Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) - Physical Activity/Exercise Science

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Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) - Physical Activity/Exercise Science

Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health

Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) / Office of the Director (OD)

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• Summary
• This job is open to
• Duties
• Requirements
• How you will be evaluated
• Required documents
• How to apply

Summary

Thank you for your interest in the Health Scientist Administrator (PO) Physical Activity/Exercise Science position.

This announcement highlights this specific position and area of expertise. Applications for this position are being accepted through a separate, broader NIH vacancy announcement on USAJOBS. NIH uses that vacancy announcement to receive and process applications for this position.

To be considered for this position, you MUST apply through vacancy announcement NIH-GR-MP-26-13057787.

Learn more about this agency

Summary

Thank you for your interest in the Health Scientist Administrator (PO) Physical Activity/Exercise Science position.

This announcement highlights this specific position and area of expertise. Applications for this position are being accepted through a separate, broader NIH vacancy announcement on USAJOBS. NIH uses that vacancy announcement to receive and process applications for this position.

To be considered for this position, you MUST apply through vacancy announcement NIH-GR-MP-26-13057787.

Learn more about this agency

Overview

Help

Accepting applications

Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

Montgomery County, MD

No matching locations found.

Work site options

Telework eligible Yes-as determined by the agency policy. Remote job No Relocation expenses reimbursed No Salary $93,468 - $187,093 per year Pay scale & grade

GS 12 - 14

Promotion potential 14

Learn more about pay scale and grade

Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.

Work schedule Full-time Travel Required Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Appointment type Permanent

Occupations and job series

• 0601 General Health Science

Supervisory status No Federal service type This job is in the Competitive Service Represented by a union No

Drug test No Security clearance Other Position sensitivity and risk Moderate Risk (MR)

Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.

Background check type

• Credentialing
• Suitability/Fitness

Financial disclosure required Yes

Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.

Announcement number NIH-OD-FA-26-13062686 Control number 884610900

This job is open to

Help

Federal employees - Competitive service

Current federal employees whose agencies follow the U.S. Office of Personnel Managements hiring rules and pay scales.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Land and base management

Current or former employees of a base management agency.

Military spouses

Military spouses of active duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.

Individuals with disabilities

Individuals who are eligible under Schedule A.

Family of overseas employees

Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.

Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista

Individuals who have served at least 2 years with the Peace Corps or 1 year with AmeriCorps VISTA.

Special authorities

Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed in another hiring path.

Clarification from the agency

You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National. Foreign nationals or legal permanent residents are not eligible for consideration.

Duties

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This position is located in the NIH Office of Disease Prevention (ODP), the lead office at NIH for assessing, facilitating, and stimulating research in disease prevention and for disseminating prevention research findings to improve public health. ODP provides leadership for the development, coordination, and implementation of prevention research in collaboration with NIH Institutes and Centers and other partners. Learn more about ODP at https://prevention.nih.gov/about-odp.

The NIH Office of Disease Prevention is seeking an accomplished scientist with expertise in physical activity/exercise science to serve as a Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer), GS-0601-12/13/14. ODP serves as NIHs lead program office for assessing, facilitating, and stimulating research in disease prevention and health promotion and disseminating research findings to improve public health.

This position will play an important role in advancing ODPs efforts to promote collaborative prevention research across NIH and with federal, public, and private partners.

The Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) will initiate, coordinate, and lead NIH-wide research efforts in physical activity and prevention science, including but not limited to identifying scientific gaps and designing and implementing research initiatives addressing physical activity, exercise science, disease prevention, and health promotion.

The individual will develop and strengthen partnerships across NIH and HHS and serve as an ODP scientific liaison and subject-matter expert on NIH-wide and HHS committees and special projects related to physical activity and exercise science.

The position offers an opportunity to help shape the NIH physical activity and prevention research agenda. This work directly supports ODPs current Collaboration Research, which focuses on coordinating NIH-wide prevention research, developing new collaborative initiatives, and supporting existing prevention research efforts across NIH and with external partners.

Responsibilities include stimulating NIH and federal collaborations to develop innovative research initiatives and partnerships and leading or facilitating scientific interest groups and other collaborative activities. The successful candidate may also contribute to the development of Highlighted Topics, Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs), and other initiatives designed to address important gaps in physical activity, prevention, and related areas of research. In addition, the individual will provide scientific advice to ODP leadership on emerging activities and issues where ODP engagement or action may be warranted.

Who Were Looking For

The ideal candidate will bring a strong scientific background in physical activity/exercise science research and a demonstrated understanding of how that research intersects with disease prevention and health promotion. A Ph.D. or equivalent degree, with experience in areas such as epidemiology, health behavior, prevention science, and/or public health, is preferred. Additional expertise in obesity or nutrition research would be an asset.

Equally important is an understanding of the broader NIH research environment. We are looking for someone knowledgeable about NIH prevention research and physical activity/exercise science portfolios, programs, major initiatives, and priorities. The ideal candidate will understand both the internal NIH and external physical activity research communities and be able to leverage professional networks to bring people and organizations together around shared scientific priorities. Established relationships across NIH and other federal agencies, particularly within the physical activity/exercise science community, would be especially valuable.

The ideal candidate will have experience organizing and leading scientific workgroups or interest groups, building productive partnerships, communicating complex scientific information to varied audiences, leading initiatives from conceptualization to implementation, and managing multiple time-sensitive projects. Strong analytical, organizational, interpersonal, problem-solving, collaboration, and written and oral communication skills will be important to success in this highly collaborative role.

