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Student Trainee (Pharmacy Technical Support)

Office of Personnel Management
Healthcare & Insurance
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This is an indefinite, part-time, intern position in the Healthcare and Insurance , Office of Personnel Management. If selected, you will be responsible for assisting in the analysis and the design of pharmacy benefits among Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) plans and recommend changes to better control drug use and cost.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/25/2023 to 09/28/2023
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$46,696 to - $75,111 per year

Salary range shown is Rest of U.S. GS-7/1 to San Jose -SF, CA GS-7/10. Final salary is dependent upon the duty location of the selected candidate.

Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)
Remote job
Yes
Telework eligible
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Internships
Work schedule
Part-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
23-DMB-12134826-IN
Control number
750745200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This is an Indefinite - part-time Intern position.

Duties

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What You May Be Doing:

As a Student Trainee, you will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of tasks and projects. Some of the responsibilities you may undertake include:

  • Enhance the design of pharmacy benefits in Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) plans to improve drug management and cost control. Analyze FEHB drug utilization trends and formularies, then present findings and recommendations to address pharmacy-related challenges.
  • Contribute to studies aimed at improving outcome measures in pharmaceutical use and health system methodologies with a track record of benefitting patients and the healthcare system.
  • Utilize information from pharmaceutical and medical compendia, literature, references, and clinical guidelines to support preventive care and chronic disease management. Evaluate access and coverage of pharmaceutical products.
  • Examine technical, scientific, and medical data to inform agency pharmacy policy reviews. Identify emerging trends and innovations in pharmacy within both public and private healthcare sectors.
  • Participate in internal and external meetings with Federal agencies, Pharmacy accreditation organizations, Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) organizations, professional pharmacy associations, and other stakeholders to discuss pharmacy quality and patient safety matters.
  • Collaborate in meetings with OPM health economists and actuaries to analyze pharmacy data and contribute content for senior leadership reports.
The Skills to be Successful as a Student Trainee:

To excel as a Student Trainee, you should possess the following skills and qualities:
  • Ability to work smart, driving projects, meeting deadlines, and achieving goals.
  • Proactive nature and bias for action.
  • Attention to detail, precision, and ability to handle tasks with high accuracy.
  • Flexibility, creativity, curiosity, and willingness to take initiative.
  • Quick and adaptable learner, comfortable with ambiguity and dynamic change.
  • Ability to inspire trust, build relationships quickly, and earn the confidence and cooperation of business partners.
  • High standards, integrity, and ethics.
What We're Looking For:

To be considered for the Student Trainee position, you should meet the following criteria:
  • Currently enrolled in an educational institution.
  • Strong team player while also demonstrating independent thinking.
  • Ability to work under deadlines, organize tasks, and multitask effectively.
  • Robust analytical skill set.
  • Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills.
  • Endless curiosity and a penchant for thinking outside the box.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office software products.
  • Attentive to team needs, providing rapid and high-quality responsiveness to requests.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, maintaining rapport with team members and professionalism with others outside of the team.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills, demonstrating a professional demeanor and the ability to interact with others with discretion and tact.
  • Keen attention to detail.
  • Capable of identifying and completing tasks independently, with a sense of urgency and ownership.
  • Demonstrated success in maintaining high personal work standards.
  • Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and tact.
  • Strong presentation skills to audiences comprising all levels of leadership.
  • Highly motivated and self-starter, able to work autonomously and effectively drive forward the work assigned.If you possess these skills and qualities, we encourage you to apply for this exciting Student Trainee opportunity.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Citizenship: Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
Selective Service: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
Age: You must be at least 16 years of age
Background Investigation: Must be suitable for Federal employment as determined by a background investigation.
Availability for Work: Applicants hired on an indefinite appointment will be afforded the opportunity to work a part-time schedule until the completion of their current degree requirements.
Student Status: Applicants must have at least 1 academic year (spring and fall sessions) remaining in their studies before they complete their current degree requirements.
Graduation Status: Applicants that graduate prior to December 2024 will not be considered for this position unless you have been accepted into a follow-on degree or certificate program.
Pathways Agreement: Selectee must complete a Pathways agreement prior to start date.
Trial Period: Selectee must complete a trial period while on the Pathways internship appointment.
Bargaining Unit: This position is eligible for inclusion in the bargaining unit.

  • If the duty station is finalized outside of the Washington, DC metropolitan area, this position will not be represented by a bargaining unit.
  • If the duty station is finalized in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, employees in this position will be represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 32.

Qualifications

You must meet the education or specialized experience requirements detailed below by the close of the vacancy.

For the GS 7: You must have:

One year of specialized experience GS-6 level (or equivalent) performing the following: Assisting in the analysis of statistical data in the pharmaceutical and/or health system industry to aid recommendations for better control of drug use and costs or solutions to pharmacy issues and problems AND Assisting with research for pharmacy innovation and/or trends.
OR
Completion of 1 full academic year of graduate level education directly related to the work of the position; or Eligibility under the Superior Academic Achievement Provision with a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy or 24 semester hours of pharmacy related coursework such as Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Science, Medicinal Chemistry, Biostatistics, or Biomedicinal Chemistry.

Superior Academic Achievement: You are in the upper one-third of the graduating class; or a have a GPA of 3.0 or higher out of 4.0, as recorded on an official transcript, or based on courses completed during final 2 years of curriculum; or a GPA of 3.5 or higher out of 4.0, based on average of required courses completed in major or required courses in major completed during the final 2 years of curriculum.

An academic year of graduate education is based on normal course loads for a full year of study in the graduate program. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours is considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement.

Education

Additional information

Diversity Information
The Office of Personnel Management is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that workforce diversity creates an environment in which our employees can thrive. We understand and embrace the variety through which people gain experiences whether through professional, personal, educational, or volunteer opportunities. OPM is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

We understand that not everyone will demonstrate proficiency in all of the duties listed in this job posting. At OPM, we strive to raise the bar! We encourage all to apply if you feel your skills and life experiences are transferable to some of the duties listed in this vacancy.

What Do We Offer?
Upon graduation and completion of the student internship program requirements you may be non-competitively converted, without a break in service, to a term (time-limited), career, or career conditional (permanent) appointment in the federal government. The anticipated target position will be a Pharmacist position with full performance level of GS-13; however, the target position and full performance level may change based on the need of the organization at that time. Interns must meet the qualification requirements for the position to which converted.

Interns must meet the qualification requirements for the position to which promoted or converted.

This appointment allows for conversion to a permanent appointment. Conversion Eligibility Information Requirements

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across OPM.

Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Hourly pay rates range from $22.37 - $35.99 per hour and may vary based on the grade level and duty location.

Current Federal civilian employees may apply for this position. If selected, a break in service of at least 4 calendar days may be required prior to appointment to this position.

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the application process is complete, your resume will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement.

Qualified applicants will be placed in one of four groupings:

  1. Preference eligible having a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more
  2. Other 10-point preference eligible
  3. 5-point preference eligible
  4. No preference eligible
Selection will be made from the highest available preference group, as long as at least three candidates remain in that group. When fewer than three candidates remain in the highest group, consideration may be expanded to include the next grouping.

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