Summary

This position serves as a Health Science Specialist in the Million Veteran Program (MVP) providing oversight for the program which reports directly to the Deputy Director of Compliance and Quality Assurance of the (MVP) office located at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA.

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 13 Months). Term appointments are non-status, non-permanent 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.

Duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Responsible for development and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions (WIs), and other supporting documents (SDs) utilized by core MVP staff to ensure cohesive efforts across the program.
• Serves as a project manager collaborating with key stakeholders and subject matter experts to develop new or revised SOPs, WIs and other SDs in accordance with established guidelines and formatting.
• Participates in all phases of conduct of MVP Quality Manual efforts, ensuring that goals are being met within established timeframes.
• Maintains the MVP Quality Manual SharePoint site and associated tools; collaborate with the Deputy Director, Compliance & Quality Assurance to ensure all documentation is current and accurate including during periodic (e.g. annual) review.
• Coordinates with Deputy Director, Compliance & Quality Assurance to develop and manage an auditing process to ensure compliance of core MVP staff with approved procedures.
• Understands interdomain connections within and between documented procedures in detail to ensure accurate documentation is represented and consistent.
• Conducts quality assurance review of document updates including formatting, spelling/grammar, accurate and sufficient level of detail, and consideration of interdomain impact.
• Negotiates corrective actions concerning programmatic issues and basic management of the research program's quality management initiative.
• Performs qualitative analyses of procedures to identify potential risks and problematic processes.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad hoc telework only.

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 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) - See "Required Documents" below for details.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: You must possess a bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree with 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. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application.

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must also meet the following:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes: developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) directly related to processes for conducting research, creating and documenting processes to ensure research compliance, and performing quality assurance management activities, such as auditing of processes related to executing research protocols. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

Physical Demands: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to perform portions of the work. However, there is periodic walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as medical records, instructional material, books and manuals. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

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.

There is no educational substitution at this grade level for Specialized Experince.

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

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. 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.

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.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.