Administrative Officer
What you'd do
The Director, Administrative Officer (AO) for Research Service is directly responsible to the Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) for Research & Development (R&D) and through to the Chief of Staff for the oversight of the administration of the Research and Development programs at the Loma Linda VA Health Care System. The position will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of a highly complex, multifaceted research program supporting both clinician and non-clinician researchers.
Major duties
Duties encompass administrative aspects for comprehensive support and evaluation of administrative efforts of the VA Loma Linda HCS (VALLHCS). The VALLHCS Research Program is a large, multifaceted investigator-initiated operation comprised of around 200 active projects funded by federal, private enterprise, non-profit, pharmaceutical sponsors, and academic sponsors. An average of 90 principal investigators, and approximately 250 individuals (VA salaried employees, WOC appointees, medical care staff, IPA's and trainees) are involved in the research, which includes biomedical laboratory, clinical, health services and rehabilitation fields. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: Ensure that the VA Research program is administered efficiently and in compliance with a variety of policies and laws. Manage a variable portfolio of funding. Ensure adequate resources are available to investigators and staff. Assist investigators and prospective investigators in their effort to carry out VA's Research mission. Improve communication within the facility, the office of R&D, the individual research programs, and the principal investigators. Effectively manage risk in the Research Program. Ensure all compliance related aspects regarding the conduct of approved research are met. Provide good "customer service" by being available, and supportive to investigators, and other relevant personnel within the area of responsibility. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 0730-1600 or as designated by the ACOS Research for the needs of the research service. Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/PD309230 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/09/2026. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: 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. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Managing day-to-day administrative operations for a complex research or comparable program, including strategic planning, program evaluation, and coordination of multidisciplinary activities; providing expert guidance on administrative policies, compliance requirements, and regulatory standards applicable to human and animal research, safety, and information security; overseeing budget formulation, execution, financial monitoring, and management of multiple funding sources; performing procurement, contracting, property, and equipment management functions; supervising staff and carrying out personnel management responsibilities; managing program space, logistics, and facility needs; and developing reports, conducting administrative reviews, and resolving operational problems to ensure efficient, compliant, and effective program support NOTE: Preferred EXP: Preferred Experience: 4-6 Years VHA Exp, experience in research funding and budget execution, experience with submissions in ERA.com for federal grant submission, experience in administrative oversight of research regulatory committees such as R&D, IRB and IBC, experience with submission responses to ORO. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
Before you apply
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