Program Specialist

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.

Duties

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 facilitys 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 facilitys 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

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 determining if your employment advances the public interest we may consider :

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 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 :

OR

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position :

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 Managements 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 applicants 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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window Learn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Required Experience :

IC

Key Skills

Project Management Methodology,Project / Program Management,Program Management,Management Experience,Microsoft Powerpoint,Project Management,Microsoft Project,Budgeting,DoD Experience,Leadership Experience,Supervising Experience,Contracts

Employment Type : Full-Time

Experience : years

Vacancy : 1

Yearly Salary Salary : 74678 - 97087