Statistician (Health- Biostatistician)
Summary
The Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) is a national clinical trails program with over 40 years of experience providing collaboration for research design, statistical analysis, data management, regulatory, technical, education, and administrative coordination for clinical trails involving various scientific areas of research conducted to improve the health and care of the Veteran and nation.
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Duties
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- Initiates study(s), assists and facilitates selection of study participating sites, training of site study personnel, coordinating and/or overseeing development and implementation of (a) protocol revisions, updates and modifications, (b) study operations manual, and (c) study monitoring processes including participant enrollment and follow up, study close-out, interim (if applicable) and final reports/analysis of study data.
- Analyzes collected data in order to elucidate significant factors, relationships, and trends; prepares cross tabulations or frequency listings of selected variables to assess the validity of data.
- Ensures the high quality of the research data; performs informatics and data processing activities and conducts critical interim (as applicable) and final statistical analyses using appropriate statistical methodology.
- Works closely with the Study Chairperson(s), Site Investigators, Site Study personnel, CRPCC Research Pharmacy staff, CSPCC Study Team and management, and, if, applicable pharmaceutical sponsors and other government agency sponsors representatives on approved CSP multi-center clinical trial(s).
- In conjunction with the Study Chairperson(s), leads (a) study group (b) Data Monitoring Committee and (c) Executive Committee meetings and/or conference calls and any other committee established per study protocol.
- Works closely with several different workgroups (beyond the Study Team(s)) within CSP, and with its community partners in healthcare, industry, and academia.
- Works closely with the Principal Proponent and the Planning Committee to develop a successful Study Protocol for clinical trial proposals assigned to the Center.
- Provides guidance and direction in study design, statistical methodology for sample size estimation and data analysis, protocol requirements, data collection and management, inputs to the study budget, and adherence to International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH), Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and VA CSP guidelines and policies.
- Works closely with the study team's statistical programmer and research associates to develop case report forms and data management procedures.
- Evaluates and adapts new statistical procedures and software applications when necessary.
- Modifies existing statistical methods or develops new and innovative statistical methods for a specific study or of general interest.
- Demonstrates the continued ability to design sound research study protocols and conducts complex statistical analyses.
- Takes a leadership role in drafting and coordinating the submission of the primary and secondary publications resulting from study data analyses.
Work Schedule: Mon - Fri 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: Ad-Hoc
Position Description/PD#: Statistician (Health- Biostatistician)/PD00298A and PD00297A
Requirements
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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.
- 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 ([click to reveal website link]). 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).
- Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.
"NOTE: This applies to past, current, and upcoming VA Health Professions Trainees (HPT) only. VA HPT is an individual appointed to temporary positions in one or more VHA medical facilities performing clinical or research training experiences to satisfy program or degree requirements or admitted to the VA Health Professional Scholarship Program. HPTs can be either VA-paid or Without Compensation (WOC)."
Basic Requirements:
United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
Individual Occupational Requirements Basic Requirements: A. Degree: that included 15 semester hours in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology, etc. Credit toward meeting statistical course requirements should be given for courses in which 50 percent of the course content appears to be statistical methods, e.g., courses that included studies in research methods in psychology or economics such as tests and measurements or business cycles, or courses in methods of processing mass statistical data such as tabulating methods or electronic data processing.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience - courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).
AND
You may qualify based on your experience as described below:
Preferred Experience:
GS-12 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: successful study protocols for clinical trial proposals; performs high quality research data and informatics and data processing activities; conducts critical interim (as applicable) and final statistical analyses using appropriate statistical methodology; research initiatives that require advanced statistical and methodological support; helps coordinate design and specifications of center-wide process and business analytics data; professional knowledge of commonly used statistical software packages.
GS-13 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Comprehensive knowledge of bio or mathematical statistics; statistical theory and methodology germane to multi -center clinical trials and research design; analyses of large databases, and techniques of quality control, biological sciences and management; familiar with human diseases applicable to protocols being designed; professional knowledge of commonly used statistical software packages such as SAS, R, S Plus, PASS, NQUERY, StatXact, and EAST; Visual Basic, Perl and Matlab to perform computer analysis of statistical data and findings; using a range of statistical methods such as sample size and power, non-adaptive and adaptive randomization schemes and designs, sampling techniques, group and sequential analysis, ANOVA, ANCOVA, linear and multiple regression, generalized linear models, etc; advise and consult on a variety of issues involving theory/application of statistical methods; communicate detailed scientific information in a clear, logical and concise manner orally and in writing; work effectively with others and lead diverse groups of col leagues.
The full performance level of this vacancy is 13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12 to GS-13.
Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
Education
There is no educational substitution at this grade level.
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: [click to reveal website link]. 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: [click to reveal website link].
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.
During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
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.
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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.