Lead Health System Specialist

Full Job Description

The position serves as the primary contact for human research protection and human research projects.

The position is responsible for the management of the Human Research Protection Program, including general administration, planning, and oversight of matters related to research involving human subjects.

Duties include compliance oversight for the Research Information Protection Program and leading committee administrative support staff for the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/06/2026.

Selective Placement Factor: This position includes a skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job.

Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration.

Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume.

The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience interpreting national level policies, assessing compliance, and administering research activities for a national research program within a healthcare organization.

AND You may qualify based on your education and experience as described below.

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are using education to fulfill the Individual Occupational Requirement.

Individual Occupational Requirements: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.

OR Specialized Experience Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field.

This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities.

Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement.

AND 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.

Specialized experience is defined as analyzing legislation and other regulatory directives, policies, and guidance.

Assists with development of research program policies and standards for which the program will be evaluated.

Assigns research project submission work to staff for pre-review, review of on-going projects, and electronic submission system review. Monitors compliance with research program requirements.

Preferred experience with Institutional Review Boards (IRB) and human subjects research protocol.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Project Management Research Strategic Thinking AND Additional Assessment Requirements: Executive Order (EO) 14170, Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service ("Restoring Merit"), and the Chance to Compete Act of 2024, require agencies to "incorporate skills-based and competency-based technical assessments" into the Federal hiring process.

To ensure that Federal jobs are filled based on merit and competence.

Every hiring process across the competitive service, or any process otherwise subject to competitive hiring, must include at least one technical or alternative assessment before issuance of the certificate.

This announcement requires the submission of an Accomplishment Record Assessment, which measures knowledge, skills, abilities, or competencies.

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. Major Duties:

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Available Telework: Ad hoc only Duty Location Status: Will work from a VA owned or leased space Position Description Title/PD#: Lead Health System Specialist/ PD457760 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required.

No special physical demands although it may involve some walking, standing, bending, or carrying of light items.

Concentration and sustained performance under prolonged stress is required due to time factors involved and the nature of work.

Must know and understand the requirements for entering research space including research laboratories, clinical research, and animal research unit.

Major Duties: Administers screening, advisory, and approval processes for the organization's human subjects research program. Administers evaluation review for approved projects.

Evaluates human studies submissions for errors and works with research teams for corrective actions.

Performs a variety of administrative functions to maintain specialized data and implement study design. Services as a Lead over for other Health System Specialists.

Prepares and analyzes data relating to current reviews, results, and trends.