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

About the role

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.

What you will do

• 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 ***
• 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 NIH's 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 ODP's 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 ODP's 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 We're 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 ODP's 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 Office's activities.

Requirements

• See vacancy announcement during the open period for position requirements.

Education

See vacancy announcement during the open period for position requirements.

How you will be evaluated

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

Documents you must provide

• See vacancy announcement during the open period for required documents.

What to expect next

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.

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 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.

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 supervisor's discretion, this position may offer work schedule flexibilities: telework compressed schedules, flexible schedules.