Department of Veterans Affairs

Health Science Specialist

Detroit, Michigan Full time

Health Science Specialist

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Detroit, Michigan

Salary Range: $68081 - $88510 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VHA, at the John Dingell VAMC in the Research and Development (R&D) Service, in Detroit, Michigan. The position is fully responsible for managing clinical tests, ensuring development, coordination, and technical management of databases, collecting data, recruiting, and managing subjects for clinical trials and providing high level site support of projects in a research setting, providing day-to-day support for the VA Research Program

Major Duties:

  • ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Develop and maintain/update study database in accordance to sponsor and/or Pl's specifications. Manage implementation, control and reporting on clinical tests. Implement data collection and monitor protocols for difficult clinical research studies. Administer or monitor administration of tests and measurements required by project design. Record data from samples and specimens to ensure that all tracking data is organized and is monitored during the progress of the study. Identify test results and trends requiring further analysis. Prepare project and statistical reports for review process. Participate in initial classification and coding of qualitative/quantitative data and entering coding data into qualitative/quantitative software. Participate in activities in preparation of, and after, collection of study data. Assist with data analysis from a variety of sources, including databases and spreadsheets, and conceive and write reports as needed. Monitor data collection processes ensuring data integrity and completeness. Help respond to inquiries from a sponsor, clinical research coordinating center and/or site Pl on matters related to data, and data compliance, and subject complaints related to data collection. Assist supervisor/PI with managing the routine, day-to-day activities and administration of the projects. Draft detailed summary reports for presentation at meetings and conferences and for publication in peer-reviewed journal articles. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Qualifications: Basic Requirement: The following are basic requirements for appointment as a Health System Specialist in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which all applicants must meet. Basic Education: Must have a 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. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed. Minimum Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements as described above, one of the following minimum requirement criteria must be met to be qualified for this position. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: (GS-09): You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the 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 include experience managing implementation, control and reporting on clinical tests, recording data from samples and specimens, monitoring data collection processes ensuring data integrity and completeness, administering or monitoring administration of tests and measurements required by project design, perform day-to-day activities related to conducting and overseeing participant interviews and follow-up, creating and maintaining complex research databases, planning, develop, complete, and submit on time all required documentation/paperwork/forms for initial and continuing human subjects review, conducting research investigatory processes, study-related interviewing, compilation and analysis of data; and making recommendations of findings.(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.) 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 SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: Must have two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree with a major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. Note: You must provide a copy of your transcripts to receive consideration. OR COMBINATION OF BOTH EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Must have combinations of successfully completed graduate level education (as stated above) and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Note: You must provide a copy of your transcripts to receive consideration. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Manages and Organizes Information Project Management Research Specimen Collection IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary with occasional walking, standing, and handling and carrying items such as paper and books. There may be an occasion need to assist study participants with mobility to study location(s). 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/.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/23/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12911327. 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 and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. 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 https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ 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. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities), and/or disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (202) 020-2020. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-23