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Technology Transfer Specialist - Term Appointment

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

Summary

This position is located within the Research and Development Service at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland, OH.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/25/2022 to 12/01/2022
Salary
$98,474 to - $128,015 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Cleveland, OH
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term - Not-To-Exceed 366 Days
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Announcement number
CARZ-11742401-23-TJE
Control number
691039600

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Duties

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***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 366 days). 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 Technology Transfer Specialist is responsible for managing and directing the Research and Development Service Line Technology Transfer Program, and utilizing expert knowledge in biomedical technologies, knowledge of industry needs and practices to work closely with industrial, academic and federal scientists to identify potentially patentable inventions that result from work performed at the VA.

The major duties include but are not limited to:

  • Identifies potentially patentable inventions;
  • Develops and implements marketing plans to identify prospective industry development partners for VA owned inventions;
  • Uses a variety of resources to analyze business practices and financials of interested prospective business partners;
  • Develops negotiating strategies for the negotiation of business terms, including product development objectives and financial terms for the licensure of VA owned inventions;
  • Participates in negotiations of patent licensing agreements;
  • Makes recommendation if patent applications should be filed on inventions based upon commercial, scientific and technical merits;
  • Serves as primary negotiator on matter relating to licensing VA patents;
  • Advises on matters involving both domestic and foreign patent rights, policies and procedures;
  • Promotes increased awareness of the importance of patents and encourages submission of invention disclosures at an early stage of development;
  • Originates, drafts, negotiates and manages a portfolio of agreements including Material Transfer Agreements, Confidential Disclosure Agreements, Data Use Agreements, licenses, etc.;
  • Serves as a liaison to regional Academic Affiliates, responsible for communicating with the academic affiliates' technology transfer offices, compliance with agreements, commercialization efforts and assistance with distribution of royalties received;
  • Develops and conducts educational programs designed to train VA employees about technology transfer issues such as invention disclosures, patents, licensing, confidential information and collaborative agreements;
  • Advises investigators and administrators on matters involving both domestic and foreign patent rights, policies and procedures;
  • Makes presentations and conducts seminars; and,
  • Performs all other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

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
  • 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

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following Basic Education Requirement for the 0601 series:

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 Technology Transfer Specialist 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: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~AND~

In addition to the Basic Education Requirement above, to qualify for this position at the GS-13 level, you must meet 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-12) in the Federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Technology Transfer Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is experience applying expert knowledge of the theories, principles, concepts and methodologies of the medical research field as they relate to intellectual property; participating/completing research projects; and developing correspondence and briefings. 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.

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

  • COMMUNICATIONS
  • STRATEGIC THINKING
  • CRITICAL THINKING
  • 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: The work of this position involves mostly office posture, entailing long periods of sitting or standing in one position, intense concentration and job-related pressure to meet critical legal deadlines. The position 's work, while primarily sedentary, requires some walking, standing, bending and carrying of items such as papers, books and files, but normally places few physical demands on the person in this position. The position also includes the occasionally physical ability to meet with scientists and other staff including travel to and from VA medical center and prospective licensees.
The work is routinely performed in an office setting.

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 (216) 791-2300.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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