The employee will serve as a Research Health Scientist within the Research and Development Service of the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, PR. The plans should lead to the submission of a research grant application for consideration by the Merit Review Board of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Ensures that all studies are conducted according to sound scientific principles and comply with the rules and regulations of agencies overseeing the conduction of clinical and basic research. Originates hypothesis, develops research protocols and plans sophisticated experiments and plans methods to evaluate existing sampling and analytic instruments. Serves as editor/reviewer and co-authors articles for publication in scientific and professional journals. Performs difficult and complicated review and analysis of complex issues, ambiguous situations and ethical conflicts. Provides professional advice to members of the medical profession in laboratory diagnosis and interpretation of laboratory findings related to neuroscience. Competes calculation, tabulation, graph making and statistical analysis of the data obtained. Presents original scientific data to professional and research societies at local, national and /or international meetings. Develops and writes applicable policies and participates in workgroups and is responsible for reviewing complex projects. Uses and interprets data results and findings to generate and prepare manuscripts and abstracts for publication, reports, papers and presentations for scientific meetings. Oversees the procurement of supplies, equipment and instrumentation and assures compliance with budgetary limitations. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized. 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. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required.

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT - 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. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes: managing the scientific review process; conducting research design, data collection and analysis; developing new proposals for research; obtaining funding support for new or continuing research activities; preparing research results for publication; and providing technical advice and guidance to managers, researchers and other research team members. AND This position includes Selective Placement Factors (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 Factors for this position are: 1. I have been a lead Investigator for the preparation and submission of original research concepts and proposals to Federal funding agencies, demonstrating competence in authorship of publication of research projects and presentation of research results to professional organizations, and denoting recent knowledge in scientific principles including study design, collection/analysis/interpretation of data, and reporting of results. AND 2. I possess experience in proficient written and spoken English/Spanish. NOTE: Applicants must possess the ability to speak and write fluently and proficiently in English/Spanish in order to receive consideration for this position. Applicant's inability to proficiently speak and write in English/Spanish will result in an ineligible rating. The hiring facility will interview or test to evaluate the applicant's ability to write and speak in English/Spanish. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: CommunicationsCritical ThinkingFinancial SystemsResearch 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 is in a laboratory setting, although some walking to attend meetings and solve problems is required. Slight physical effort may be required. 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

IMPORTANT: 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Contacts

• Address San Juan VA Medical Center 10 Calle Casia San Juan, PR 00921 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]