Ethics Specialist

Summary

Join NIH as an Ethics Specialist and support the effective administration of the agency's ethics program. You will research and analyze ethics issues, provide guidance on conflicts of interest and financial disclosure requirements, interpret applicable statutes and policies, and help ensure NIH employees and programs comply with Federal ethics requirements.

Duties

• Research conflict-of-interest situations and provide advice to managers and NIH programs on ethics matters involving outside relationships, prior employment, and financial holdings.
• Manage public and confidential financial disclosure activities, including filer determinations, employee notifications, reviews, and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Advise NIH programs on Federal ethics laws and regulations, including standards of conduct, procurement integrity, political activity restrictions, and post-employment requirements.
• Coordinate the planning, development, and implementation of ethics training activities, including curricula and guidance addressing complex ethics issues.
• Disseminate ethics information and ensure timely communication of new or revised regulations, policies, guidance, and interpretations.
• Conduct ethics program reviews and analyses, prepare reports, and recommend policy or procedural changes to improve program effectiveness and compliance.

Qualifications

You qualify at the GS-09 level, if you meet one of the following qualification requirements: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one (1) year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: 1.) Disseminating requests for financial disclosure reports. 2.) Managing documents, data, and databases related to ethics and compliance requirements. 3.) Conducting technical or conflict reviews on ethics documents. AND 4.) Creating tabular and narrative reports on ethics considerations; OR: Completion of a Master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.B. or J.D., if related; OR: A combination of education and specialized experience that meets the qualification requirements for this position. You qualify at the GS-11 level, if you meet one of the following qualification requirements: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one (1) year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: 1.) Providing advice to employees on the application of ethics statutes, regulations, and policies. 2.) Monitoring the financial disclosure process, including determining who should file, notifying employees, and reviewing financial disclosure forms. AND 3.) Presenting reports on ethics considerations to management officials; OR: Completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M., if related; OR: A combination of education and specialized experience that meets the qualification requirements for this position. You qualify at the GS-12 level, if you meet one of the following qualification requirements: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one (1) year of qualifying experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: 1.) Providing advice to employees and managers on the interpretation and application of ethics statutes, regulations, and policies related to financial disclosure, recusals, and gift exceptions. 2.) Reviewing confidential and public financial disclosure reports or prohibited holdings reports. 3.) Offering guidance on potential conflict of interest violations and recommending corrective actions. AND 4.) Designing and developing ethics training courses and materials. You will receive credit for all experience material to the position, including experience gained in religious, civic, welfare, service, and organizational activities, regardless of whether you received pay. Do not copy and paste the duties or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. We may verify or assess your qualifications at any time. Inflated or unsupported qualifications may affect your rating. Any misrepresentation or material omission of facts may be sufficient cause to end further consideration of your candidacy. Persons listed as knowing your past accomplishments or experience in your application may be contacted for verification purposes at any time. Verification may, but need not, begin before receiving an offer. Review application questionnaire before you apply: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13074008

Education

If you qualify based on education in lieu of specialized experience, you are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed and grades. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application packages. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer. Click here for information on Foreign Education. How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies: Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Additional selections may be made for similar positions across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) of the location identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) at HHS. Clearance of CTAP/ICTAP will be applied for similar positions across HHS. The position(s) advertised in this announcement are covered by the agency's Reemployment Priority List (RPL). RPL candidates will be rated, placed into one of the quality categories below, and referred to the hiring office, once veterans' preference is applied. Qualified Well Qualified Best Qualified To be considered well qualified for the purposes of the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must be able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry and substantively exceed the basic qualifications by scoring at least 80 points on the assessment(s) and meet all eligibility, physical, medical, suitability, and all other requirements. Other Information

This position is designated as a "non-emergency/teleworker" position and the selected candidate will be considered a "non-emergency/teleworker" employee. In the event of a closure, you must be available to telework or request leave. If selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 450 to determine if a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists between your financial interest and your prospective position with the agency. This information is required annually. For information, visit the NIH Ethics website: https://ethics.od.nih.gov/fd. NIH may repay certain outstanding Federally insured student loans to facilitate the recruitment and retention of highly qualified people. Recipients will be determined on a case-by-case basis based on organizational need, specific case justification, and budget limitations. A newly appointed or reappointed employee may receive service credit for prior work experience or active-duty uniformed service that otherwise would not be creditable for the purpose of determining his or her annual leave accrual rate. All creditable service must be directly related to the duties of the position being filled and decisions to allow for such credit must be finalized prior to the selectee's entrance on duty. Recipients will be determined on a case-by-case basis based on organizational need, specific case justification, and budget limitations. At the supervisor's discretion, this position may offer work schedule flexibilities. PHS Commissioned Officers interested in performing the duties of this position within the Commissioned Corps should apply online to this announcement to receive consideration. Visit Help Applying for helpful information on the application process. Military Spouses selected from this announcement will remain in their current duty location (i.e., the official duty station of the military service member. If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: Reasonable Accommodation Information. Veterans' Preference only applies to Schedule A (disability appointment), HHS Reemployment Priority List (RPL) Eligibles, HHS Priority Reemployment List (PRL) Eligibles, and Veterans Recruitment Appointments (if applicable).