Health System Specialist

Summary

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

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Duties

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This position is organizationally aligned to the Office of the Executive Director at the Clement J. Zablocki Health Care System (CJZ HCS) (695)- a Level 1a Complexity VHA Facility. The primary purpose of this position is to develop, implement, maintain and provide leadership, strategic

direction, and oversight of compliance and training activities for the Research Program. The CJZ HCS is a healthcare system with one (1) hospital, four (4) community-based outpatient clinics of care located in Oconomowoc, Appleton, Union Grove, Cleveland (WI), and one (1) Health Care Center

in Green Bay.

The Research Compliance Officer (RCO) evaluates compliance with Federal and VA requirements for the conduct of research, which may include requirements in one or more of the following areas: the protection of human research subjects, laboratory animal welfare, and research safety and security. Incumbent may also be assigned responsibilities related to facility programs for research information security, research privacy, conflict of interest in research, training of research personnel. research program accreditation, research misconduct, and/or other research compliance

activities consistent with VHA requirements.

Major Duties:

• Develops procedures and systems for establishing, operating, and assessing the effectiveness of
  • research compliance control systems and the accomplishment, evaluation, and/or monitoring of audits, inspections, and other reviews as needed.
• Effectively uses Research Service and research review committee information systems such as VAIRRS/IRBNet to complete audits.
• Uses audit worksheets and auditing tools for the informed consent audits and regulatory audits that incorporate national requirements and may include local requirements.
• Develops, uses, and maintains spreadsheets or other tools to track audits of facility research.
• Performs a variety of duties to assure full compliance in each of the five compliance programs human studies, animal studies, laboratory safety and radiation safety, conflict of interest, information security and privacy.
• Reports data related to research program compliance with regulations as required by the national program office.
• Prepares consolidated reports for management functions and higher echelon review, within and outside of the facility.
• Performs thorough auditing that identifies apparent systemic deficiencies that have a reasonable likelihood of substantially compromising the VA medical facility's research protection programs or information security processes, ensures prompt reporting to the relevant research review committees, and ensures reporting of determined systemic deficiencies to ORO and applicable federal agencies.
• Develops strategy, policy and/or standards covering the facility's research compliance program activities and records.
• Analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of programs or operations in meeting established compliance goals and objectives.
• Develops and maintains strong working relationships with the facility Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO) and other individuals relevant to the assigned areas of responsibility, such as the facility Privacy Officer (PO); the Chairpersons of the facility's Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and/or Subcommittee on Research Safety; Research Safety Officer and Radiation Safety Officer; etc.
• Ensures that relevant regulatory and policy updates in assigned areas of responsibility are disseminated to research administrators, research oversight committees, research investigators, research personnel, and facility leadership in a timely manner.
• Serves as subject matter expert to the Executive Director, the HCS's research leadership team, and to all VA researchers to assure compliance with regulations related to human subjects involved in research.
• Incorporate information learned into training to research personnel with potential for significant improvement and facilitates innovative application of best practices and quality management methods. Develops or adapts new or revised training or testing materials for formal
  course use.
• Responsible for effective verbal and written communications with facility leadership, research review committees and staff and with research investigators to advise them on changes and updates in policy matters, process issues, and procedural requirements necessary for conducting audits, as well as externally with Program Office staff such as ORD and ORO.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm

Telework: This position is not authorized for telework.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/ PD253340

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

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• 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. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: Work is mainly sedentary. Traveling off station to other sites of care or various meetings is
  necessary and working overtime and odd hours, to include weekends may be necessary. There may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, such as instructional material, manuals, papers, and books.
• 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 ( 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 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 period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/06/2026.

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

• Specialized Experience: You must have one (1) year 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: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following, Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. Working with administrative laws, policies, regulations, and precedents applicable to the administration of the CJZ HCS research program. Working with Human subjects in Research, Research Safety and Security, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations. Using appropriate software and establishing and maintaining database applications. Working skills in the operation of computer and telecommunications equipment and software typical in a business environment. Applying principles, theories, and processes of management including monitoring and auditing techniques, fact-finding, investigation and reporting mechanisms.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave : Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.