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: $121785 - $158322 Per Year

Job Summary: You will serve as an Ethics Program Specialist with primary responsibility for developing and managing a comprehensive ethics and standards of conduct program including reviewing ethics documents and requests and serving as an information resource.

Major Duties:

  • Administer the Public financial disclosure reporting system (SF-278) in accordance with regulations 5 D.F.R. Part 2654 and HHS policies issued by the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO).
  • Administer the procurement integrity ethics provision prescribed by the General Service Administration in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
  • Provide analysis and advice under the Standards of Ethical Conduct with respect to awards, honorary degrees, prohibited gifts, conflicts of interest, impartiality, and other matters requiring various determinations, findings, and authorizations.
  • Provide management/coordination/support for the institute’s ethics program.
  • Review, certify, and approve new entrant and annual Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports, Outside Activity Requests, Official Duty Requests, 502 Authorizations Recusals, Awards from Outside Organizations, and Conflict of Interest for CRADAs.
  • Analyze, evaluate and recommend agency positions on various ethical, practical and legal issues related to NIH policies, HHS Standards of Conduct and institute program activity.

Qualifications: You qualify at the GS-13 level, if you meet the following qualification requirement: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one (1) year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: 1.) Reviewing and approving ethics documents and financial disclosures; 2.) Providing analysis and advice on ethical conduct and conflicts of interest; 3.) Developing and implementing ethics training programs and guidelines for staff compliance with federal regulations; AND, 4.) Managing and coordinating the institute's ethics and standards of conduct program. 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, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. To determine your qualifications and referral status, we may review your resume and supporting documentation and compare it against your responses to the vacancy questionnaire. Ensure you support your self-ratings with the information you provide in your application. 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 assessment questionnaire before you apply: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12937530

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/12937530 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. If you need any other accommodation or assistance with applying please contact NIH HR Service Desk Branch D at OHRCSDBRANCHDSRVDSK@od.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: 2026-05-11