This position is within the Health Systems Research Broad Portfolio (HSR), Office of Research and Development (ORD), at VA Central Office in Washington, DC. The Broad Portfolio is one of four scientific components of the Office of R&D within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Health Services Research and Development Service manages a research program that spans the continuum of health care research and supports the integration of research and practice.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/27/2025. 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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13 . 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. All applicants MUST meet the following Individual Occupational Requirements: Basic Requirement: You must posses a Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education(external link) at the time the degree was obtained. Note: You must submit a transcript with your application. Applicants who do not submit a transcript will be automatically disqualified from consideration. Quality Ranking Factor Experience in effectively directing or conducting a broad portfolio or program of health systems research focused on development and testing of innovations in the design and use of health information and virtual health care modalities to improve access to and outcomes of health care for Veterans. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of Specialized Experience includes: 1. Reviews the literature in the subject area to identify gaps in scientific knowledge in portfolio area. 2. Provides general advice to field investigators regarding preparation of proposals and review criteria. 3. Conducts semi-annual review meetings and oversees logistics including administrative support. 4. Ensures timely preparation, consistent and accurate documentation for reporting of all portfolio activities. 5. Oversees maintenance and updating of review program databases and files. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem Solving Communications Problem Solving Project Management Research 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 work is primarily sedentary. There may be some walking and carrying of light supplies/work. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
The incumbent advises and supports the Director/Deputy Director of HSR in the planning, development and oversight of the HSR data science, informatics, digital health, and artificial intelligence project portfolio. S/he shares a collegial, collaborative, and fully informed relationship with the Director/Deputy, participates in a partnership of duties, and often represents the Service in intra- or inter-agency contacts. The incumbent will analyze the needs, strategic plans, and goals, of HSR and make recommendations for new directions, initiatives, policies and procedures. S/he participates routinely in senior management and policy decisions regarding strategic planning, priority-setting, staffing, budget and operations. The incumbent leads within ORD the development, refinement and implementation of one or more of VA's HSR's research portfolios. HSR research portfolios represent a defined set of funding priorities consistent with ORD and VA strategic goals and span a variety of research disciplines that include but are not limited to public health and epidemiology, clinical sciences, social sciences, management, informatics, implementation science, economics, and/or mental health and psychology. A select HSR research portfolio may include a set of topics such as access to care, mental and behavioral health, care of complex chronic conditions, post-deployment care, including traumatic brain injury, aging and long term care, health equity and health disparities, rural health, women's health, healthcare informatics health systems design and delivery, complementary and integrative health, mobility, activity and function, implementation science, and health systems methods. Emerging research portfolio topics of particular interest to HSR include patient experience, VA/non-VA care coordination (e.g., Veterans Choice Act implications), mobile and connected health, management of chronic pain, health systems engineering, health economics, efficiency and value, application of genomics and precision medicine in clinical practice, patient safety, predictive analytics, big data and performance measurement, provider behavior, health behavior change, operations research and systems re-engineering. The incumbent collaborates with colleagues within HSR, the other Research Broad Portfolios and the Chief R&D Officer (CRADO) in their portfolio management activities and on issues requiring health systems research expertise and in the dissemination of related information to persons inside and outside VA. In these activities, the incumbent provides guidance to senior and mid-level HSR program managers and support staff. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Ad-hoc may be available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Science Officer/PD02234A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized