Health Science Specialist

Summary

Position is located at the VA facility in Aurora, CO and is that of a Health Science Specialist who performs professional level scientific work in the conducting of funded and unfunded research protocols as assigned by and under the general supervision of a Principal Investigator.

Duties

• ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties will include, but may not be limited to the following: Duties Coordinate and execute research study protocols, including health services, clinical research studies, and epidemiological problems relevant to VA. Search and review relevant published literature to develop an understanding of the area to be studied. Apply inclusion/exclusion criteria for research subjects, handle informed consent documentation, and protocol submissions for ethical review. Develop standardized operating procedures (SOPs) for scientific protocols. Assist Principal Investigator (PI) with qualitative and quantitative research, and preparation and submission of R&D paperwork. Initiate and perform experimental data collection through specialized methodologies specified in study protocols. Operate and maintain specialized testing and laboratory equipment, evaluate methods for research protocols. Collaborate with project directors, conduct semi-structured clinical interviews, and monitor survey data collection. Validate and quality-check data, manage data recording and analysis, and develop reports for the study director. Maintain scientific collaborations with other research, clinical, and support organizations. Prepare reports, presentations, and manuscripts for submission to professional meetings and peer-reviewed journals. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Telework: This position may be authorized for telework as determined by agency policy.

Qualifications

INSTRUCTIONS: Thank you for your interest in a Health Science Specialist position with the Federal government. Select the appropriate answer to each of the following questions based on your current level of education and/or experience that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. When answering the questionnaire, remember that your experience and education are subject to verification by investigation. You may be asked to provide specific examples or documentation of experience or education as proof to support your answers, or you may be required to verify a response by a practical demonstration of your claimed ability to perform a task. BASIC EDUCATION: You must possess 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. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application will not be reviewed.) AND GS-09: EXPERIENCE - You must possess one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (i.e., GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: demonstrated extensive experience overseeing clinical research studies, including complex multisite projects; troubleshooting issues as they arise and incorporating technical modifications to research protocols to ensure studies run smoothly and effectively; proficient in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, and have consistently leveraged statistical software such as SAS and SPSS for robust data analysis; experience with federal research regulations, prepared Research and Development (R&D) paperwork, IRB submissions, and other essential regulatory documentation; managing research subject recruitment and tracking participant progress; coordinating activities across multiple sites and handling several projects simultaneously with minimal supervision; coordinating clinical research activities, gathering data for various projects, screening and recruiting participants, and compiling both statistical and narrative data to track project status. (CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Your resume must show complete information for each job entry, such as beginning and ending dates of employment, duties performed, and/or total hours worked per week.) OR GS-09: EDUCATION - You must you possess 2 (two) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree, or a master's or equivalent graduate degree, with major study in an academic field related to the position. This would need to provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for the work. To clarify, one year of full-time graduate education is determined by the credit hours that your school considers as representing one year of full-time study. If that information isn't available from your school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the one-year requirement. Additionally, part-time graduate education is creditable based on its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. Please remember to submit your unofficial transcript with your application, as applications without transcripts will not be reviewed. OR GS-09: COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION - Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must possess equivalent combinations of experience and education as described in question 1 and 2 to meet the total requirements for this position. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level (i.e., 1 year of graduate-level education with major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences, or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position) may be combined with experience. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT AND/OR CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: If you do not submit the required document, your application will not be reviewed. 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/.

Requirements

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.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13057874. The application process is as follows: 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. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 09/17/2026. After submitting the online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. IMPORTANT: If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. 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.