This position is in the Health Systems Research (HSR) Portfolio of the Investigators, Scientific Review and Management (ISRM) branch of the Office of Research and Development (ORD),Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in Washington, DC. With an overall budget of $127 million, HSR supports intramural, peer-reviewed scientific funding involving over 850 funded investigators that conduct more than 435 ongoing projects aimed at improving the health of and care for our nation's Veterans.

Duties

Major Duties and Responsibilities The position's areas of responsibility include overall direction of the Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) program; including strategic planning and HSR/QUERI priority-setting, development, and scientific peer review management of QUERI funding opportunities, and oversight of QUERI centers and related projects. The QUERI Director will be responsible for recommending policies and procedures related to the implementation, evaluation, and sustainment of effective treatments, programs, and policies to inform improved care for Veterans. This will require extensive collaboration with local, regional, and national VA operational leaders, as well as frontline providers, Veterans/family members/caregivers, and researchers. Program Management, administration, and oversight Manages the QUERI funding portfolio, including over 50 Centers and related projects with a budget exceeding $27 million. Establishes funding opportunity announcements and manages the scientific peer review to cover the range of relevant implementation, quality improvement, and evaluation initiatives that are responsive to major VA national priority areas. Serves as authoritative Officer in aspects relating to quality improvement and evaluation within the HSR Portfolio. The position must possess expertise in implementation science, health systems research, program evaluation, policy analysis, and strategic planning, which may extend to social determinants of health and public health issues beyond the clinic walls. Generates reports by analyzing primary data collected from QUERI and HSR-funded projects as well as other ORD initiatives where relevant. Interpretations of data generated from programs and projects as required in this position requires both subject matter and statistical expertise. Evidence-based Policy Program Management Provides strategic planning, monitoring, and evaluation to ensure QUERI program management and analysis. This includes identifying portfolio gaps, developing enterprise-wide resources, overall portfolio management and dissemination of scientific findings to the entire community. The position also advises and provides technical guidance to ORD staff. Leads an overall communication and knowledge management strategy for HSR/QUERI in alignment with ORD and IRM strategic communication priorities. Performs other position-related duties as required. Supervises QUERI Scientific and Administrative Staff Oversees the development of and approves performance plans for subordinate staff, ensuring that performance plans are linked to ORD's, HSR's and QUERI strategic plans and the Director, HSR's performance plan. Evaluates each employee's performance, counseling as necessary, assigning ratings, and recommending performance awards, as appropriate. Reviews and determines appropriateness of all leave requests. Support the goals of an effective affirmative action program, ensuring diversity in all activities of QUERI. Work Schedule: Required to work Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM-4:30 PM Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available (applicant is required on site 50% of work schedule per pay period). Virtual: The employee may work at a VA facility or other VA-leased space other than the facility that is hiring the employee and is authorized for telework up to 50%. Position Description/PD#: Health Science Officer/PD293650 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/09/2024. 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-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: All applicants MUST meet the following Individual Occupational Requirements: Basic Requirement: You must posses a 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: You must submit a transcript with your application. Applicants who do not submit a transcript will be automatically disqualified from consideration. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-14 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of Specialized Experience includes: 1. Responsible for the overall direction of the program; including strategic planning, priority-setting, development, funding opportunities, oversight of centers, and related projects. 2. Responsible for the budget or funding, including ensuring annual implementation, evaluation, and quality improvement projects are aligned with program and VA national priorities. 3. Assigns and reviews work of subordinate staff to ensure compliance with program and Veteran Affairs policies and procedures. 4. Responsible for recommending policies and procedures related to the implementation, evaluation, and sustainment of effective treatments, programs, and policies to inform improved care for Veterans. 5. Supervision of Administrative and Scientific Staff. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Performance ManagementPlanning and EvaluatingProblem SolvingProject Management 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: This includes physical characteristics and abilities e.g., specific agility and dexterity requirements and the physical exertion involved in the work (e.g., climbing, lifting, pushing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, or reaching). To some extent the frequency or intensity of physical exertion must also be considered, e.g., a job requiring prolonged standing involves more physical exertion than a job requiring intermittent standing. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level. However, for the Individual Occupational Requirements a transcript must be submitted with your application.

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 VSHO - Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks 2402 Wildwood Ave Suite 301 Sherwood, AR 72120 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]