Program Specialist (Research)

Description:

The position is located in the Office of Research and Development in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) within the Phoenix VA Health Care System (VISN 22), Phoenix, AZ. This position reports to the Administrative Officer, and assumes administrative and programmatic responsibility for the daily administrative operations. The incumbent is responsible for providing a wide variety of administrative, liaison, and analytical support.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the 08/18/2025 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of program operations, preparing technical documentation for submission, active in the administration of a program, working on budget and planning for a program. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. 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 a Bachelors degree.

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

• Communication
• Compliance
• Computer Skills
• Customer Service
• Manages and Organizes Information

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 work is primarily sedentary, although there may be some physical effort required using computers or transporting documents, presentations, and pamphlets to outreach events. Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office. Travel within PVAHCS sites of care and to community provider's offices is expected for this position for outreach and collaboration.