Program Assistant (Analysis)

Description:

This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veteran Health Administration (VHA), at the New Mexico VA Healthcare System in the Research service. The Primary purpose of the Program Assistant (IRB/IACUC Assistant) is to provide administrative and regulatory support to the Human Research Protections Program (HRPP) and the Animal Care and Use Programs (ACUP). The position is that of Research Subcommittees Coordinator in the Research Service under the Chief, Research Admin.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/20/2025.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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:

• Specialized Experience: In addition to meeting the time in grade, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • provide administrative and regulatory support to the Human Research Protections Program (HRPP) and the Animal Care and Use Programs (ACUP);
  • performing research at this VA Medical Center including specialized duties regarding the research subcommittees such as the Research Safety Program, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Human Research Protections Program.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Administration and Management
• Data Management
• Project Management
• Research

Preferred Experienced: Working with or supporting both an Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). They understand and practice the guidance/requirements as set forth by the IRB Common Rule and AAALAC requirements for conduct of animal research. This individual coordinates and develops committee rosters, agendas, actions, communications, minutes. The candidate has experience working with submission databases and running repots from a database. The individual has superior written and verbal communication skills to convey committee requirement to investigators, teach others and develop form polices and procedures.

Selective Placement Factor: Research Committee experience.

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 majority of work will be performed in the office setting with computer use. Some walking, standing, bending and carrying of light items such as books and files will be 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/ .