Summary The incumbent serves as the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System's (SFVAHCS) facility-level Health Science Specialist for Research Oversight and Compliance. The position is organizationally located in the Facility Director's Office and reports to the Chief Corporate Integrity & Compliance Officer, with responsibility for providing professional scientific and regulatory oversight across the facility's human, animal, and basic science research programs. Responsibilities Major duties include, but are not limited to: Serves as a professional Health Science Specialist and provides leadership, scientific expertise, and strategic direction for the medical center's Basic Science, Human, and Animal Research Oversight and Compliance Program at the facility level. Plans, develops, implements, and evaluates oversight activities that integrate scientific, ethical, and regulatory considerations to ensure that the facility's research program is scientifically sound, ethically appropriate, and compliant with applicable Federal laws, regulations, and VA/VHA requirements. Works closely with the Facility Compliance Officer and serves as a principal scientific and regulatory advisor to the Chief of Staff (COS), Associate Chief of Staff for Research (ACOS/R), and Administrative Officer for Research (AO/R) on complex research oversight issues. Analyzes emerging and existing scientific and regulatory requirements, identifies facility-specific risks to participant safety, animal welfare, data integrity, and scientific validity, and recommends policies, procedures, and corrective strategies to senior leadership to ensure an effective and integrated research oversight program. Assigned areas of responsibility are based on the scope and complexity of the facility's research program and may include human subjects protections, laboratory animal welfare, research safety and biosafety, research information security and privacy, conflict of interest in research, and related areas. Independently interprets and applies a wide range of Federal and VA requirements (e.g., regulations, directives, handbooks, guidance) in conjunction with professional knowledge of biomedical and clinical research design, methodology, and health science principles to develop tailored oversight approaches, sampling plans, and monitoring strategies. Plans and conducts ongoing, in-depth scientific and regulatory reviews of research protocols and associated documentation. Reviews study aims, design, statistical plans, eligibility criteria, interventions, outcome measures, and safety monitoring plans to evaluate scientific merit, risk-benefit balance, and adherence to ethical and regulatory standards. Examines regulatory files, informed consent documentation, HIPM authorizations, training records, and other research documents to identify issues that may constitute noncompliance, serious or continuing noncompliance, or other reportable events, and evaluates the potential scientific and ethical impact of such issues. Exercises considerable scientific and evaluative judgment in interpreting ambiguous or conflicting requirements, assessing the significance of findings for research participants, animal subjects, and data validity, and determining when issues must be elevated to oversight committees, facility leadership, or external oversight bodies. Prepares comprehensive written reports and briefings that present scientific and regulatory analysis of findings; discuss the policy and evidence-based basis for identified issues; evaluate the potential impact on research participants, animal welfare, data integrity, privacy, safety, and institutional risk; and provide recommendations for corrective and preventive actions. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm or as determined by supervisor. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Human Research Compliance Officer/PD033840-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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 dentification 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/18/2026. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 Requirements (IOR) Basic Requirements 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. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education 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-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: In-depth professional knowledge of health sciences as applied to biomedical, clinical, translational, and animal research, including research design, biostatistics, epidemiologic methods, and scientific and ethical standards. Comprehensive knowledge of nationally recognized standards for good clinical practice, good laboratory practice, and research integrity, as well as applicable laws, regulations, policies, and accreditation standards governing human subjects protections, animal welfare, biosafety, research privacy and information security, and related domains (e.g., Common Rule, FDA regulations, Animal Welfare Act, PHS Policy, NIH guidance). Ability to integrate this scientific and regulatory knowledge to analyze novel or complex research oversight situations, resolve conflicting requirements, and develop or recommend program-level strategies to prevent or correct noncompliance and strengthen scientific integrity. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Compliance Research 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 predominantly sedentary. The incumbent typically sits to perform work at a desk or computer but may be required to walk, stand, bend, and carry light items such as paper, books, laptops, or binders weighing up to approximately ten (10) pounds. No special physical demands are 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/. Education 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/. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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.
