The Director, Administrative Officer (AO) for Research Service is directly responsible to the Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) for Research & Development (R&D) and through to the Chief of Staff for the oversight of the administration of the Research and Development programs at the Loma Linda VA Health Care System.
Duties encompass administrative aspects for comprehensive support and evaluation of administrative efforts of the VA Loma Linda HCS (VALLHCS).
The VALLHCS Research Program is a large, multifaceted investigator-initiated operation comprised of around 200 active projects funded by federal, private enterprise, non-profit, pharmaceutical sponsors, and academic sponsors. An average of 90 principal investigators, and approximately 250 individuals (VA salaried employees, WOC appointees, medical care staff, IPA's and trainees) are involved in the research, which includes biomedical laboratory, clinical, health services and rehabilitation fields.
Responsibilities include, but may not be limited to the following:
- Ensures that the VA Research program is administered efficiently and in compliance with a variety of policies and laws.
- Manages a variable portfolio of funding.
- Ensures adequate resources are available to investigators and staff.
- Assists investigators and prospective investigators in their effort to carry out VA's Research mission.
- Improves communication within the facility, the office of R&D, the individual research programs, and the principal investigators.
- Effectively manages risk in the Research Program.
- Ensures all compliance related aspects regarding the conduct of approved research are met.
- Provides good "customer service" by being available, and supportive to investigators, and other relevant personnel within the area of responsibility.
Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:
- Advises and guides the administrative activities of multiple subordinate research teams within multiple disciplines, which requires an in-depth knowledge of general research systems, programs, and practices of the VHA, NIH and other funding entities.
- Ability to communicate, negotiate, and collaborate with researchers as well as those from other organizational segments to assure maximal program achievements.
- Develops internal monitoring end tracking systems to ensure that researchers and research staff comply with VA guidelines, regulations, policies, and procedures (as well as those of other applicable federal agencies) to protect sensitive information, including veteran's personal identifiers and health information.
- Reviews research proposal submissions for budgetary adequacy, compliance with agency format requirements, administrative completeness.
- Maintains up to date knowledge of internal VA policies as well as external to the agency policies and laws impacting the conduct of VA research.
- Develops and maintains systems to manage the oversight and the coordination of investigations into issues of project management which include appropriate committee reviews, research committee management, liaison with committees such the Institutional Review Boards and Institutional Animal Committee, Biosafety and Conflict of Interest.
- Reviews letters of intent and research proposals to ensure program relevance and conformance with published guidelines.
- Manages the equipment for Research Service ensuring that it is maintained in useful condition and properly assigned/ accounted for.
- Assigns work based on priorities taking into consideration task difficulty, requirement of assignment and capabilities.
- Maintains continuous liaison with the VAMC human resources office in areas of personnel recruiting, promotion, training, equal opportunity employment disciplinary action, performance evaluation, and other areas.
- Prepares a variety of complex, analytical reports for use by Research leadership and facility management in support of policy making and planning efforts.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm
Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer, Research Service
/PD30923-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Starting at $101,121 Per Year (GS 12)
