The Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development (ACOS Research) is a position established within the Research and Development Service under the Office of the Chief of Staff (COS). The employee works at the Veterans Medical Center (VAMC) in Lexington, KY, which is affiliated with the teaching hospital of the University of Kentucky (UK).
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14. 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. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. This occupation has Individual Occupational Requirements, basic requirement, that must be meet. Basic Requirements: Degree: in one of the basic animal sciences or physiology; or a related discipline or field of science that included at least 24 semester hours in the basic animal sciences, of which 10 semester hours were in animal physiology. Evaluation of Education: Courses such as anatomy; cytology; invertebrate and vertebrate zoology; embryology; entomology; animal, dairy, and poultry husbandry; nutrition; genetics; and physiology may be used to meet the 24-semester-hour requirement in the basic animal sciences. Courses in physiology, animal or human physiology, cellular physiology, or courses that were well oriented toward animal or human physiology, e.g., some advanced courses in biochemistry, are qualifying as animal physiology courses. Courses in related fields such as cytology and microbiology (including microbial physiology) may also be qualifying, provided the course work dealt directly with the application of scientific principles underlying animal physiology, or with the methodology and techniques applied in animal physiology work. In addition to the time in grade requirement and the basic requirements listed above, you may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-14 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include: Evaluates work in meeting the policy and regulatory standards as well as the overall quality of the research results as indicated by critical reviews and the continued approval of new research projects by the various funding entities. Directs the activities of multiple research teams comprised of professional clinical and scientific researchers as well as technical and administrative support employees. Manages the Research Program's teams, utilizing knowledge of quality improvement (QI) and demonstrating the ability to apply the QI process. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Research Communications Compliance Financial Management 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: The employee works primarily in an office setting involving everyday risks or discomforts. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
The VAMC is a two-division tertiary care facility that provides acute medical, surgical, neurological and mental health inpatient services with a 99-bed complement at the Cooper Drive Division as well as a 61- bed Nursing Home Care Unity and an additional 30-bed Psychosocial Residential Rehabilitation unit at the Leestown Division. This large, complex, tertiary care, dual division and affiliated research facility has over 250 beds for medical and surgical care at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, along with psychiatry and extended care. The medical center has an extensive outpatient program with a workload of over 300,000 annual visits, provided via more than 900 clinics, in primary care and subspecialty clinics held at both divisions of the medical center and its Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) - which currently include Somerset, Morehead, Hazard, and Berea. The medical center's primary service area covers approximately 38 counties in central and southeastern Kentucky, with a veteran population of over 90,000.This medical center is affiliated with the University of Kentucky Colleges of Medicine and Dentistry for the training of approximately 500 medical and dental residents in 25 accredited specialty and subspecialty programs. Affiliations with 15 other institutions in Kentucky and elsewhere provide for training in 30 additional health professions involving more than 1100 students annually.Major Duties and Responsibilities: Formulates the goals and objectives of the research program for the Lexington VA Health Care System. Initiates all policies and procedures for the research program. Continuously monitors new and revised legislation, VHA Directives and mandates from other agencies (OSHA, FDA, the JC, OIG, etc.) to identify changes. Plans, develops, and directs the complex scientific and administrative activities necessary to advance LVAHCS program. Responsible for all administrative and budgetary operations of the service. Responsible for the supervision and evaluation of Service personnel through subordinate supervisors. Responsible for compliance with both VISN- and VACO-mandated research policies including those issued by the Office of Research and Development (ORD) and the Office of Research Oversight (ORO). Supervises activities to ensure ongoing accreditation for the human research program as well as the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) program. Approves research program development initiatives. Reviews all research proposals prior to their submission. Determines the availability of necessary resources (equipment, space, animal needs), data management, biological and radioactive waste disposal, the use of investigational drugs, justification of additional or replacement equipment and personnel, and the impact of the proposed work on the institution. Advises the investigator of the need to include budgetary requests for these items in their submissions. Evaluates the need for approval of local funding for lab assays and pharmaceuticals used in investigator-initiated non- funded research. Serves as alternate, ex-officio member, as appropriate, to the R&D Committee. Prepares in-depth background and management information for review by the R&D Committee. Mentors and assists research investigators in preparing proposals that meet R&D Committee and Sub-committee review process requirements. Consults with PIs and serves as a resource for scientific and technical issues. Works independently to plan, design and carry out programs, studies and audits. Serves as the technical authority on program needs and makes appropriate changes as needed and are normally accepted without significant change. Possesses full authority to interpret directives and mandates, to resolve conflicts and establish policy to meet VHA and other regulations. Internally reviews fulfillment of program objectives' (goals) and the effect of the incumbents mentoring of other investigators and scientists in growing the program. Conducts program assessments and prepares reports necessary to appraise the COS and R&D Committee of status of the program. Identifies problems and negotiates corrective action concerning programmatic issues, basic administrative processes, and financial management concerns. Performs other duties as assigned. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May Be Authorized to highly qualified candidates. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm Telework: Adhoc Telework Available Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Virtual: This is not a virtual position.