Prospective candidates can learn more about ODPs work through the ODP Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2024-2028, Prevention Research: Creating a Healthier Future for All, which outlines the strategic priorities guiding the Offices activities.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

See vacancy announcement during the open period for position requirements.

Qualifications

See vacancy announcement during the open period for position requirements.

Education

See vacancy announcement during the open period for position requirements.

Additional information

• We are not collecting applications through this posting.
• 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.
• 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).
• 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 selectees entrance on duty. Recipients will be determined on a case-by-case basis based on organizational need, specific case justification, and budget limitations.
• 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 individual may receive a recruitment incentive. Recipients will be determined on a case-by-case basis based on organizational need, specific case justification, and budget limitations.
• At the supervisors discretion, this position may offer work schedule flexibilities: telework compressed schedules, flexible schedules.

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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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Review our benefits

How you will be evaluated

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

See vacancy announcement during the open period for how you will be evaluated.

Benefits

Help

Review our benefits

Required documents

Required Documents

Help

See vacancy announcement during the open period for required documents.

How to Apply

Help

To be considered for this position, you MUST apply through vacancy announcement NIH-GR-MP-26-13057787.

The application announcement will be open from Monday, September 21, 2026 through Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

During the open period, please log in to your USAJOBS account and view vacancy announcement NIH-GR-MP-26-13057787. Follow the instructions in that announcement to complete your online application and submit all required documentation identified in the Required Documents section by the closing date. Please mark your specific scientific specialty in the assessment questionnaire section.

You will not be able to submit an application through this announcement. This announcement only provides information about this specific position and directs interested applicants to the USAJOBS announcement through which applications are accepted.

Visit our site for information on NIHs EEO program, Reasonable accommodation procedures, laws, policy statements, and the operation of the EEO complaint process.

Agency contact information

Karen Harris

Phone 301-402-1529 Email harrisk@mail.nih.gov Address National Institutes of Health

6701 Rockledge Drive

Bethesda, MD 20892

US

Next steps

If interested, we encourage you to apply during the opening period, Monday, September 21, 2026 to Wednesday, September 30, 2026 to NIH-GR-MP-26-13057787 on USAJOBS.

Fair and transparent

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

Criminal history inquiries Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy

Financial suitability New employee probationary period

Privacy Act Reasonable accommodation policy

Selective Service Signature and false statements

Social security number request

Required Documents

Help

See vacancy announcement during the open period for required documents.

How to Apply

Help

To be considered for this position, you MUST apply through vacancy announcement NIH-GR-MP-26-13057787.

The application announcement will be open from Monday, September 21, 2026 through Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

During the open period, please log in to your USAJOBS account and view vacancy announcement NIH-GR-MP-26-13057787. Follow the instructions in that announcement to complete your online application and submit all required documentation identified in the Required Documents section by the closing date. Please mark your specific scientific specialty in the assessment questionnaire section.

You will not be able to submit an application through this announcement. This announcement only provides information about this specific position and directs interested applicants to the USAJOBS announcement through which applications are accepted.

Visit our site for information on NIHs EEO program, Reasonable accommodation procedures, laws, policy statements, and the operation of the EEO complaint process.

Expand Hide how to apply

Agency contact information

Karen Harris

Phone 301-402-1529 Email harrisk@mail.nih.gov Address National Institutes of Health

6701 Rockledge Drive

Bethesda, MD 20892

US

Next steps

If interested, we encourage you to apply during the opening period, Monday, September 21, 2026 to Wednesday, September 30, 2026 to NIH-GR-MP-26-13057787 on USAJOBS.

Expand Hide next steps

Fair and transparent

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

Criminal history inquiries Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy

Financial suitability New employee probationary period

Privacy Act Reasonable accommodation policy

Selective Service Signature and false statements

Social security number request

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the largest biomedical research funding organization in the world. NIH is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers, each with a specific research agenda, often focusing on particular diseases or body systems. NIH employs approximately 18,000 employees in varied occupations, all supporting research efforts that improve health and save lives. For more information on NIHs mission and goals, and its 27 Institutes and Centers, visit the NIH website.

Virtually explore the National Institutes of Healths (NIH) Bethesda campus, learn about scientific research, and get to know NIH community members who are working to help people live longer, healthier lives: https://www.nih.gov/virtual-tour/.

Agency contact information

Karen Harris

Phone 301-402-1529 Email harrisk@mail.nih.gov Address National Institutes of Health

6701 Rockledge Drive

Bethesda, MD 20892

US

Summary

Thank you for your interest in the Health Scientist Administrator (PO) Physical Activity/Exercise Science position.

This announcement highlights this specific position and area of expertise. Applications for this position are being accepted through a separate, broader NIH vacancy announcement on USAJOBS. NIH uses that vacancy announcement to receive and process applications for this position.

To be considered for this position, you MUST apply through vacancy announcement NIH-GR-MP-26-13057787.

Learn more about this agency

Overview

Help

Accepting applications

Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

Montgomery County, MD

No matching locations found.

Work site options

Telework eligible Yes-as determined by the agency policy. Remote job No Relocation expenses reimbursed No Salary $93,468 - $187,093 per year Pay scale & grade

GS 12 - 14

Promotion potential 14

Learn more about pay scale and grade

Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.

Work schedule Full-time Travel Required Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Appointment type Permanent

Occupations and job series

• 0601 General Health Science

Supervisory status No Federal service type This job is in the Competitive Service Represented by a union No

Drug test No Security clearance Other Position sensitivity and risk Moderate Risk (MR)

Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.

Background check type

• Credentialing
• Suitability/Fitness

Financial disclosure required Yes

Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.

Announcement number NIH-OD-FA-26-13062686 Control number 884610900

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