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Social Scientist (Program Evaluation)

USAJOBS
place Washington, 20374
local_atm $139,395
work_outline
Full Time

About Job

Summary

This position is in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. About the Office of the Chief Financial Officer: 

This is an office-centered position*--you must physically report to the duty station stated in this announcement on a regular basis.
*EPA offers work-from-home and work schedule flexibilities as described in the Benefits section.

Duties

You will:

  • Designs, oversees, and conducts evaluation studies, monitoring studies and other analyses of the quality, performance, implementation, and impacts of EPA programs to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental programs and policies.
  • Serves as a senior project manager and recommends resources for evaluation and monitoring projects.
  • Represents the EPA in collaborations, at briefings, and at other meetings regarding the justification, approval, design, conduct, findings, and use of evaluation, research, performance management, and analyses.
  • Supports analytical capacity-building across EPA to enable a culture of evaluation and evidence-based policy making and program administration.
  • Serves as Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) for projects that use contract support.

You will spend less than 25% of your work time on contracts, grants/cooperative agreements, and/or interagency agreements.

One or more positions may be filled (in the organization advertised and/or in other organizations), if appropriate to the position.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.
  • You must be a U.S. citizen.

This position is designated as a Moderate Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

You must meet time in grade requirements no later than 30 calendar days after the closing date of this announcement.

If you are selected, you may be required to complete a one-year probationary period if appointed as Competitive Service or a two-year trial period if appointed as Excepted Service.

#LI-Onsite

Qualifications

NOTE:  You must meet qualification requirements, including any requirements described in the Education section, by the closing date of this announcement.

In addition to the basic entry education requirements, you must have specialized experience and/or directly related education as described below:

To qualify for the GS-14 level, you must have 1 year of full-time* specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level defined as planning and implementing translational research projects in the context of environmental programs; providing technical expertise and responding to questions from stakeholders related to social science research; and evaluating and critiquing empirical reports.

Your answers to the online assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas: 

  • Skill in qualitative and quantitative methods of program evaluation.
  • Knowledge of social science and behavioral science research methods and techniques.
  • Ability to collaborate across interdisciplinary and administrative work groups to achieve goals.
  • Ability to evaluate program effectiveness and impact.
  • Skill in oral communication sufficient to provide recommendations and explain findings.
  • Skill in written communication.
  • Skill in data interpretation and analysis sufficient to support the development of agency initiatives, policies, and practices.
  • Skill in contract administration.

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.

*If you have part-time work experience, read this: .

Education

You must have a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in behavioral or social science, or related disciplines appropriate to the position; OR a combination of education and experience with courses equivalent to a major, as listed; OR four years of experience that demonstrate you have acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major, as listed.

Additional information

Except in special circumstances, those new to the federal government will be hired at the starting salary (step 1) of the applicable grade range listed in the Overview section.

EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information: .

Although the Service type indicated in the Overview section is Competitive, you may be appointed as Excepted Service based on your eligibility to be hired under certain appointing authorities.

Are you a Displaced Federal Employee? If so, please read the Required Documents section and visit the EPA website for additional information on the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP):
NOTE: To be entitled to selection priority, you must be rated well-qualified (i.e., you must have a score of 87 or higher--see the How You Will Be Evaluated section).

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at EPA. Our excellence can only be fully realized by staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in the Agency’s workplace and mission. We encourage applications from candidates with a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. At EPA, diversity is a vital element in bringing a balance of perspectives to bear on every challenge we face. We are committed to creating a diverse workforce because we know that the individual strengths and abilities of our employees make us a stronger organization. The more inclusive our employee base is, the greater the variety of ideas that are generated, and the more representative we are of the nation we serve. To learn more about how EPA values and supports our diverse workforce, visit .

If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.

This position is in the bargaining unit.

  • Benefits

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your resume must address the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed in the Qualifications section. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be further evaluated based on your answers to the online assessment. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for the position and an applicable score assigned.

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. We will evaluate your qualifications and eligibility and notify you if you meet minimum qualification requirements. If you are referred for consideration, you may be subject to additional assessments (e.g., technical writing sample or other work sample, job knowledge test, case scenario analysis, scientific data assessment, structured interview, etc.).

NOTE: We do not require a separate statement responding to the competencies, also referred to as Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). However, your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies.


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