Duties

• Develop program policy and operational guidance, including operations manuals, regulation text and preambles, briefing materials and talking points, change requests, correspondence, legislative proposals, and technical direction letters.
• Review and analyze drug policy issues such as cost-effectiveness, cost minimization, quality life-years, overall drug therapy costs, and budget forecasting.
• Respond to highly technical inquiries on various aspects of law, regulations, policies, etc., from Congresspersons, professional organizations, and the general public.
• Provide technical assistance as a professional pharmacist to interpret, monitor, or evaluate program guidance about CMS programs (e.g., Medicare Part B, Medicare Part D, or Medicaid).

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National to apply for this position.
• You will be subject to a background and suitability investigation.
• This is a remote position; however, the position reports to a CMS Office on a periodic basis. Requirements to report to the office will vary and can be discussed at the time of interview.

Qualifications

ALL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

Your resume must include detailed information as it relates to the responsibilities and specialized experience for this position. Evidence of copying and pasting directly from the vacancy announcement without clearly documenting supplemental information to describe your experience will result in an ineligible rating. This will prevent you from receiving further consideration.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

The following lists the basic requirements for the position of Pharmacist. Current federal employees assigned to positions in this occupational series, GS-0660 as of September 2017 or before will be considered to have met the basic requirements for the position occupied. However, they must meet all other requirements for this position as listed below.

Education: A doctoral degree in Pharmacy that is recognized by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (external link) (ACPE) or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (external link) at the time the degree was obtained.

Licensure: Applicants must be licensed to practice pharmacy in a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States. Proof of license/registration MUST be submitted at time of application to verify possession of the license/registration listed above. Failure to submit proof of license/registration at the time of application WILL result in an ineligible rating. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for more information.

Medical Requirement: You must be able to distinguish basic colors.

In addition to the licensure and requirements, listed above, you must demonstrate in your resume a minimum of one year of professional pharmacy experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level. Applicant's qualifications and background must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies necessary to perform the work of the position. Pharmacy work requires knowledge of the use, clinical effects, and composition of medications, including their chemical, biological, and physical properties. Qualifying professional pharmacy experience may involve, but is not limited to:

• Dispensing medications prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and providing information to health practitioners and patients about proper usage of medications and side effects;
• Performing drug policy analysis and conducting research on pharmaceutical industry pricing trends in order to give authoritative advice on issues such as updating Medicare drug benefit designs, cost-effectiveness, cost minimization, quality life-years, overall drug therapy costs, and budget forecasting.
• Leading work on interpreting and analyzing pharmacy administrative claims and plan-reported data concerning drug coverage, pharmacy services, and drug utilization patterns.
• Evaluating medication use patterns and outcomes for patients in hospitals or managed care organizations;
• Performing administrative, consultative, or staff advisory work for a medical facility's pharmacy program;
• Planning, monitoring, and evaluating medication programs or regimens;
• Establishing medication-handling procedures for the storage and preservation of medications;
• Researching medical literature and/or clinical medication information to provide accurate responses to inquiries; and/or
• Maintaining all medication records required by law.

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; religious; 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.

Education

Education Requirement: You must have the following educational requirements:

A doctoral degree in Pharmacy that is recognized by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.

You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts at the time of application. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted at the time of application. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer.

Click the following link to view the occupational questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11706065

Additional information

Bargaining Unit Position: Yes - American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
Tour of Duty: Flexible
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure: May be required, based on the duties of the position.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce Executive Order 14043 Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a federal job announcement includes the requirement to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Positions with vaccination requirements under authority(ies) separate and distinct from Executive Order 14043 will be clearly identified. HHS may continue to require documentation of proof of vaccination to ensure compliance with those policies. Health and safety protocols remain in effect, in accordance with CDC guidance and the Safer Federal Workforce Task force. Consistent with current guidance, workplace safety protocols will no longer vary based on vaccination status or otherwise depend on the availability of vaccination information. Therefore, to the extent a job announcement states that HHS may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, this statement does not currently apply.

Remote-Out Positions at CMS: This is a remote position; however, the position reports to a CMS Office on a periodic basis (e.g. 1-2 times per year). Requirements to report to the office will vary and can be discussed at the time of interview. As such, your pay will be based on your home address. For more information on locality and pay scales, please click here . Your worksite must be within the United States and you must adhere to all regulations and policies regarding remote work at CMS and in the federal government, including the signing of a remote work agreement.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced federal employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit the required documentation and be rated well-qualified for this vacancy. Click here for a detailed description of the required supporting documents . A well-qualified applicant is one whose knowledge, skills and abilities clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements of the position. Additional information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp .