Supervisory Health Science Specialist - Research and Academic Affairs Coordinator

Summary

The position is located in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Salisbury VA Medical Center (VAMC), in Salisbury, NC, which is organizationally aligned within the Education and Learning Resources Service, Research and Academic Affairs section.

Duties

The primary purpose of the position is to plan, develop, and direct the complex activities of Salisbury VA Healthcare System Research and Academic Affairs. This position impacts every phase of the Research and Academic Affairs, from inception of project, applications for funding, budget management of funded projects, resource allocation for projects, compliance with federal laws and VA policies/directives on protection of human subjects in research, onboarding trainees, and local and national-level VA reporting requirements. Additionally, this position manages clinical contracts through the Medical School affiliates for the Medical Center, impacting direct patient care throughout the facility. Duties include but not limited to: Supervisory Duties and Personnel Management: Directs and supervises a wide range of staff with different technical skills. The positions include personnel in the fields of human research protection, budget, and administration to include: four (4) Research Coordinators GS-0601-11, three (3) Research Coordinators GS-0601-09, one (1) Research Coordinator GS-0601-07, one (1) Budget Technician GS-0561-07, and two (2) Practical Nurse GS-0620-07. Plans work to be accomplished by staff, setting short term priorities and planning schedules for work completion. Evaluates the performance of staff under supervision. Assigns work based on priorities taking into consideration task difficulty, requirement of assignment and capabilities. Directs the personnel management program for both the academic affairs and the Research components of the R&AA Service line, including management of two different federal HR entities (i.e. local station HR and HROO (the Veterans Affairs Central Office Research & Development HR service). Acts as the liaison with the human resources and labor management office concerning personnel-related matters. Provides orientation and training for new staff. Provides advice on solving complex personnel related problems. Research and Academic Affairs Project Management and Strategic Planning: The administrative responsibilities include every phase of the research activity, from inception of project, applications for funding, budget management of funded projects, resource allocation for projects, compliance with federal laws and VA policies/directives on protection of human subjects in research, and local and national-level VA reporting requirements. The position encompasses many diverse areas, including but not limited to oversight of human studies research and associated review boards, accounting and budget management, procurement and contracting, personnel administration, as well as oversight of VA merit, career development and other special solicitation applications. Manages the preparation and submission of VA Merit, career development and special solicitation applications for research funding. Reviews of all proposals submitted for VA funding for accuracy with complex and detailed instructions for application. Reviews budgetary requirements for personnel, equipment, and supply requirements. Reviews letters of intent and research proposals to ensure program relevance and conformance with published guidelines. Develops both long and short-range policies and plans for the organization by coordinating the needs of the organization(s) for which accountable. Provides formularized planning direction for management. Manages and coordinates all administrative aspects of Research and Academic Affairs. Develops and implements policies and procedures for R&AA. VISN-Level Research and Academic Affairs Responsibilities: In addition to the facility-based responsibilities, the Supervisory Health Science Specialist also performs a significant VISN-level role in support of Research and Academic Affairs across VISN 6. Serves as a key administrative resource to VISN leadership and affiliated VA medical centers by providing guidance, consultation, and coordination related to research administration policies, procedures, and operational requirements. Procurement/Contracting and Budget Guidance/Administration: Develops the need for and maintains an awareness of available resources, and makes recommendations to senior management regarding needs, distribution or redistribution of these resources. Full authority for a large number fund control points. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8am - 4:30pm Telework: This position may be authorized for ADHOC telework according to agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Health Science Specialist - Research and Academic Affairs Coordinator/PD502700 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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 identification 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 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, 07/30/2026. 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-12 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. All qualified applicants must meet this Basic Requirement for the GS-0601 series. Education: Possess a Bachelor's degree (or higher) from an accredited college or university in a major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of a Health Science Specialist. (Copies of transcripts are required at the time of application) In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement above, you must also meet one of the following additional requirements for the Health Science Specialist. 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-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: comprehensive knowledge of the range of laws, policies, regulations, and precedents applicable to the administration of an accredited research program, the sequence and timing of research grant submissions; and the knowledge about directing an effective team to negotiate effectively with management to implement research that may involve substantial agency resources, familiarity with the roles and responsibilities of research personnel and extensive knowledge of all phases of study execution from study conceptualization to study closeout and dissemination of results sufficient to plan, implement and monitor the execution of research. 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 Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, in a related field of the position to be filled. Education at the graduate level must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education. Must have an equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree) and specialized experience as described above, to meet the total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume. Preferred Experience: Experience with supervising research performance, regulations, and contracting. 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 the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Evaluations

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.

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 07/30/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13006419. 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. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ 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. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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/. 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.

Other 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.