Program Support Assistant

Summary This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Research and Development in Dayton, OH (Dayton‑Ohio VAMC). The Program Support Assistant (PSA) will support the Research Coordinator and Local Site Investigator by performing both clinical and administrative tasks. This is a part‑time term appointment not to exceed 1 year and may be extended up to 4 years. Qualifications To qualify for this position – applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement – 07/15/2026. 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‑07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS‑06. 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. Provide a copy of your most recent SF‑50 – “Notification of Personnel Action” – to indicate your current federal status. If the most recent SF‑50 has an effective date within the past year, you must provide an additional SF‑50 that clearly demonstrates one year of time‑in‑grade. 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 as described below. GS‑07 Grade Level Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS‑06 level. Examples of specialized experience include assisting in conducting trials as delegated by the Local Site Investigator (LSI); ensuring all aspects of processes related to participant recruitment and conducting informed consent are met; interacting with participants to schedule specimen collection and contacting participants for follow‑up meetings; responding to queries or clinical crisis requiring the ability to triage calls and contact medical and psychiatric safety with supervision; entering and recording research data using technical tools such as MINI and the Timeline Follow‑Back tool assessing recent drug use or alcohol use, and various other psychiatric measures. You will be rated on the following competencies: attention to detail; clerical communication and media; creative thinking; customer service; research teamwork; and others per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies. Official documentation of experience not within your official series and grade level will be accepted to receive credit for experience, including paid and unpaid experience such as volunteer work through National Service programs. Duties Note: This is a term appointment (not to exceed 1 year) Term appointments are non‑status, nonpermanent appointments of limited duration (more than 1 year but not more than 4 years) Term appointments may be extended without further competition (up to the 4‑year maximum) The appointment to a term position does not confer eligibility for promotion or reassignment to other positions or the ability to be non‑competitively converted to permanent employment NOTE: This is a part‑time position (20 hours/week) The salary listed represents full‑time employment and will be pro‑rated based on the actual number of hours worked each pay‑period Likewise, benefits and time‑off accrual will also be prorated and based on your part‑time work schedule Duties may include – but are not limited to: assisting in conducting the trial as delegated by the LSI; ensuring all aspects of processes related to participant recruitment and conducting informed consent are met; applying creative problem‑solving to meet strong subject recruitment goals; interacting with VA and area medical professionals to communicate the study and recruit subjects; creating and distributing media advertisements; responding to subject/patient queries or occasionally clinical crisis; interacting with participants to schedule specimen collection and follow‑up meetings; entering and recording research data using technical tools such as MINI and the Timeline Follow‑Back tool; and more. This is a bargaining unit position Work Schedule: Part‑time – Monday–Friday, 8:00 am–12:00 pm – Term appointment – not to exceed 1 year, may be extended up to 4 years Telework: This position is not authorized for telework Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD912270; relocation/recruitment incentives: not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): not authorized. #J-18808-Ljbffr