Program Specialist (Research)
The position is located in the Office of Research and Development in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) within the Phoenix VA Health Care System (VISN 22), Phoenix, AZ. This position reports to the Administrative Officer, and assumes administrative and programmatic responsibility for the daily administrative operations. The incumbent is responsible for providing a wide variety of administrative, liaison, and analytical support.
Responsibilities typical duties include but are not limited to: maintaining the Without Compensation (WOC) Program of medical center physicians and all volunteer staff including students, residents, fellows, research staff, or other positions performing WOC duties within the Research Program. Provide guidance to WOC personnel in unique situations and authorized deviations from protocol, as appropriate. Serves as point of contact for all activities related to WOC. Responsible for ensuring all VA mandatory education/training requirements are met and documented including TMS, Citi and occupational health screening. This includes a wide variety of staff including federal employees, WOE employees and new employees. Providing verbal and/or written information to customers. Identifying customers' situations and working to resolve their questions and issues. Listening to customer feedback and resolving matters within his/her control. Timekeeper for all R&D employees. Involves monitoring, and ensuring issues are resolved with employees and VA Payroll Supervisor. Serves as Service line ADPAC and PIV sponsor for personnel assigned to the Research Service, VA and WOC.
Work Schedule: 08:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
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. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the 08/18/2025 of this announcement: 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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: GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of program operations, preparing technical documentation for submission, active in the administration of a program, working on budget and planning for a program. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a Bachelors degree. You will be rated on the following competencies for this position: Communication Compliance Computer Skills Customer Service Manages and Organizes Information 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 primarily sedentary, although there may be some physical effort required using computers or transporting documents, presentations, and pamphlets to outreach events. Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office. Travel within PVAHCS sites of care and to community provider's offices is expected for this position for outreach and collaboration. Education IMPORTANT: 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: 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 or 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. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.