Health Science Specialist

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Nashville, Tennessee

Salary Range: $73939 - $96116 Per Year

Job Summary: This position serves as Health Science Specialist - Research Study Coordinator within the Research and Development (R&D) Service. The VA Research Program strives to promote Veteran-centered care to improve patient experiences and outcomes across VA healthcare and community settings, and to advance value-driven care by providing Veterans the highest quality care at the lowest financial burden.

Major Duties:

The Research Study Coordinator manages clinical tests, collects data, and recruits and manages subjects for clinical trials while providing high-level technical support of projects in a comprehensive research setting. Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Manages Clinical Tests and Collects Data Collects and analyzes data, educates, and interacts with study participants and leadership Provides detailed and summary information and recommendations for further actions based on the data analysis Manages implementation, control and reporting on clinical tests Implements data collection and monitors protocols for difficult clinical research studies Administers or monitors administration of tests and measurements required by project design Records data from samples and specimens to ensure that all tracking data is organized and is monitored during the progress of the study Identifies test results and trends requiring further analysis Maintains all study and regulatory records Prepares project and statistical reports for review process Recruits and Manages Candidates for Clinical Trials Oversees, screens, and evaluates recruitment of candidates for clinical research studies via telephone and/or in person Uses objective rating techniques to identify potential candidates for participation in study where project design is complex Performs informed consent process throughout the study and continuously educates participants on study processes and procedures Performs day-to-day activities related to conducting and overseeing participant interviews and follow-up Coordinates study participant randomization to treatment, works closely with the Research Pharmacy on study drug provision Research Project Support Assists supervisor with managing the routine, day-to-day activities, and administration of the project Plans, develops, completes, and submits on time all required documentation/ paperwork/forms for initial and continuing human subject's review Analyzes processes and documentation to ensure compliance with all technical, regulatory requirements, and information safety regulations Conducts quality assurance evaluations for project data and clinical research instruments, as applicable. Establishes and monitors remediation plans to correct deficiencies Drafts detailed and summary reports for presentation at meetings and conferences and for publication in peer reviewed journals Compiles and produces educational and training materials; determines contents needed for training binders and tools Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: no Telework: Telework eligibility rules will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: No Position Description/PD#: Health Science Specialist/PD99718-S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/20/2025. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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. Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. 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. ANDYou may qualify based on your education and experience as described below. A transcript must be submitted with your application. Individual Occupational Requirement for General Medical and Healthcare Series, 0601:Education: 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. AND Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade 9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as preparing, submitting, and maintaining regulatory documentations for various studies involving human subjects in accordance to Federal regulations, Sponsor and/or Institutional policies; informing and conducting multi-step experiments in support of a clinical research program; interpreting study data and/or providing input into related scientific papers and project narratives; OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Master's degree or equivalent doctoral degree in a field directly related to the position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Research Technical Competence Project Management Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.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.For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/20/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12819618. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Application Deadline: 2025-11-20