Health Science Specialist

This Health Science Specialist position is with Veterans Health Administration (Department of Veterans Affairs) in Phoenix, AZ. This Health Science Specialist position is within the National Center for PTSD at the VA White River Junction Healthcare System located in White River Junction, Vermont. Location is negotiable and you will work physically out of the VA closest to you, but report to White River Junction. Physical location is housed at one of medical facilities within VISN 1. NOTE: This position is not remote or virtual. Key duties: • The National Center for PTSD was established to provide professional advice, guidance, and the development of policy and procedure for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The incumbent serves as the Program Coordinator and Consultant for the PTSD Consultation Program at the Executive Division of the National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD). The PTSD Consultation Program offers consultation on PTSD-related questions to providers inside and outside of VA who treat Veterans with PTSD. Duties include but are note limited to: Serves as the initial point of contact for all telephone and email consultation requests from a national audience of healthcare providers (inside and outside of VA) and triages the requests to the most appropriate consultant. This requires taking into account nuances of the clinical question, safety concerns, expertise of each consultant, and consultant's availability to respond in a timely manner. It also requires understanding the scope of the program and making judgments about when to refer out-of-scope inquires elsewhere. Obtains relevant clinical information in a manner that is sensitive and efficient to rapidly assess the clinical needs of consultee. This requires a working knowledge of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD and the recommendations of the Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD. Provides consultation on resources by responding directly to questions from VA and community providers regarding 1) web-based, written, and community resources for Veterans with PTSD, 2) PTSD-related educational products and training opportunities for providers, 3) existing VA policies, guidelines, and regulations regarding PTSD. Coordinates weekly team meetings by organizing the agenda and carefully documenting the key topics discussed and any relevant decisions made. Coordinates logistical issues for large group consultation meetings. Collects and summarizes questions and consultant responses from group consultation meetings. Uses knowledge of PTSD diagnostic and treatment issues to documents relevant information from these conversations between teams of providers and consultants. Assists in the development and implementation of marketing and outreach plans, awareness campaigns and promotional materials. Works closely with Education, Communications and Consultation Program team members to develop educational materials for clinicians so that relevant information is provided accurately in a format appropriate for a target audience. Develops products related to PTSD, promotional materials, and PowerPoint presentations, so that relevant clinical information is provided accurately in a format appropriate for clinicians. Performs additional duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Telework: Ad-hoc. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Science Specialist/PD04168 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure: Not Required Notifications: Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is an AFGE Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Salary will be determined based on incumbents location and may be lower then salary listed. This position is NOT virtual or remote. You will be assigned to the nearest VA. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/26/2026. 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-11 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. 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 Requirement (IOR): 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. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: working with clients/customers to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve problems, make objective decisions, identify needs and know where or how to gather information, organize work, set priorities, coordinate with other parts of the organization to accomplish goals. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or PH.D or equivalent doctoral 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 graduate level to be used to qualify for the GS-11 level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Information Management Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Planning and Evaluating Reading Comprehension Research 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 sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile, etc. Occasional travel may be required for data collection or meetings at other VA sites. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training room, or libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. 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/. View the full announcement and apply on USAJOBS.gov.