This position is located within the Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence (AHBPCE) at the VA New Jersey Health Care System in East Orange, NJ. The Research Assistant works with multidisciplinary teams that develop and implement research studies focused on long term care that can be implemented to improve care in the VHA. The Research Assistant takes primary responsibility for executing study protocols.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Works with the supervisor/principal investigator and research team to develop new protocols for screening, recruiting and testing Veteran participants in research data settings; Executes recruiting strategies, as specified in IRB approved protocols, to identify potential patients for the study; Screens the recruited patients to determine if any of the patients are not appropriate for the research study; Conducts the informed consent protocol to enroll each participant in the study; Collects data directly from the study participants and transfers that data to established databases; Ensures the quality of the data collected and ensures that data is properly transferred to organized datasets and databases; Conducts basic statistical analyses and makes fundamental interpretations of those statistical results which may involve conducting parametric and non-parametric tests, such as ANOVA, regression, chi-square tests, to examine within subject and between subject efforts on the dependent variable(s) from the study; Prepares written reports in the form of internal memos, and conference and seminar presentations (oral and/or poster presentations); Coordinates and conducts follow-up interviews with study participants; Develops a new system for tracking project participants, by adapting existing tracking systems to be customized for new and ongoing protocols; Independently resolves any questions that arise in real-time during the recruitment, screening and data collection process; Prepares reports detailing the progress of data collection efforts; Evaluates and implements project protocols for assessing study participants; Writes reports outlining problems, makes recommendations for solving them and provides summary statistics when possible to support recommendations; and Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required 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 ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Requirements

Qualifications

All applicants must meet the following Basic Education Requirement for the GS-0601 Series: Basic Education Requirement: Possess a Bachelor's degree (or higher) from an accredited college or university in a major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of this position. NOTE: You must submit copies of transcripts at the time of application. Education will not be credited without documentation. ~AND~ In addition to meeting the Basic Education Requirement, to qualify at the GS-7 grade level, you must also meet at least one of the following: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Research Assistant and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: coordinating and managing the day-to-day clinical research projects and programs; recruiting, screening, enrolling and following-up on human research subjects; understanding human research practices to communicate effectively with study participants and staff; gathering study data to prepare and present briefings; and utilizing computer-based programs to maintain databases, produce reports, research information, etc. Note: 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. ~OR ~ Education: Successfully completed one (1) full year of graduate-level education in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of this position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. NOTE: If you select this option, you must submit a copy of your transcript with your application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Superior Academic Achievement: You may qualify based on superior academic achievement (SAA) by meeting one of the following: (1) I graduated in the top third of my class. Class is defined as the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration; (2) I graduated with a Grade-point average of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0. This grade point average could have been determined based on 4 years of education or based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; (3) I graduated with a grade-point average of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on courses required for my major field or courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; (4) I am a member of the national scholastic honor society. NOTE: If you select this option, you must submit a copy of your transcript with your application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate-level education and specialized experience (as described above) to meet the requirements at the GS-7. NOTE: If you select this option, you must submit a copy of your transcript with your application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: CommunicationsData ManagementResearch 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: Work is primarily sedentary with some standing, bending, carrying light items and walking to carry out required duties. No strenuous physical demands will be made. 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 VA New Jersey Health Care System 385 Tremont Avenue East Orange, NJ 07018 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]