Why This Health Science Specialist Job Matters
Join the <strong class="text-gray-900">Veterans Health Administration</strong> and make an impact.
Health Science Specialist Job Overview
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/12/2026. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): All applicants must meet the following Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) to be qualified for this position. Education: 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. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement you must meet specialized experience below: Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) or more years of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: knowledge of wide range of concepts, principles and practices in health sciences research program including neurobiology, epidemiology, as well as the diagnosis treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Collects, conducts, and collates information for publication, and grants; provides technical assistance in consulting, evaluating programs, or research activity to include providing education; serve as managing editor for research reports; coordinate, design and plan complex projects; facilitate strategic action plans for the research center/program. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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 and may be performed while sitting comfortably at a workstation. There is periodic walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items such as instructional materials, books, manuals, or records. No special physical demands are required to perform the 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/.