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Supervisory Quality Assurance Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Office of Research & Development - Albuquerque Cooperative Studies Program
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) is part of the division of the Office of Research and Development, VA Central Office and is responsible for the planning and conducting of large multicenter controlled clinical trials (MCTs). CSP maintains a diverse portfolio of clinical research studies that seeks to provide definitive answers to important clinical questions on a national scale and on a range of diseases that affect Veterans and the nation.

Overview

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Job closed
Open & closing dates
05/11/2026 to 05/11/2026
Salary
$107,592 - $139,871 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Albuquerque, NM
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
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
CARX-12949558-26-EJ
Control number
868728600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to the Department of VA employees serving on permanent appointments including Title 38, Hybrid Title 38 & Canteen employees on excepted appointments covered by the interchange agreement; current permanent employees of other Federal Agencies; Former competitive civil service employees eligible for reinstatement; Veterans eligible under VEOA, Non Competitive Appointments (30% Disabled Veterans, People with Disabilities, Military Spouse, etc.); other special authorities; and CTAP/ICTAP

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Duties

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The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

  • Overseeing the daily operation of the Clinical Materials Manufacturing Section (CMMS), Division of Technical Operations (DTO) ensuring that VA, CSP, PCC, FDA, DEA, and other regulatory partner regulations, policies and procedures are being followed, adequate resources and tools are available for CMMS staff
  • Assists other Division of Technical Operations (DTO) and Division of Quality Assurance (DQA) Section Chiefs in the development of metrics necessary to determine the numbers and types of positions necessary to meet the current and future demands and complexities of DTO and MCTs
  • Recommending and designing new quality programs to meet national needs with respect to the conduct of clinical trials manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and distribution
  • Analyzing section financial situations and needs, determines and evaluates risk, and employs knowledge management tools and techniques to solve problems in executing studies, including identifying core competencies that create a quality culture and system
  • Responsible for the staff training program in current cGMP, Corrective Action/Preventative Action (CAPA), Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and is responsible for coordinating inhouse or contract training for PCC staff in cGMP
  • Interpreting FDA regulations under 21 CFR 210 and 211, Food and Drugs for applicability to specific drugs and medical devices and Federal guidelines governing the collection and use of biosamples associated with clinical trials supported by the PCC
  • Plans, develops, and conducts methodologies to qualify suppliers of critical clinical trial materials (CTM)
  • Conducting investigations and analyses of suspected adverse quality or conditions and when quality problems are detected, involving pharmaceuticals, devices, clinical supplies or biosamples, initiates and documents corrective action (CA) on the contractor producing those products or the collection, processing, storage and inventory of biospecimens
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 - 4:00
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Quality Assurance Specialist/PD931870
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
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • 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, 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, 05/26/2026.

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-13 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.

Note: This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). Individual Occupational Requirements (IORs) are requirements e.g., experience or education, for particular occupational series or positions within a series and are used in conjunction with a group coverage (generic) standard. This position's IOR is:

Education: To qualify for the Supervisory Quality Assurance Specialist position, you must possess an Undergraduate or Graduate degree in quality assurance, statistics, mathematics, production management, industrial management, computer science, engineering, engineering technology, physical sciences, textiles, or other fields related to the position. OR,

Specialized Experience: Experience that demonstrated a practical knowledge in monitoring, controlling, or maintaining the quality of products or services in quality assurance, procurement, inspection, production, or related areas. Examples include:

  • Reviewing production activities and capabilities in light of contract quality requirements.
  • Reviewing written quality or inspection procedures for adequacy, and evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of quality/inspection systems, including sampling plans.
  • Analyzing quality data to detect unsatisfactory trends or weaknesses in the quality/inspection system.
  • Verifying by test or inspection, using sampling inspection or intensive product inspection techniques, that products comply with requirements prior to acceptance.
  • Identifying inadequacies and requesting corrective action.
  • Computing data, summarizing results, and preparing reports or charts depicting pertinent relationships using statistical methods.
  • Investigating customer complaints and deficiency reports, and providing identification of causes to appropriate authorities.
  • Reading, interpreting, and applying technical data such as blueprints, engineering drawings, product specifications, or technical manuals.
  • Reviewing and evaluating supply systems operations and procedures through periodic audits and surveillance inspections. AND,
For the GS-13 you must have the following:
  • 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: Developing standard operation procedures (SOP) and policy creation related to quality control and assurance; Performing internal and external audits on processes and procedures to identify gaps in quality management and improvement opportunities; Overseeing contract development and performance monitoring for pharmaceutical products; and Managing a diverse staff and leading change within an organization through process quality improvement initiatives.
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

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) 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.

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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Accountability
  • Manages Resources
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Coaching and Mentoring
Your 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. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

Agency contact information

VHA National Recruitment Center
Phone
(844)456-5208
Email
VHANationalRecruitmentCenter@va.gov
Address
Albuquerque ORD VISN 22
1501 San Pedro Drive, Southeast
Albuquerque, NM 87108
US

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