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Health Scientist Administrator - PD13EL01 - Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

Department of Health and Human Services
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, Division of General Patient Safety.
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (CQuIPS), Division of General Patient Safety (GPS). The duty location for this position is in Rockville, MD and is not eligible for remote work.

**Applicants please note: Additional selections may be made across the Department of Health and Human Services through this vacancy announcement.**

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/14/2023 to 01/17/2024
Salary
$132,368 to - $172,075 per year

Salary range listed includes locality pay.

Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
Rockville, MD
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - Expected travel may up to 25% for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
AHRQ-CQUIPS-24-MP-12236582
Control number
765473900

Duties

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Major Duties

You will serve as a Health Scientist Administrator for the Division of General Patient Safety (GPS). The GPS division supports research and the development and testing of practice improvement tools to prevent harms across all healthcare settings, including hospitals, ambulatory clinics, long-term care facilities, and the home.

Your major duties and responsibilities will include:

  • Supporting the General Patient Safety (GPS) Division Director in planning, developing, and organizing the GPS program by helping to manage the Division budget, team meetings and by providing input on other activities to manage the team and promote team cohesiveness.
  • Stimulating research related to the safety and quality of healthcare delivery through the planning, development, and execution of new contracts.
  • Developing new grant funding opportunities, supporting the development of project plans and scheduling with funded investigators, monitoring performance, and providing technical guidance to investigators.
  • Assisting with the planning and development of research strategies and programs and ensuring gaps in research are identified and when appropriate, integrated into CQuiPS and/or AHRQ work.
  • Preparing position papers, reports, and oral presentations that summarize significant developments in his/her areas of expertise to include diagnostic safety.
NOTE: Do not cut and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U. S. Citizenship is required.
  • All qualification requirements and time-in-grade must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Federal applicants must submit an SF-50 to show status and time-in-grade.
  • Males ages 18 through 25 must be registered with the Selective Service.
  • Employment is subject to the successful completion of the pre-appointment process (i.e., background investigation, verification of qualifications and job requirements, completion of onboarding forms, submission of required documents, etc.)
  • PHS Commissioned Corps applicants must submit current personnel orders.
  • This position has an education requirement - transcripts are required.
  • A one year probationary period may be required.

Qualifications

THESE QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE: 01/17/2024

OPM INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GENERAL MEDICAL AND HEALTHCARE SERIES, 0601:

You must have a Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree with major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position being advertised. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.

You must provide a copy of your unofficial transcripts that verify that you meet this education requirement by the closing date of this announcement. A copy of a diploma is not acceptable as verification.

In addition to the OPM Education requirements, to qualify for this position at the GS-14 level, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year of the minimum qualifying experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-13 level in the federal service.

MINIMUM QUALIFYING SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, an applicant's one full year of specialized experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for successful job performance.

Examples of minimum qualifying specialized experience equal to the GS-13 level include performing the following types of tasks on a regular and recurring basis:

  • Reviewing and evaluating data and progress reports to inform organization officials of scientific information and improvements related to patient safety (e.g. reduction of preventable medical errors and patient harm.).
AND
  • Managing patient safety improvement projects to determine effectiveness, efficiency, and best practices for the prevention of medical errors and patient harm in the delivery of health care services.
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; community; student; social). If such experience is on a part-time basis, you must provide the average number of hours worked per week as well as the beginning and ending dates of the experience so it can be fully credited.

Applicants whose resumes clearly demonstrate the required minimum qualifying specialized experience will be evaluated based on the occupational assessment competencies listed below. A COMPETENCY is defined as a measurable pattern of knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics that an individual needs to perform work roles or occupational functions.

PATIENT SAFETY PROGRAM MANAGEMENT - Knowledge of a variety of patient safety issues, to include research/theory on why errors occurs and ways to improve patient safety, issues related to patient safety culture-for example use of a patient safety culture survey, knowledge of teamwork training, and conducting leadership rounds, and understanding of research on different patient safety practices, for example, efforts to reduce hospital acquired conditions such as medication errors, falls and pressure ulcers.

ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS AND CONTRACTS - Prepares award documentation and provides day-to-day oversight of grants and contracts, including applying knowledge of organizational needs and deadlines.

SCIENTIFIC WRITING - Prepares written documentation to transfer scientific information about concepts, situations, products, services, or results to audiences with varying levels of scientific knowledge.

RESEARCH PROJECT MANAGEMENT - Applies principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, monitoring, evaluating, and managing research and/or scientific projects and resources, including technical performance.

TO PREVIEW THE OCCUPATIONAL ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE, please click on the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12236582

Current status candidates must meet Time-in-Grade (TIG) by the closing date of this announcement. To allow us to verify that you meet TIG requirements, provide any of the following SF-50s:

Current year pay adjustments are not acceptable for verifying TIG (ex. 2023 general increases cannot be used to verify TIG).
  • Competitive or Career-ladder promotion to your highest grade (this does not include 120 day temporary promotions)
  • Regular Within Range Increase (WRI) or With In Grade (WGI) increase at your highest grade (this does not include quality step increases (QSIs).
  • Competitive career/career-conditional appointment to your highest grade.
  • SF-50 at your highest grade held, that is at least one year older than the announcement closing date of 01/17/2024.
Not sure which SF-50 to submit? Check out our video... Go here to watch the video on the SF50s to submit in your application package.

Education

This position has an education requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcripts (or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed and grades) to document that you have met the education requirement. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required prior to your starting work.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov.


Additional information

HHS is an equal opportunity employer. Selection for this position will be based solely on merit without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status or other differences.

Security and Background Requirements: If not previously completed, a background security investigation will be required for all appointees. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection and/or appropriate disciplinary action.

E-Verify: AHRQ participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). E-Verify helps employers determine employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their social security numbers.

Direct Deposit: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.

Creditable Service: A newly appointed or reappointed employee may receive service credit for annual leave for prior work experience directly related to the duties of the position being filled. The use of this service credit is at the discretion of the selecting official and must be finalized prior to selectee's entrance on duty. For more information, please click here.

Financial Disclosure: This position requires you to file a public or confidential financial disclosure report prior to receiving a final offer letter as well as within 30 days of your appointment. This will require you to report information such as recent sources of income, financial interests you hold, and outside activities you participate in, as well as similar information from a spouse or any dependent children. If you have questions, please contact AskHR@hrsa.gov.

Bargaining Unit: Position is not in the Bargaining Unit.

Recruitment Incentives: Recruitment incentives are not authorized.

Student Loan Repayment Incentive: Student loan repayment incentive is not authorized.

How you will be evaluated

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

Additional selections may be made for similar positions across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) of the location identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) at HHS. Clearance of CTAP/ICTAP will be applied for similar positions across HHS.

To determine your qualifications and referral status, we may review your resume and supporting documentation and compare it against your responses to the vacancy questionnaire. Ensure you support your self-ratings by the information you provide in your application. We may verify or assess your qualifications at any time. Inflated or unsupported qualifications may affect your rating. Any misrepresentation or material omission of facts may be sufficient cause to end further consideration of your candidacy. Persons listed as having knowledge of your past accomplishments or experience in your application may be contacted for verification purposes at any time. Verification may, but need not, begin prior to receiving an offer.

To be considered well qualified for the purposes of the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must substantively exceed the basic qualifications by scoring at least an 85 on the assessment and meet all eligibility, physical, medical, suitability, and all other requirements.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

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