Health Science Specialist

***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:

• Coordinating all work-related activities required to complete single-site or multi-site projects.
• Managing regulatory documents and submitting to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Research and Development (R&D) Committee all documents required for project approval.
• Providing or monitoring of projects and adheres to all applicable deadlines for submission of regulatory reports including adverse event reports annual reports and other reports.
• Assisting with data collection document retrieval and writing reports needed to obtain initial and ongoing approval of the protocol by the IRB and R&D Committees.
• Assisting with developing and maintaining a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual and adhering to this manual when administering and implementing the project protocol.
• Completing all aspects of the screening and recruitment process as stipulated in the project protocol and ensures that all patients/subjects included in the project meet all inclusion and no exclusion criteria.
• Keeping patients/subjects or their legal representative informed about all aspects of the project in which they are participating.
• Utilizing and maintaining an electronic record management system for each project and using it to record all applicable recruitment procedure and interview data.
• Managing participant compensation and maintaining compensation records; preparing invoices for reimbursement of participants.
• Completing assigned components of the initial (baseline) and follow-up/interim subject/patient assessment.
• Preparing and reviewing status reports and statistical data to verify compliance with reports and administrative criteria.
• Abstracting medical records to obtain data for each project as stipulated in the protocols.
• Providing data summaries and other project information that is required to complete all mandated project reports.
• Promoting building of team cohesiveness and effective communication with all individuals involved in any aspect of the project to enable effective team functioning and successful completion of the project.
• Training other Health Science Specialists and verifies that they understand and adhere to all aspects of the protocol and all relevant policies can reliably and correctly perform all procedures.
• Performing the duties of a Level 1 quality assurance reviewer which entails auditing research study records for the presence of documentation required to maintain compliance with R&D and IRB standards/requirements.
• Monitoring and evaluating quality of all data and using proper approach for correcting all errors identified.
• Creating daily data monitoring reports to present on-going status of data to the project lead.
• Participating in establishing operational guidelines for the use of each project assessment instrument.
• Utilizing appropriate software entering all data into designated electronic databases and accurately transcribes recorded patient/subject interviews.
• Conducting ongoing intra- and inter-rater reliability testing of all project instruments.
• Utilizing various library and on-line search engines to perform extensive literature searches on specific topics as required for a given research or clinical project.
• Preparing bibliographies for use in various educational materials and tools journal article submissions and grant applications.
• Compiling and producing education and training materials.
• Assisting in the preparation of manuscripts authored by a project lead for publication in peer-reviewed health/medical journals.
• Conducting research for the papers and abstracting relevant literature.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30 am to 4:00 pm subject to change based on needs of the facility.
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved
Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service increase worker productivity and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• 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 drivers licenses or state-issued identification 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) - See Required Documents below for details.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public 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 your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Basic Requirement: The following are basic requirements for appointment as a Health Science Specialist in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) which all applicants must met.

Minimum Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements one of the following minimum requirement criteria must be met to be qualified for this position.
Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the job will include assisting the patients/subjects in and out of beds or chairs walking with and providing standby assistance to the patients/subjects assisting them on and off of weight scales bending over them in order to perform limited arthrometric measurements and otherwise walking standing bending and carrying of light items such as medical records instructional materials books and manuals through the hospital throughout his or her tour of duty. The incumbent must also be able to safely perform blood drawing procedures drive an automobile and see and hear clearly.

For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at

Required Experience:

IC