The Office of Research and Development is seeking two (2) full-time Health Science Specialists at the VA Boston Healthcare System in Boston, Massachusetts. These are TERM (temporary) positions, not to exceed three (3) years.

Duties

The Health Science Specialist functions as a Research Assistant within a large multidisciplinary research and operations enterprise whose responsibilities are both local and national in scope. The incumbent supports all aspects of the research project(s), including technical, clinical and administrative duties including (but not limited to): Recruitment and screening of study participants Conducting outcome testing and performing clinical assessments as detailed in the study protocol(s) Entering research data into computerized data sets Reviewing and verifying research data Preparation of draft technical reports, manuscripts, and grant proposals Literature searches for scientific and technical data Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Science Specialist/PD00609-T and PD0609 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. NOTIFICATIONS: This position is in the AFGE bargaining unit. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/05/2024. 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-7 position in this occupational series, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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. BASIC REQUIREMENT: Bachelor's 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 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. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: A selective placement factor (SPF) refers to specific qualifications which are absolutely required because a person cannot perform successfully in the position without such qualifications. The SPF for this position is: Knowledge of research study management and/or coordination to be able to provide assistance to study team. Your description of your work experiences in your resume should demonstrate that this requirement is met. Applicants who meet the Basic Requirement and Selective Placement Factor above may qualify based on experience or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-5) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: serving as a research assistant for clinical studies; managing study participant processing and flow (recruitment, consent, enrollment, etc.); compiling and entering research data; preparing draft technical reports, manuscripts, and grant proposals; performing literature searches for scientific and technical data. (Qualifying experience must be found in your resume). OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 year of graduate-level education, or a Bachelor's degree with evidence of superior academic achievement such as class standing (upper third of graduating class); GPA above 3.0 overall or above 3.5 in last 2 years; or membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. (Documentation of superior academic achievement must be provided with your application package.) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer SkillsResearchTechnical Competence 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. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required, i.e., standing, walking, bending and lifting of light items. 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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Boston ORD VISN 1 JFK Federal Building, 15 New Sudbury St Boston, MA 02203-9928 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]