Health Science Officer - Medical Research

This position is located within the Office of Research and Development, Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development (BLR&D) Service in Washington, D.C. The person in this position manages a portfolio in a specific medical research area and advises and supports the Director/Deputy Director in the planning, development, and operation of the service.

Qualifications:

All applicants must meet the BASIC REQUIREMENT: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to 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 a Health Science Officer - Medical Research. NOTE: You must submit copies of transcripts at the time of application. Education will not be credited without documentation. Please ensure that your transcripts show that a degree was conferred. Display copies of degrees or course listings do not provide the information needed.

- AND -

In order to meet the minimum qualifications for this position at the GS-14 level you must also have: One (1) full year of specialized experience, equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in federal service, that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this Health Science Officer - Medical Research, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Qualifying specialized experience is experience applying expertise and mastery in the theories, principles, concepts, and methodologies of the medical research field; applying knowledge of medical research to analyze, evaluate, and provide expert advice and consultation to researchers and management; providing direction and guidance on complex issues related to research study planning and execution; assisting with managing portfolios of research projects; and performing complex analytical studies and interpreting the results to coordinate the evaluation of programs/research projects and to recommend improvements.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Communication
• Compliance
• Grants Management
• Research
• Writing

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 sedentary. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

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/.

Responsibilities:

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

Major duties and responsibilities include:

• Develops policies, procedures, and criteria for administration of the service's medical research program
• Reviews project reports to assess investigators compliance with medical research program guidelines
• Analyzes the needs, strategic plans, and goals of the service and makes recommendations for new directions, initiatives, policies and procedures
• Develops and coordinates implementation of research methods and design standards and guidelines for the scientific and technical activities
• Serves as the lead in the development, refinement and implementation of respective portfolio
• Responds to inquiries regarding scientific and technical issues
• Makes programmatic and policy determinations and manages assigned portfolios
• Conducts studies, analyzes data, and presents results through presentations and/or publications
• Makes assignment recommendations of research proposals to the various merit review committees
• Conducts review meetings and provides policy guidance to applicants, funded investigators, reviewers, special interest observers, and non-VA counterparts
• Makes constructive comments and recommendations to senior managers and researchers regards funds and conditional approval
• Evaluates merit review projects recommended for funds and critically analyzes portfolio activity
• Develops a comprehensive strategic plan to identify and address the needs identified to cover the spectrum of state-of-the-art science within the portfolio area
• Serves as the primary point of contact for all programmatic and scientific issues related to proposed, planned, ongoing and completed activities in assigned portfolio
• Represents ORD in communications and/or meetings with senior management within and outside VA, non-government experts, and the public
• Oversees documentation and reports for all portfolio activities
• Performs other related duties as required

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm

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