Department of Health and Human Services

Ethics Program Specialist

Montgomery County, Maryland Full time

Ethics Program Specialist

Department: Department of Health and Human Services

Location(s): Montgomery County, Maryland

Salary Range: $85447 - $133142 Per Year

Job Summary: You will serve as an Ethics Program Specialist with primary responsibility for planning, administering, and implementing the Ethics Program for your Institute, Center or Office (ICO) and for ensuring that it is carried out in accordance with applicable ethics regulations and statutes.

Major Duties:

  • Research situations and advise on conflict of interest situations concerning prior employment ties to academic institutions and private entities; and the disposal of financial holdings.
  • Advise on interpreting and applying policies on topics such as financial disclosure; outside activities; recusals; gifts; sponsored travel; political activity; procurement integrity; and other activities.
  • Manage all aspects of public and confidential financial disclosures.
  • Plan, develop, and implement ethics training activities, including the design of curricula incorporating controversial issues and specific case law that has impacted policy decisions.
  • Ensure the timely distribution of new or revised guidelines or explanations of ambiguous requirements.
  • Assist in the review of ethics programs to evaluate effectiveness and adherence to statutes, regulations, and internal policies.
  • Conduct analyses and prepare reports on ethics considerations, recommending policy or procedural changes as appropriate.

Qualifications: You qualify at the GS-11 level, if you meet one of the following qualification requirements: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one (1) year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: 1) providing advice to employees on the application of ethics statutes, regulations, and policies; 2) monitoring the financial disclosure process, including determining who should file, notifying employees, and reviewing financial disclosure forms; and 3) presenting reports on ethics considerations to management officials. OR B. Completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M. Education must be related to the position to be qualifying; OR C. A combination of post baccalaureate education related to the position and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. You qualify at the GS-12 level, if you meet one of the following qualification requirements: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one (1) year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: 1) providing advice to employees and managers on the interpretation and application of ethics statutes, regulations, and policies related to financial disclosure, recusals, and gift exceptions; 2) reviewing confidential and public financial disclosure reports or prohibited holdings reports; 3) offering guidance on potential conflict of interest violations and recommending corrective actions; and 4) designing and developing ethics training courses and materials. You will receive credit for all experience material to the position, including experience gained in religious, civic, welfare, service, and organizational activities, regardless of whether you received pay. Do not copy and paste the duties or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. We may verify or assess your qualifications at any time. Inflated or unsupported qualifications may affect your rating. Any misrepresentation or material omission of facts may be sufficient cause to end further consideration of your candidacy. Persons listed as knowing your past accomplishments or experience in your application may be contacted for verification purposes at any time. Verification may, but need not, begin before receiving an offer. Preview application questionnaire before you apply: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12932366

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete and submit all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents sections. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click Apply Online button. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. See the "Required Documents" section for any additional forms and/or supplemental materials required. Read all Eligibility questions and respond accordingly to any Eligibility you wish to claim. You will only be considered for those Eligibility questions (Veteran, Schedule A, etc.) you respond in the affirmative to, regardless of what documentation you submit. We cannot assume you intended to respond differently to a question based on other information in your application package. Complete the application questionnaire. Applicants are asked all questions regardless of their consideration preferences. We will only consider you for the grades, series, locations, specialties, and other considerations that you self-identify as being qualified for or interested in. Preview application questionnaire before you apply: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12932366 After submitting an 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. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside about 2 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 later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. 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. Verify all required documentation is included in your application package, review your responses to the application questionnaire for accuracy, and then submit your application. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. In addition to the required documents, we encourage you to submit a cover letter, copy of your transcripts, and any applicable certifications or licenses. Even though this information is not required at the time of application, we may request this information later. We cannot assume responsibility or grant extensions for personal issues (e.g., troubles navigating the application process, loss of internet, not understanding a question) when applying to our announcements. For technical difficulties, contact HR Systems Support between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM ET Monday through Friday at hrss@nih.gov. For reasonable accommodations not related to USA Hire, please contact Brandy Jonesat .jonesbn@mail.nih.gov. Requests for reasonable accommodations must be made before the announcement closing date. Visit our site for information on NIH's EEO program, Reasonable accommodation procedures, laws, policy statements, and the operation of the EEO complaint process.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-01