Supervisory Research Health Science Specialist (Deputy Associate Chief of Staff)

The Supervisory Research Health Science Specialist, Deputy Associate Chief of Staff (D-ACOS) for Research is a senior leadership position within the Research Service at the Atlanta VA Health Care System (AVAHCS), a tertiary Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facility with a complex and diverse research program.

The Deputy Associate Chief of Staff (D-ACOS) for Research is a senior leadership position within the Research Service at the Atlanta VA Health Care System (AVAHCS), a tertiary Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facility with a complex and diverse research program. This individual serves as the principal deputy to the ACOS for Research, ensuring the efficient operation and regulatory compliance of the Research Service Line. The incumbent is responsible for initiating policies, procedures, and organizational structures necessary to achieve the stipulated goals. The individual is responsible for planning, developing, and directing the complex administrative activities necessary to advance the program. The incumbent has leadership responsibility for all administrative and budgetary operations of the Research Service and for the supervision and evaluation of Service personnel through subordinate supervisors. The individual is responsible for compliance with both VISN and VACO mandated research policies, including those issued by the Office of Research & Development (ORD) and the Office of Research Oversight (ORO), and for supervising activities to ensure ongoing accreditation for the human research program as well as the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AALAC)
program.

Research functions at AVACHS are extensive and unique. The Research Service assists with a variety of tasks for 100+ principal investigators with research projects funded by the VA, National Institutes of Health (NIH), non-profit foundations, industry sponsors, private companies and organizations. These programs cover a wide range of biomedical disciplines, ranging from basic bench science to multi-center clinical trials. The VA-funded programs for AVAHCS encompass all the funded programs designated by VA Central Office (VACO): Basic Institutional Support, High Priority VA Research Programs, Multi-center Cooperative Studies, Career Development, and Research Career Scientists.

The Deputy ACOS provides leadership and strategic planning across biomedical, clinical, rehabilitation, health services, and laboratory research programs. The position requires expert knowledge of research regulations, grant administration, and program development in an academic healthcare environment. The Deputy ACOS supports the ACOS in overseeing all aspects of the medical center's research enterprise and assumes full responsibility in their absence.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am-4:30 pm
Telework: Adhoc as described by the agency policy
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Research Health Science Specialist (Deputy Associate Chief of Staff)/PD115450
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/27/2026.

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-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.

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

Individual Occupational Requirements

Candidates must meet the basic education requirements: 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 Requirements above, you must meet the 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, but are not limited to: initiating policies, procedures, and organizational structures; planning, developing, and directing the complex administrative activities; providing leadership and oversight of operations in a research service; participating in planning and developing short and long term goals for an enterprise; and reviewing research proposals, research regulations, grant administration, and program development in an academic healthcare environment.

• Preferred Experience: In addition to the specialized experience above, the following is experience is preferred:
  • >5 years of research operations administration experience;
  • >5 years of supervising research staff;
  • Research budgetary experience with managing a large research portfolio.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Conflict Management
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Manages Resources
• Partnering
• Planning and Evaluating

Supervisory Situational Judgment Test. Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment and decision-making skills that align with relevant competencies, organizational values, and best practices. Assessment results may be used as part of the evaluation, ranking and referral process. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. The assessment for this application does not include a cut score for a minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. However, you must answer each item in the assessment.

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 required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.

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/.

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. This position requires the application, assessment, and questionnaire to be fully completed. The assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.