The Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development is seeking a full-time Program Specialist for the Research and Development Department at the VA Boston Healthcare System in Boston, Massachusetts. This is a term (temporary) appointment, not to exceed four (4) years.

Duties

The position is with the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research Center (MAVERC) which is the umbrella for two major funded programs: 1.) The Cooperative Studies Program (CSP), national clinical research program that oversees issues of research design, statistical analysis, and data management, as well as regulatory, technical, educational, and administrative activities, for clinical, genomic, and observational research projects conducted to improve the health and care of Veterans and the nation; and 2.) Million Veteran Program, national research program to learn how genes, lifestyle, and military exposures affect health and illness. Both programs combined have approximately 300 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. The Program Specialist is responsible for assessing, coordinating, and managing research staffing needs for various research programs under the MAVERIC umbrella. The incumbent will work with the Chief Administration (Program Specialist) to ensure their staffing needs are met and that internal processes are being followed. Principle duties include, but are not limited to: Works with Human Resources (HR) and Research and Development (R&D) staff on submitting items to HR Management & Consulting Services (HRMACS) for research recruitment, and ensuring the staffing needs of the program fall within their budget constraints. Works with all supervisors to determine performance standards and ensure performance plans are developed within the required deadline and mid-point evaluations and performance appraisals are completed for all employees each year within the required deadlines. Writing positions descriptions, to include required knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA). Coordination and processing of Without Compensation (WOC) Employees for all MAVERIC. This includes working with the program director or supervisor to obtain documentation, contacting, and guiding the candidate on process, submission of WOC paperwork through HR system and updating internal databases with candidate information and tracking of progress, to include preparation of reports on status of WOC appointments. Ensures that appointments are renewed prior to expiration. Using analytical techniques, studies administrative processes and styles for improving organizational effectiveness. Performs all required tasks related to time and attendance, such as confirming compliance from employees and supervisors related to leave process; submitting Over-Time (OT) and Comp-Time (CT) for employees; validating time cards; confirming approving officials approve all leave requests and certify timecards by the end of pay periods; etc. 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#: Program Specialist/PD11213-A 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 an AFGE bargaining unit position. 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, 02/22/2024. 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: A selective placement factor (SPF) is a particular knowledge, skill, or ability required in order to successfully perform the duties of the position. The SPF for this position is: Knowledge and experience with administrative regulations and operating procedures within a healthcare environment. Evidence of the SPF must be found in your resume in order for you to be considered for this position. Applicants meeting the Selective Placement Factor may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-7) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: coordination of personnel administration activities, to include collecting and coordinating documents from candidates for non-competitive or without compensation (WOC) appointments; interpreting administrative policies, developing or implementing local processes, and defining administrative requirements for accomplishing work within a program; using analytical techniques for improving organizational effectiveness; and serving as a subject matter expert on time and attendance policies and procedures. (NOTE: Experience must be documented in resume in order to qualify). OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Master's or equivalent degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B. or J.D., if related. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a Bachelor's degree (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCommunicationsComputer SkillsManages and Organizes Information 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: The work required is primarily sedentary involving long periods of time working and keyboarding at a computer workstation. It may involve some walking, standing, bending, or carrying 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 if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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]