Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to status candidates. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred in the following order: 1) Current, permanent employees of the San Diego VA Healthcare System 2) All other current, permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs 3) All other Status candidates (Other Federal agencies, Veterans, etc.)

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The major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Manages the operations of the Anatomic Pathology section within a large, highly complex medical center laboratory.
• Assists in the development of mission statements and objectives.
• Performs many daily surgical pathology functions under the guidance of the Pathologist.
• Understands the gross appearance of pathologic processes in a wide variety of patient samples allows the incumbent to readily and accurately employ advanced methods or adapt traditional methods to handle unique cases containing unknown abnormalities.
• Performs all elements of gross examination and sectioning of every type of surgical pathology specimens.
• Provides description of tissue received from surgery (includes noting size, color, consistency and anatomic orientation), cuts specimens to preset optimal specimen detection for microscopic examination, pathologic diagnosis and cancer staging.
• Ensures test analysis, equipment and specimen examinations are at acceptable levels.
• Ensures accuracy of specimen source, patient information and related information on specimen(s) and paperwork.
• Records, reports and resolves issues when sub-optimum or mislabeled specimens/paperwork is encountered.
• Maintains regulatory compliance related to his/her duties on a daily basis.
• Participates in workload capture, and data collection for various reports, including, but not limited to, the Laboratory Management Index Program (LMIP) and Physician Productivity Report.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Pathology Specialist/PD111500
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/18/2026.

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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.

This position has an Individual Occupational Requirements: Basic Educational Requirement for the 0601 series:

• 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 at the time the degree was obtained. [Note: You must include a copy of your transcripts. If you do not submit a copy, your applicant will be found ineligible]

In addition to meeting the basic entry qualifications requirements, applicants must have specialized experience as shown below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Managing daily human surgical pathology functions either independently or in collaboration with one or more resident(s), medical student(s), technician(s), and technologist(s);
  • Performing work in the accessioning and grossing areas, assuring proper processing of tissue specimens;
  • Applying regulatory, licensing, accrediting agency requirements, and statutes governing clinical laboratory operations;
  • Using and maintaining complex instruments (i.e. cameras);
  • Requesting specialized tests including histochemical and immunohistochemical stains and flow cytometry;
  • Evaluating and implementing new equipment;
  • Participates in autopsy services.

NOTE: Your experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week to receive full credit.

Selective Placement Factor: Must possess specialized training and graduate degree with recognized programs by National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) of Pathology Assistant. Must be board certified by American Society of Clinical Pathology as PA (ASCP).

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Organizational Performance Analysis
• Pathophysiology
• Teaches Others
• Technical Competence

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: The work requires long periods of standing while performing gross examinations and teaching others to do so, recurrent bending when performing frozen sections and autopsies, sitting, intense concentration in noisy and congested areas, and walking moderate distances between alternate work sites. It occasionally involves moving human bodies and lifting objects under 50 pounds. Performance of duty requires above average manual dexterity in dissecting specimens and cutting frozen sections, good hand-eye coordination, and normal color vision in order to properly interpret specimens with regard to staining, etc.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.