Program Specialist

Summary

This position is located in the Research and Development (R&D) Service at the San Francisco VA Health Care System. The incumbent is responsible for several key administrative and technical programs that directly support the operation and compliance of the research service. The work covers equipment inventory, remote freezer and vivarium monitoring, space data and access control, and training oversight for research staff.

Duties

This is a bargaining unit position. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Available Telework: Available Duty Location Status: Will work from a VA owned or leased space Position Description Title/PD#: Program Specialist/ PD677380 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Physical Demands: Work is mainly sedentary. Some bending, walking, and carrying lightweight materials occur during equipment checks or sensor installations. Major Duties: Conducting annual inventories, spot checks, and reconciliation of discrepancies. Providing guidance on inventory procedures and loan requests for VA-owned equipment. Training staff on monitoring procedures and equipment handling. Overseeing mandatory training requirements of research personnel. Managing freezer activity and responding to alerts. Managing backup freezer space, tracks usage, and coordinates emergency storage requests. Managing access control for all research and restricted areas. Supporting both physical and electronic access needs for research staff and affiliated personnel. Handling onboarding process for incoming research personnel by creating user accounts, reviewing documentation and ensuring completeness.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/01/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year 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. AND Selective Placement Factor: This position includes a skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job. Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience in administrative concepts and practices in Research Operations. AND To qualify for this position at the GS-11 level, you must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Program Specialist. Qualifying specialized experience is: experience of administrative procedures, including maintaining documentation and preparing reports in research operations, managing equipment inventory, and environmental monitoring/tracking systems. ~OR~ Education: Successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.M. if related that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Combination of successfully completed education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above that meets the requirements of the position. Only education in excess of a master's or equivalent graduate education may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-11 level. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required. NOTE: One (1) 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.

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/.