Health Science Specialist

Summary The Research Study Coordinator manages clinical tests, collects data, and recruits and manages subjects for clinical trials while providing high-level technical support of projects in a comprehensive research setting. Responsibilities This is a bargaining unit position. Areas of Consideration for all Other Positions: 1st – Facility-wide (including satellites) 2nd – Administration or Staff office posting the vacancy. 3rd – All other Status eligibles. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8am – 430pm Telework: May be authorized with supervisory discretion Duty Location Status: Will work from a VA owned or leased space Position Description Title/PD#: Health Science Specialist/ PD99718S Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary with occasional walking, standing, and handling, and carrying items such as paper and books. There may be occasional needs to assist study participants with mobility to study locations. Some travel will be required. This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-11. At the GS-09 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-11. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. Promotion is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied. Major Duties: Collects and analyzes data, educates, and interacts with study participants and leadership Provides detailed and summary information and recommendations for further actions based on the data analysis Oversees, screens, and evaluates recruitment of candidates for clinical research studies via telephone and/or in person Uses objective rating techniques to identify potential candidates for participation in study where project design is complex Assists supervisor with managing the routine, day-to-day activities, and administration of the project Plans, develops, completes, and submits on time all required documentation/ paperwork/forms for initial and continuing human subjects review Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/25/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 or GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the respective GS-07 or GS-09 lower grade level. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, “Notification of Personnel Action” to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. AND You may qualify based on your education/experience or combination of both as described below. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Individual Occupational Requirements: Basic Education Requirement: Bachelors or graduate/higher level degree: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of this position. This degree must be from an education program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (external link) at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify at the GS-09 level, in addition to meeting the Basic Education requirement, applicants must meet one of the following: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-07) in federal service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Health Science Specialist – Research Study Coordinator. Qualifying experience includes assisting with clinical tests and collecting data; recruiting human subjects for clinical trials; utilizing a variety of software to organize and track data; maintaining research files; and providing day-to-day support for a research program. (Resume(s) must clearly demonstrate the required experience to be creditable.) -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Requires 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a masters or equivalent graduate degree with a major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences, or allied sciences that is appropriate to the work of this position. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Requires an equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond 1 year of progressively higher-level graduate education) and specialized experience as described above, to meet the total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position. To qualify at the GS-11 level, in addition to meeting the Basic Education requirement, applicants must meet one of the following: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Health Science Specialist – Research Study Coordinator. Qualifying specialized experience includes coordinating clinical tests and collecting data; recruiting and managing human subjects for clinical trials; utilizing a variety of software to organize, analyze and track data; maintaining study and regulatory files; preparing reports; and providing day-to-day support for a research program. (Resume(s) must clearly demonstrate the required experience to be creditable). -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): A successfully completed masters or equivalent graduate degree, with a major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences, or allied sciences that is appropriate to the work of this position. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Requires an equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond 1 year of progressively higher-level graduate education) and specialized experience as described above, to meet the total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Critical Thinking Managing and Organizing Information Project Management Research Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employees position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties. To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPMs web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp. Education PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPMs Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (or the Act) prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from requesting applicant criminal history record information before extending a conditional or tentative offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S.C § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged non-compliance to VA at vacofairchanceact@va.gov. Applicant written complaints should include the following: Administration name: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office name, employee name and contact information or contractor who made contact (if known). Date of contact. Details regarding the job opportunity announcement applied to, and copies of any documents or other evidence related to the complaint. Visit Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) for more information. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.