Careers

Description:

Are you interested in helping to improve the health and care of our United States Veterans through meaningful work in a collaborative environment? The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) produces innovative solutions to Veteran and national healthcare problems through multi-site research studies.

The Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC) is hiring a full-time Research Assistant. The Research Assistant will support the Vietnam-Era Twin (VET) Registry and the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study (NVVLS) Registry, collectively named the Vietnam-Era Registries. 

The VET Registry is a collection of data from over 14,000 Vietnam-Era Veteran twins and more than 3,400 selected family members. That data comes from more than 30 studies and includes biospecimens from over 1,800 individuals. These data are used in research studies to understand factors that affect the health and well-being of Veterans.

The NVVLS Registry is a collection of data from over 2,300 Vietnam-Era Veterans, obtained over two data collection timepoints: the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) in 1984 and the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study (NVVLS) in 2012. The Seattle ERIC acquired stewardship of the NVVRS and NVVLS data in 2015, and modified it to function as the NVVLS Registry, which includes 1,450 Veterans who participated in both timepoints.     

The Research Assistant will provide operational support under the direction of the Vietnam-Era Registries Program Manager. 

Key duties:

• Working with the Vietnam-Era Registries team to support day-to-day operational activities
  • Assisting with the development of recruitment materials
  • Assisting with IRB documentation including completing applications, organizing, and filing records
  • Assisting with the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures
• Engaging with Registry members and maintaining the infrastructure of the Registries
  • Maintaining and updating databases containing individually identifiable information and vital statuses on Registry members
  • Communicating with Registry members via telephone and mail
• Conducting recruitment activities for NIH-funded studies and CSP-initiated projects
  • Conducting initial recruitment telephone calls to enroll subjects in research
  • Assembling informational and initial recruitment mailing packets to research subjects
  • Maintaining and updating study databases, and tracking study progress
  • Performing quality checks on data entry and recruitment activities
• Serving as a liaison between the Vietnam-Era Registries and key stakeholders
  • Working closely with the Vietnam-Era Registries team, other ERIC teams, lab personnel, oversight bodies, and external researchers and study site staff to ensure effective collaboration and to meet study objectives
  • Engaging with researchers and study participants requesting information on the repositories

Qualifications:

• BA/BS in a scientific- or health-related field required
• 1-2 years of related work experience in clinical, epidemiological, or health services research preferred
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate with a diverse group of VA and university researchers and staff
• Experience with customer service, particularly by telephone
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills
• Solid problem-solving and critical thinking skills
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and timelines
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) required; experience with MS Access and REDCap preferred

About the Seattle ERIC and VA CSP:

The Seattle ERIC is a research center within the VA Puget Sound Health Care System that works to improve the health and care of Veterans through epidemiologic research. We are part of the VA CSP, a national VA research group of 12 epidemiology and clinical trial research centers. The Seattle ERIC houses the Vietnam-Era Registries and their operations.

Learn more at:

• Seattle ERIC website: https://www.seattle.eric.research.va.gov/ 
• VET Registry webpage: https://www.seattle.eric.research.va.gov/VETR/Home.asp
• NVVLS Registry webpage: https://www.seattle.eric.research.va.gov/VETR/NVVLSR/History.asp
• VA CSP website: https://www.vacsp.research.va.gov/

Application information:

Candidates must be U.S. citizens. Education and experience will be evaluated by Human Resources to determine if the top candidate meets the criteria for the targeted GS-05 through GS-06 range. The General Schedule (GS) salary table for Seattle can be found on the Office of Personnel Management website at opm.gov. 

Please send a cover letter and resume to SeattleCSPEC@va.gov. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled and will be reviewed in the order they are received. Applications received without a cover letter will not be considered.

Diversity enriches research and promotes the best healthcare. We are committed to building and sustaining an equitable and inclusive environment for our Center. We encourage individuals whose backgrounds or interests align with this commitment, as well as individuals from all backgrounds that are underrepresented in research, to apply.