Program Specialist

Summary This position is located at the VA Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, NY, and is organizationally aligned under the Research & Development Service. The administrative office of the Research & Development Service supports approximately 50 investigators with the assistance necessary to conduct their individual research programs. This position is critical to the effective day-to-day operation of a diverse VA research program. Responsibilities This is a non-bargaining unit position. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package : VA Total Rewards Work Schedule : Monday - Friday 8 : 00 am - 4 : 30 pm Compressed / Flexible Schedule : Not Available Telework : Not Available Duty Location Status : Will work from a VA owned or leased space Position Description Title / PD# : Program Specialist / PD37555-O Relocation / Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS) : Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report : Not Required Physical Demands : The work is primarily performed in an office environment and requires alternating periods of walking and sedentary work. Manual dexterity is required for operating office equipment. Typing and computer operation may involve long periods of hand and wrist movement. Major Duties : Performs grant administrative work in the following areas : grant preparation and management, budgeting, financial and personnel management, and procurement and contracting for grants. Assures that all proposals are administratively correct and include the necessary documentation that describe necessary resources (space, personnel, and equipment), the use of investigational drugs, the use of human and animal subjects, the use of biohazards, and the appropriateness of the requested funding level. Works with research administrative staff managing all aspects of budget and Human Resources (HR) processes to facilitate grant-related transactions. Acts as an advisor and coordinator to principal investigators and their research staff in proposal and budget preparation to ensure compliance with multiple VHA Directives, program guides, and Requests for Applications. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01 / 08 / 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 GS11 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. Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. 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. AND You may qualify based on your education / experience / combination as described below. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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. Specialized experience is defined as (1) performing grant administrative duties, (2) interpreting existing federal grant policies and monitoring and reviewing grant proposals for accuracy, (3) coordinating with research administrative staff and Human Resources to facilitate grant-related transactions, (4) providing guidance and information to leadership regarding grant management issues (6) advising on budget and proposal preparation to principal investigators and research staff and (7) utilizing IRBNet software to support Research & Development Service committees and subcommittees.; OR Education : Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related; 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 1 year of full-time graduate education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position : Customer Service Project Management Technical Competence Analysis and Problem Solving AND Additional Assessment Requirements : Executive Order (EO) 14170, Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service ("Restoring Merit"), and the Chance to Compete Act of 2024, require agencies to "incorporate skills-based and competency-based technical assessments" into the Federal hiring process. To ensure that Federal jobs are filled based on merit and competence. Every hiring process across the competitive service, or any process otherwise subject to competitive hiring, must include at least one technical or alternative assessment before issuance of the certificate. This announcement requires the submission of an Accomplishment Record Assessment, which measures knowledge, skills, abilities, or competencies. Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail / assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties. To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above. 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. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http : / / www.opm.gov / qualifications / standards / indexes / alph-ndx.asp. Education PLEASE NOTE : Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and / or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website : http : / / www.ed.gov / admins / finaid / accred / index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. 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. Additional Information The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https : / / www.opm.gov / . This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (or the Act) prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from requesting applicant criminal history record information before extending a conditional or tentative offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S.C § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged non-compliance to VA at vacofairchanceact@va.gov. Applicant written complaints should include the following : Administration name : Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office name, employee name and contact information or contractor who made contact (if known). Date of contact. Details regarding the job opportunity announcement applied to, and copies of any documents or other evidence related to the complaint. Visit Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) for more information. 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.