Department of Veterans Affairs

Supervisory Health Science Specialist

White River Junction, Vermont Full time

Supervisory Health Science Specialist

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): White River Junction, Vermont

Salary Range: $119355 - $155164 Per Year

Job Summary: This position serves as the Director of Human Research Protection Program (DHRPP) and is responsible for the oversight of all human research at the White River Junction VA Medical Center, VT to include Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and National Program Offices regardless of funding. The White River Junction VA Medical Center research program consists roughly 100 distinct research protocols, more than 80 of which fall under the realm of human subjects' research.

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*** Duties include, but are not limited to the following. Human Subjects' Research Program Management - 25% The DHRPP is responsible for the formulation of human subject research policies and procedures as well as the overall management of the entire human subjects' research program at the White River Junction VAMC. The DHRPP must analyze incoming information, interpret changing regulations and various oversight mandates to develop the program. This program will continually change as new congressional mandates and laws evolve. Human Subjects' Research Personnel Administration & Supervision - 25% The position directs the personnel management program for Human Subjects' Research Program of the R&D Service in coordination with the authorized servicing HR office The position coordinates the personnel management program for the Human Subjects' portion of the R&D Service, on matters involving recruitment, promotions, awards, position classification, training, supervision, and disciplinary actions in accordance with guidance obtained by the servicing HR office. Human Subjects' Research Program Development - 25% Individual Project Management The DHRPP will ultimately be the responsible party for the regulatory oversight of all human subjects' research that the WRJVAHCS is engaged in. This means ensuring that specific projects meet the regulatory requirements prior to being opened at our facility. This requires using various metrics to ensure an adequate assessment of each research project prior to final approval. Director of VINNE - 25% The DHRPP is also the Director of VINNE. VINNE is responsible for reviewing and approving all human subjects' research that is not followed by another IRB prior to implementation. This currently includes research that is occurring at the WRJVAMC as well as in Maine and the Manchester NH VAMC. As the Director of VINNE the DHRPP is responsible for ensuring that the committee is structured, run and follows all applicable laws and directives governing VA human subjects' research. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, you MUST meet the below requirements. Basic Requirement 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 (external link) at the time the degree was obtained. NOTE: You must submit copies of transcripts with your application. Education will not be credited without documentation. AND GS-13 EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal service that includes the formulation of human subject research policies and procedures as well as the overall management of the entire human subjects' research program and provides regulatory oversight of all human subjects' research. A Quality Ranking Factor* has also been requested by the facility to help determine which of the basically qualified applicants are likely to be better qualified for a position. The quality ranking factor for this position is: Must have experience working as a Human Subjects Institutional Review Board (IRB) Director, Chairperson or IRB Committee Coordinator. *Quality Ranking Factors are skills, knowledge, abilities, or other worker characteristics which could be expected to result in superior performance on the job. Quality ranking factors will not be used for screening but may be used as ranking criteria. Applicants with higher proficiency levels may rank above those with lower proficiency levels on a quality ranking factor. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Communications Managing Human Resources Organizational Awareness Problem Solving Quality Ranking Factor Research 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: Work often requires intensive concentration. The work is mainly sedentary; however, travel will be required at times. No special physical demands are required to perform this work. The position may be required to work weekends and other irregular tours of duty. Typically, the position may sit comfortably to perform portions of work, however there is periodic walking to and from the Research building to the main hospital, within the research building, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as files, policy and committee meeting binders, books, etc. 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 12/01/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12840072. 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. If initial application submission is updated and resubmitted with a new resume, only the most current resume will be reviewed for consideration. 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: 2025-12-01