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Program Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Office of the Executive Director - San Diego VA Healthcare System

Summary

This position is located at the VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) in the Office of the Director. The Program Specialist - Research/Privacy Compliance Auditor (RPCA) assists the Research Compliance Officer (RCO) and Privacy Officer (PO) in implementation of the Research Compliance and Privacy Programs at VASDHS.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/27/2026 to 03/10/2026
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$70,507 to - $91,664 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
San Diego, CA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
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
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CBSX-12897715-26-KL
Control number
859210100

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Duties

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Major duties include, but are not limited to:

Research Compliance (50 Percent)

  • Under the general direction of the RCO, the RPCA provides quality assurance and quality improvement activities to promote compliance, reduce violations of regulations and standards, identify unsatisfactory trends and conditions, and correct factors that may contribute to noncompliance.
  • Conducts routine and for-cause audits of research records and informed consents to verify that files contain required documents and that documents comply with federal regulations and VA and VASDHS policy.
  • Maintains a schedule to assure that all research protocols/projects are audited at least once, active protocols are audited at three-year intervals, and studies that involve written informed consents are audited annually to assure compliance with VA regulations and VASDHS policy.
  • Audits may include review of records of the Institutional Review Board, other Research Committees, Research Pharmacy, Research Service and the Computerized Patient Record System.
  • Meet with Principal Investigators and/or research staff to review audit findings, provide training as needed, and make specific suggestions for improving compliance with VA and VASDHS policies and federal regulation.
  • Prepares audit reports and compliance analyses, including recommendations for quality improvement and performance standards, in consultation with the RCO.
  • Monitoring and auditing reports must be timely, accurate, and complete.
Privacy (50 Percent)
  • Under the general direction of the PO, the incumbent supports the Privacy Program for the VASDHS.
  • Manage the office routine, coordinating meetings and preparing minutes, maintaining logs and spreadsheets of complaints, violations, incidents and observations, assisting in meeting privacy requirements of external review agencies and providing overall assistance to the Privacy Officer.
  • Provides orientation in privacy to new employees as well as annual and periodic privacy training to established VASDHS employees.
  • Uses standard approaches to perform a variety of duties related to special projects involving administrative or support issues.
  • Conducts extensive research and compilation of data from diverse sources;
  • Extracts and assembles information, conducts analysis and develops reports and/or presentations.
  • Identifies and determines training priorities, conducts and administers training programs, develops and improves training guidance.
  • Serves as a liaison and handles the communication with persons and/or groups within and outside of the organization and/or office.
  • Conducts facility assessments on behalf of the Privacy Officer and provides a written evaluation as necessary.
  • Other duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Supervisor's discretion
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD11988O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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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 may be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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, 03/10/2026.

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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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.



You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-07, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: providing quality assurance and quality improvement activities to promote compliance, reduce violations of regulations and standards, identify unsatisfactory trends and conditions, and correct factors that may contribute to noncompliance; conducting routine and for-cause audits of research records and informed consents to verify that files contain required documents and to comply with federal regulations and VA and VASDHS policy; preparing audit reports and compliance analyses, including recommendations for quality improvement; conducting extensive research and compilation of data from diverse sources. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's degree or equivalent degree, or successfully completed two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.B or J.D., if related. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.. OR,
  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience, as described above, and successfully completed graduate level education beyond the first year to meet the total requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Audit Reporting
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Inspection
  • Computer Skills
  • Research


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 is primarily sedentary, although audits may include physical inspection of offices, clinical and research laboratory spaces and some physical effort may be required.

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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

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

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

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