Lead Clinical Laboratory Scientist

Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent employees of the Veterans Administration only. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

The Lead Clinical Laboratory Scientist position is in the Pathology and Lab Services at the VA Boston Healthcare System located at the Brockton, MA location. This position is full time at 40 hours per week. The Lead Clinical Laboratory Scientist position identifies, distributes, balances work, coaches, and facilitates with problem solving methods. Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Prepares reports and maintains records of work status; resolves simple, informal complaints; reports performance, progress, and training needs of the team.
• Provides information on promotion, reassignment, recognition of outstanding performance, and personnel needs.
• Develops protocols for performance of tests and evaluation of results.
• Ensures that laboratory tests and procedures are consistent with accrediting agencies standards and requirements.
• Performs validation/method verification studies for new systems.
• Consults with healthcare providers on logical protocol to follow in attempting to confirm the diagnosis or risk assessment of a patient.
• Functions as supervisor of the laboratory section in the absence or unavailability of the Laboratory Supervisor.
• Plans, schedules on-going work, and adjusts staffing levels or work procedures.
• Monitors the laboratory section quality control system.
• Ensures timely and thorough evaluation of data, ensures discrepancies are identified and attended by troubleshooting method performance.
• Documents reviews by initially and dating record sheets.
• Knowledgeable about inspection requirements, location and existence of records, reports and documents that are needed during a laboratory inspection.
• Any deficiencies identified in the laboratory section are evaluated and corrected for the laboratory section within the required time limits.
• Fills the role or method expert in areas of troubleshooting any system problem.

Work Schedule: Full-Time Monday-Friday 7:00am-3:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized
Telework: Not authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement# F08280
Relocation Incentive: Notauthorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized
Financial Disclosure: Not Required

NOTIFICATIONS:

• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• This position is an AFGE Bargaining unit.
• This position is on a special salary rate.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.
• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. No award SF50s will be accepted.
• Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification 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

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.
• Certification: (1) Candidates must meet one of the certification options below.(a) Generalist certification as an MLS given by ASCP BOC or AMT.(b) Generalist certification as an MT given by ASCP BOR or AMT.(c) 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).

GS 12 Experience: At least one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS 11).Examples of specialized experience at the next lower grade includes: Develops, performs, evaluates, interprets, correlates, and validates the accuracy of laboratory procedures and results in line with current laboratory regulatory requirements. The work performed may be in a variety of laboratory specialties such as chemistry, microbiology, immunology, hematology, and immunohematology. Testing procedures are performed on a variety of biological specimens and/or environmental samples using manual or automated methods.

Assignment: The Lead CLS communicates the organization's strategic plan, mission, vision, and values. The Lead CLS identifies, distributes, balances work, coaches, and facilitates with problem solving methods. The Lead CLS prepares reports and maintains records of work status; resolves simple, informal complaints; reports performance, progress, and training needs of the team and on behavioral problems; and provides information on promotions, reassignment, recognition of outstanding performance, and personnel needs. The Lead CLS is responsible for all aspects of operation in their area of specialty, including assignment of work responsibilities, workload management, and completion of assignments for staff at or above the FPL as well as preparation and maintenance of records and reports, analysis of testing methodologies, training, instrumentation, and compliance. The Lead CLS may act as a liaison to the supervisor and other departments/divisions of the medical center for the appropriate laboratory specialty. Duties may include, but are not limited to, orientation and evaluating the competency of assigned staff including identification of continuing education and training needs, coordinating daily activity of the lab section(s), writing or modifying technical procedures, providing technical instruction, ensuring that policies, procedures and regulatory requirements are followed, advising on course of action to follow when results or samples obtained are unacceptable, and coordinating or performing quality control reviews and method verification activities.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

A) Knowledge of medical technology applicable to a wide range of duties to solve complex problems involving diverse aspects of clinical laboratory practice.
(B) Skill to maintain, troubleshoot, and repair laboratory instrumentation.
(C) Ability to develop procedures for new tests, and modify existing procedures and methods to resolve problems relative to complex and difficult situations.
(D) Ability to manage and coordinate daily work activities and assignments in a section.
(E) Ability to provide or coordinate staff development and training.
(F) Ability to provide guidance and technical direction to a wide variety of individuals including physicians, nurses, and other clinical staff regarding technical aspects of testing, specimen requirements and results.

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

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

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Area of Consideration: Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• Other (1)
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps