HPTA) may be required for certain laboratory positions.

• Willingness to abide by strict biosecurity protocols which may require showering several times a day or abiding by certain restrictions on contact with livestock outside of the workplace.

• Willing and able to work in environmentally challenging or physically demanding conditions and with pathogens in high security laboratory biocontainment or with potential allergens.

• To have and maintain a valid driver`s license.

• To assume responsibility for making transportation arrangements to get to diverse and distant work sites in a timely and efficient manner.

• Willing and available to travel, as required.

• Willing and available to work irregular hours (e.g., days, nights, weekends, statutory holidays).

• Willing and available to work overtime, as required.

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

Personal information is obtained for the purpose of determining an individual’s competence and suitability for employment. If a staffing complaint questions this determination, please be advised that relevant personal information you will provide in the course of this staffing process may be disclosed to substantiate the staffing decision.

You are entitled to participate in the staffing process in the official language of your choice.
For this staffing process, the CFIA will communicate with you by email. You must provide a valid email address to which you wish to receive communication regarding this staffing process. You must ensure that you check your email account including spam, promotion or other folders regularly as there may be a deadline for responses. If you respond past the deadline you risk being removed from the staffing process.
Applicants who are screened in to this staffing process will be sent further information by email regarding what to expect during subsequent phases of this staffing process.

Depending on the number of applicants, CFIA's needs and CFIA HR plans, volume management strategies such as, but not limited to, top-down approach, cut-off scores, random selection and/or assessment may be used for the purpose of managing applications/candidates. Should a volume management strategy be used, communication regarding the application of the strategy will be provided to those candidates who are impacted.

During the application or assessment process both cheating and plagiarism are considered forms of misconduct and are not permitted. Any person found cheating, including those who help others to cheat, may be subject to removal from the staffing process.

A current copy of your resume may be used as another source to confirm the education and experience you will be asked to describe in the screening questions. It may also be reviewed by prospective hiring managers at the appointment stage.

For more information on how to apply to a CFIA staffing process, please visit: https://inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/job-opportunities/how-to-apply/eng/1340676915348/1340679107182.

You will be asked to provide proof of your education credentials later in the staffing process.

Your ability to communicate effectively in writing will be assessed via the application.

Various assessment tools may be used in this staffing process such as: standardized tests, reference checks, written tests, an interview, etc.
All written and verbal communication obtained throughout the staffing process, from the time of application to close of process, may be used to evaluate the candidate.

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

Contact information