Supervisory Clinical Laboratory Scientist

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Salisbury (NC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeks a Supervisory Clinical Laboratory Scientist (GS-13) to lead a laboratory team under VHA policies. The role requires a bachelor's degree, professional CLS certification, and experience meeting KSAs, with supervisory responsibilities and budget oversight.

Eligible for EDRP; program details determined by Education Loan Repayment Services. Candidates must be U.S. citizens, proficient in English, and able to meet VA qualification standards.

Qualifications

• United States Citizenship required.
• English language proficiency.
• Education: a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university.
• Certification options: MLS Generalist, MT Generalist, or ASCP/AMT generalist/certifications.
• Foreign education evaluation or ASCP BOC/AMT letter required to be creditable.
• May qualify under Grandfathering Provision for current VA employees.
• Experience: 1 year of creditable experience at the next lower grade for GS-13.

Skills

Regulatory compliance

Quality management

Interpersonal relations

Budget management

Analytical problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in CLS or related field

Job description

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

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.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403 (f).
• Education: A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university.
  • NOTE: The Supervisory CLS (Laboratory Director), GS-15, requires unique education requirements. Please reference the education requirements located in that assignment below.
• Certification: Candidates must meet one of the certification options below.
  • Generalist certification as an MLS given by ASCP BOC or AMT.
  • Generalist certification as an MT given by ASCP BOR or AMT.
  • Categorical certification or Specialist certification by ASCP or AMT.
    • NOTE: Categorical and specialist certifications are not acceptable for CLS Generalist positions or lab sections unrelated to the categorical or specialist certification held. Categorical or specialist certifications are acceptable for higher-graded positions within the relevant lab section or one of the non-section specific assignments (including, Ancillary Testing Coordinator, Education Coordinator, Laboratory Information Manager, Quality Manager, Laboratory Manager, Regional Technical Specialist, National Quality and Compliance Agent, Regional Program Manager, Regional Director, Laboratory Director, or National Quality and Compliance Officer).
• Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Graduates of foreign baccalaureate degree programs meet the educational requirements if they meet either of the following.
  • Foreign transcripts are evaluated by an acceptable evaluation agency, and the degree is found to be equivalent to a NAACLS-approved U.S. clinical laboratory science degree program. OR
  • The applicant submits a letter from ASCP BOC or AMT stating the individual is eligible to take the certification examination.
    • NOTE: Possession of a certification identified above automatically determines the foreign education as creditable and no further documentation or proof of equivalency is needed.

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).

Experience

• Creditable Experience. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current CLS practices. The experience satisfying this requirement may be paid or non-paid employment as a CLS in the health care field. Research laboratory experience does not fulfill this requirement.
• Part-Time Experience: Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to a full-time workweek. For example, an individual employed 20 hours per week, or on a half-time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service.
• Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to CLS experience at the next lower grade level of the position being filled. For all assignments above the full performance level (FPL), the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Grade Determinations

Supervisory Clinical Laboratory Scientist, GS-13;

• General: For all GS-13 assignments above the FPL, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety, and be performed by the CLS at least 25% of the time. Candidates at this grade level are in one of the following assignments.
• Experience: 1 year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade level is required for all GS-13 assignments.
  • The CLS has full supervisory responsibility in a laboratory where at least three of the five following conditions are met outlined below in (A) - (E).
    • (A) Lab is a complexity level index group 1 or 2 based on the Hospital Complexity Level as designated in Office of Productivity, Efficiency, and Staffing (OPES) VHA Facility Complexity Model History.
    • (B) The laboratory performs at least one million standard billable tests annually (as reported to the Laboratory Management Index Program).
    • (C) The CLS supervises a staff of non-supervisory personnel including at least one GS-12 subordinate.
    • (D) Lack of on-site pathologist.
    • (E) Oversight of more than one laboratory specialty.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs.
  • Knowledge of Federal and state laws and regulations, laboratory accrediting, and regulatory requirements to develop new policies and guidelines, formulate plans, and judge effectiveness of the operation.
  • Knowledge of laboratory quality management procedures and principles sufficient to establish and monitor a laboratory quality management program and/or the education and training of laboratory staff.
  • Skill in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution.
  • Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties, which includes responsibility for assignment of work to be performed, performance evaluations, selection of staff, recommendation of awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions.
  • Ability to analyze organizational, technical, and administrative problems to develop and implement solutions that result in efficient laboratory operation.
  • Ability to manage fiscal matters, forecast resource and equipment needs, and administer the allocated budget.
  • Ability to set short and/or long-term goals for the section and conduct studies on technical and administrative problems including personnel shortages, organizational structure, and new technology.

Reference

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements

See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.