Health Science Specialist

The Health Science Specialist position serves the Million Veteran Program (MVP) within the Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development. The position is located in at the VA Boston Healthcare System (VA BHS). The Health Science Specialist serves as a research project coordinator and has full charge of maintaining a comprehensive, coordinated overview of the daily activities of a research program.

This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience and knowledge working as a project coordinator within a research organization. In addition to the Selective Placement Factor, to qualify for this position at the GS-9 level, you must meet the Basic Education requirements and one of the following: BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Applicants must possess a bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree with major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (external link) at the time the degree was obtained. PLUS SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the basic education requirement above, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped them with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-7 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes: Organizing and coordinating all aspects of the research operations team; working with research team to complete IRB applications; provides training and guidance to site personnel in the adherence to the study protocol and operations; and analyzing research data and formulates research reports. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Successful completion of 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree with a major in an appropriate field (as described above) which provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position to substitute for the one year of experience, is fully qualifying for the GS-9. OR COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Data Management Education and Training Research IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work performed is primarily in a research setting. No unusual risks other than those involving the day-to-day activities of a busy office environment. Annually the individual may require travel to present at conference/meetings. The incumbent will spend the majority of time standing, sitting and moving about in the research setting. A degree of manual dexterity is required in use of computers. 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/.