Health Science Specialist - Not To Exceed 2 years

This position serves as Health Science Specialist - Research Study Coordinator within the Research and Development (R&D) Service. The VA Research Program strives to promote Veteran-centered care to improve patient experiences and outcomes across VA healthcare and community settings, and to advance value-driven care by providing Veterans the highest quality care at the lowest financial burden.

**Qualifications:**
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/27/2026. 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-09. 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. Basic Education Requirement: 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. A transcript is required at the time of application. To qualify at the GS-11 level you must one of the following minimum qualification requirements in addition to the basic education requirement above. Specialized Experience: You must possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Research Study Coordinator and provided you with knowledge of the full scope of activities required in conducting single and/or multi-site clinical research including study/project management, human subjects' protection, and regulatory and policy compliance. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Performing a variety of tasks related to the conducting of the clinical/healthcare related research such as participant recruitment and enrollment, protocol execution, data reporting and management, and regulatory compliance Screening and evaluating the recruitment of candidates for clinical research studies Analyzing processes and documentation to ensure compliance with all technical, regulatory requirements, and information safety regulations Utilizing software used for project management, data collection, and regulatory compliance to extract, organize, track, and analyze data, produce letters and memorandums, and prepare a variety of documents and presentations Conducting telephone and in-person interviews of human study subjects using various methods of data collection - OR - Education: You may substitute the specialized experience with education if you possess a Master's or equivalent graduate degree that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this. NOTE: Copies of transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. - OR - Combination: A combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond two years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree) and specialized experience may also be used to meet total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position. NOTE: Copies of transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. 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. Preferred Experience: Research grant writing and submission. 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 with occasional walking, standing, and handling and carrying items such as paper and books. There may be occasion needs to assist study participants with mobility to study location(s). Some travel will be required. The work is performed in a research setting requiring no special considerations beyond accepted standards of safety. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or during program/project and country visits. 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/.