Supervisory Clinical Laboratory Scientist

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

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Duties

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The duties and responsibilities of the Supervisory Clinical Laboratory Scientist - Blood Bank include but are not limited to the following:

• Provides oversite and operational management for Blood Bank within the Pathology and Laboratory Service Line.
• Provides administrative and technical supervision and performs major duties above those at the Full Performance Level (FPL) that consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, and variety.
• Exercises a full range of supervisory responsibilities in planning, directing, and assessing work of subordinate staff.
• Recommends appointments, awards, advancement, and disciplinary actions.
• Plans and assigns work based on priorities, requirements of assignments, and abilities of employees; provides advice and counsel; and evaluates work of subordinates.
• Ensures compliance with accrediting agencies and regulatory requirements.
• Establishes and monitors the quality of pre-analytical, analytical, and postanalytical processes.
• Initiates corrective actions as needed as part of the overall laboratory quality management program
• Plans management program.
• Plans and executes performance and quality improvement projects.
• Verifies orientation, training, and competency assessment of assigned staff and develops and updates technical policies and procedure manuals.
• Ensures all staff and affiliate staff comply with accrediting and regulating bodies.
• Adjusts staffing levels or work procedures to accommodate resource allocation decisions made at the executive level.
• Manages document control, develops performance standards, position descriptions, and functional statements and is responsible for technical and administrative management of an assigned area including budget execution.
• Interacts with administrative and clinical onsite personnel and exercises significant independent decision-making authority.
• Maintains effective interdisciplinary and interprofessional relations with other services to accomplish medical center goals.
• Implements and monitors quality management activities, including proficiency testing by an external source (e.g. CAP).
• Maintains standard operating procedures for assigned specialties in accordance with standards directed by applicable accrediting agencies.
• Oversees education of Medical Laboratory Technician, Clinical Laboratory Science and Phlebotomy students within assigned area of the laboratory.
• The supervisor work off-hour shifts, weekends, and holidays as priorities demonstrate a need.
• Works as a team member to provide back-up support for timekeeping as needed for continuity of operations.

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday, 6:30am - 3:00pm, rotating weekends and holidays and on-call time.

Telework : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact View email address on click.appcast.io, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements :

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education. A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university.
• Certification. Candidates must meet one of the certification options below.

(a) Generalist certification as an MLS given by ASCP BOC or AMT.

(b) Generalist certification as an MT given by ASCP BOR or AMT.

(c) Categorical certification or Specialist certification by ASCP or AMT.

NOTE: Categorical and specialist certifications are not acceptable for CLS Generalist positions or lab sections unrelated to the categorical or specialist certification held. Categorical or specialist certifications are acceptable for higher-graded positions within the relevant lab section or one of the non-section specific assignments (including, Ancillary Testing Coordinator, Education Coordinator, Laboratory Information Manager, Quality Manager, Laboratory Manager, Regional Technical Specialist, National Quality and Compliance Agent, Regional Program Manager, Regional Director, Laboratory Director, or National Quality and Compliance Officer).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations : GS-12

Experience. 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) is required for all GS-12 assignments.

AND

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

(a) Knowledge of Federal and state laws and regulations and laboratory accrediting agency regulatory requirements sufficient to develop plans and procedures for the laboratory.

(b) Knowledge of laboratory quality management procedures and principles sufficient to establish and monitor a laboratory quality management program and/or the education and training of laboratory staff.

(c) Knowledge of concepts, principles, and methods of clinical laboratory technology and operations.

(d) Skill in applying leadership principles such as interpersonal relations and conflict resolution.

(e) Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties, which includes responsibility for assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, recommendation of awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions.

(f) Ability to plan, organize, set short and/or long-term goals, and conduct studies on technical and administrative problems including personnel shortages, organizational structure, and new technology.

(g) Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and administer the allocated budget.

Preferred Experience: Significant experience working in a hospital Blood Bank/Transfusion Services is preferred. Certification as a Medical Technologist/Clinical Laboratory Scientist (e.g., ASCP, AMT, or equivalent) is required.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

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: 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:

Additional information

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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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.

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.