Job Details

Summary The Program Specialist serves as the Research Compliance Officer (RCO) with primary responsibility for compliance activities for research overseen by the Research and Development (R&D) Program at the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center (JHQVAMC). JHQVAMC is a tertiary, integrated healthcare system comprised of one major hospital campus at Mountain Home, TN and many CBOCs. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: The incumbent evaluates compliance with Federal and VA requirements for the conduct of research, which may include requirements in one or more of the following areas: the protection of human research subjects, laboratory animal welfare, and research safety and security. The incumbent may also be assigned responsibilities related to facility programs for research information security, research privacy, conflict of interest in research, training of research personnel. research program accreditation, research misconduct, and/or other research compliance activities consistent with VHA requirements. The incumbent adds value to the organization through improvement of research processes. Compliance monitoring provides internal oversight on quality and compliance issues relating to the performance of clinical research trials involving human subjects as well as conduct of animal and science-safety trials. The incumbent is responsible for providing JHQV AMC leadership with reasonable assurances that HRPPs comply with VA and Federal Regulations. Research Compliance also includes oversight of animal research, basic research, and safety programs. The incumbent provides leadership, expertise, and strategic direction for the facility's research compliance program, and is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining compliance oversight activities in assigned areas of responsibility. The incumbent develops strategy, policy and/or standards covering the facility's research compliance program activities and records. Analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of programs or operations in meeting established compliance goals and objectives. Analyzes program performance data to identify trends and impact. The incumbent analyzes, prepares and distributes research compliance program status reports. The incumbent performs ongoing research monitoring and auditing in assigned areas of responsibility. These activities must be consistent with VHA research monitoring and auditing requirements, and require the ability to conduct in-depth review and analysis of research, clinical, and training records relevant to the assigned areas of responsibility. Monitoring and auditing reports are timely. accurate, and complete; reports are provided to facility leadership and others in accordance with VHA requirements. The incumbent conducts routine and "for cause" reviews as well as performance improvement activities to promote compliance, reduce violations of regulations and standards, identify unsatisfactory trends and conditions, and identify and communicate factors that may contribute to non-compliance. The incumbent evaluates audits and inspections, and forwards action items to the responsible individual and/or organization (e.g., FDA, ORO, OHRP, VA). Performs audits of research records related to human subject and animal subject protections. Maintains audit records as required for compliance and derives routine analyses of trends from those records. Maintains research compliance records in conditions suitable for ORO, FDA, ORD, USDA or AAALAC inspections. The incumbent evaluates and updates standard operating procedures (SOPs) to maintain compliance with applicable Federal regulations and accreditation requirements. Provides advice regarding the research compliance content of their SOPs. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD605560 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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 ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification 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) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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 period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/06/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education and/or as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to knowledge of the unique characteristics of the specific health care delivery various administrative areas such as program management and administration, budgeting/financial management work, research and analysis work, lease management; ability to provide expert analysis and advice on complex program issues, ability to develop Medical Center policies, procedures, and resource allocations for assigned programs, develops status reports or response materials for higher level attention, review, or signature. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M. related to the work of this position (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the second year of graduate level education but less than the time required for the degree pursued. To calculate, first take the number of months of specialized experience and divide that by 12, then take the number of semester hours beyond the second year and divide that by the number of semester hours required for your degree. Add these two percentages together and this must equal or exceed 100%.. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Auditing Communication Compliance Integrity/Honesty Manages and Organizes Information Quality Assurance Research Standards 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: Work is mainly sedentary. Traveling off station to other sites of care or various meetings is necessary and working overtime and odd hours, to include weekends may be necessary. There may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, such as instructional material, manuals, papers, and books. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at Education 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: 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: Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.