The Office of Research and Development is seeking a full-time Health Science Specialist for the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (NC-PTSD) located at the VA Boston Healthcare System in Boston, Massachusetts. This is a temporary position, initially not to exceed 1 year. Extension may be possible, subject to the availability of funds.

Duties

The Health Science Specialist in the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (NC-PTSD) will work primarily in the conduct and publication of independent and collaborative scholarly research on topics including: the development and testing of treatment interventions for use with various trauma-exposed populations; longitudinal studies of people after exposure to trauma; the psychophysiology of post-traumatic adjustment; the neurobiology and molecular genetics of PTSD; information processing and basic mechanisms of PTSD; and development of assessment instruments for use in PTSD research and clinical settings. Typical duties include, but are not limited to:

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/17/2024. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement: Education. 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. NOTE: Transcripts are REQUIRED. Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirement above 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-9) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: recruiting and interviewing research study participants; establishing and maintaining databases for research projects and training other research staff on proper data entry and database maintenance; conducting statistical analyses of research and clinical data; contributing to publications and presentation of new research findings in scientific periodicals and professional conferences; and managing multiple aspects of project administration.. 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 graduate degree (TRANSCRIPTS 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. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Research Data Management Communication Psychology 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 is primarily sedentary and the employee sits comfortably to do the work. Some walking and carrying of light objects such as files is 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

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]