Skip to main content
U.S. flag

Health Science Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in VISN 1 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) within the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. The Health Science Specialist will conduct research studies in collaboration with MIRECC staff and prepare/present the results of those studies with the appropriate professional arenas.

Overview

Help
Job canceled
Open & closing dates
05/20/2022 to 05/27/2022
Salary
$61,268 to - $79,650 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Bedford, MA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term - 3 Years
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CARZ-11505490-22-SER
Control number
655632900

Videos

Duties

Help

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

NOTE: This is a TERM appointment (not-to-exceed 3 years). Term appointments are non-status, nonpermanent appointments of limited duration (more than 1 year but not more than 4). Term employees are eligible to earn leave and generally have the same benefits as permanent employees including health and life insurance, within-grade increases and Federal Employees Retirement System and Thrift Savings Plan coverage. Term appointments may be extended without further competition (up to the 4 year maximum). The appointment to a Term position does not confer eligibility for promotion or reassignment to other positions or the ability to be non-competitively converted to permanent employment.

The major duties include but are not limited to:

  • Collaborates with MIRECC project director educational interventions that transfer study outcomes to VA clinicians and researchers, including professional presentations and publications;
  • Assists in writing assigned sections of research manuscripts;
  • Collects research data to include interview measures such as Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-5 and performance-based measures such as the Wisconsin Card-Sorting Test;
  • Provides factual data to study participants concerning their aptitudes, interests, abilities, and achievement levels as revealed by psychological tests used in research studies;
  • Performs data analysis in collaboration with MIRECC investigators;
  • Utilizes databases for outcome evaluation purposes;
  • Selects appropriate statistical procedures in order to answer research questions posed by investigators;
  • Performs statistical procedures appropriately on statistical computer software provided (SPSS, SAS, etc.);
  • Reports the results of the statistical tests to MIRECC investigators;
  • Participates in and contributes ideas and suggestions to the data analysis process, including problem formulation, hypothesis development, statistical test selection, and final interpretation;
  • Devises and maintains procedures for subject recruitment and subject retention for all MIRECC study participants;
  • Performs quality control and data verification; and
  • Performs all other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Help

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
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to perform the duties of this position. ~AND~

Basic Education Requirement: You must have successfully completed a Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree, with a major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the Health Science Specialist. 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: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~AND~

IN ADDITION TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND BASIC REQUIREMENT, YOU MUST ALSO MEET ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the Federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Health Science Specialist and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is experience conducting mental health research; assisting with writing portions of research reports and manuscripts; coordinating and managing activities for healthcare related research to include duties such as: recruiting, screening, and evaluating candidates for research studies; assisting in developing statistical methods and procedures to perform collection, processing, compilation, tabulation, and analyzing data and presenting results; operating and maintaining databases; knowledge of theories of mental health interventions, including motivational interviewing; responding to inquiries and preparing reports; and utilizing various computer programs. ~OR~

Education: Successful completion of two (2) years of progressively higher level related graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of a Health Science Specialist. Note: Copies of transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~

Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate-level education (beyond the first year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of a Health Science Specialist (as described above). Copies of transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

  • Partnering
  • Research
  • Technical Competence


IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.

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; 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.

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

IMPORTANT: 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Physical Requirements: Work is mostly sedentary. Some travel is required to attend research meetings at the West Haven or Northampton VA and to attend meetings with study participants in the New England area. High tolerance for stress of multiple duties and multiple demands is important, since research design, implementation, and presentation produce significant mental and emotional pressures.

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.

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. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (781) 687-2000.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. 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/.

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

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a VA job announcement includes language requiring applicants to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply to this Job Announcement. VA may request information regarding your vaccination status, if selected, for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

  • Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
  • Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
  • Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.
Application of Veterans' Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).

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.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.