The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Domestic Social Policy (DSP) Division seeks a Research Assistant (RA) to support research tasks across a broad range of domestic policy issues including: (1) Children and Families issues, especially as related to low-income populations; (2) Domestic Security and Immigration, including crime policy and border security; (3) Education and Labor, including training and the workforce; (4) Health Insurance and Financing, including Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and private health insurance; (5) Health Services, including health workforce and public health; (6) Income Security, including Social Security, pensions, disability and unemployment.
The RA will join a team of RAs supporting objective, authoritative public policy analysis and consultation to congressional committees, Members and staff by assisting CRS analysts and specialists preparing objective, non-partisan analytical studies and descriptive reports on nationally significant public policy issues; assisting CRS analysts and specialists providing personal assistance to Members and staff on public policy issues throughout the legislative process; and participating in multi-disciplinary research projects and seminars.
Candidates should have knowledge of one or more DSP issue or program area, familiarity with the research process, and knowledge of the research materials and tools used in social science research. Candidates must be able to work as part of a collaborative team and must exhibit the intellectual flexibility and broad research skills set that facilitate effective work across a wide spectrum of domestic social policy issues. Illustrative programs of study include economics, demography, other social sciences and public policy. Candidates with computer programming skills, as applied to social science or public policy research are especially encouraged to apply.
CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century.
CRS is well known for analysis that is authoritative, confidential, objective, and nonpartisan. Its highest priority is to ensure that Congress has immediate access to the nation's best thinking on public policy issues of interest to its Members and Committees.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Domestic Social Policy (DSP) Division seeks a Research Assistant (RA) to support research tasks across a broad range of domestic policy issues including: (1) Children and Families issues, especially as related to low-income populations; (2) Domestic Security and Immigration, including crime policy and border security; (3) Education and Labor, including training and the workforce; (4) Health Insurance and Financing, including Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and private health insurance; (5) Health Services, including health workforce and public health; (6) Income Security, including Social Security, pensions, disability and unemployment.
The RA will join a team of RAs supporting objective, authoritative public policy analysis and consultation to congressional committees, Members and staff by assisting CRS analysts and specialists preparing objective, non-partisan analytical studies and descriptive reports on nationally significant public policy issues; assisting CRS analysts and specialists providing personal assistance to Members and staff on public policy issues throughout the legislative process; and participating in multi-disciplinary research projects and seminars.
Candidates should have knowledge of one or more DSP issue or program area, familiarity with the research process, and knowledge of the research materials and tools used in social science research. Candidates must be able to work as part of a collaborative team and must exhibit the intellectual flexibility and broad research skills set that facilitate effective work across a wide spectrum of domestic social policy issues. Illustrative programs of study include economics, demography, other social sciences and public policy. Candidates with computer programming skills, as applied to social science or public policy research are especially encouraged to apply.
CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century.
CRS is well known for analysis that is authoritative, confidential, objective, and nonpartisan. Its highest priority is to ensure that Congress has immediate access to the nation's best thinking on public policy issues of interest to its Members and Committees.
Reviewing and evaluating professional journal articles, agency documents, and other analyses for authoritativeness, relevance, and currency. Preparing abstracts of these descriptive and/or analytical materials, summarizing their key findings, methodologies employed, and other relevant information.
Participating in group efforts on research projects as a member of a collaborative team and undertaking research and data analytical tasks in support of the development of an array of analytical and descriptive products or components. Illustrative tasks might include: tracking congressional hearings and bills in specific areas; culling, synthesizing, and tracking state policies; fact checking and other quality control; building and maintaining a database of (specific) program authorizations and appropriations; and, for active legislation, developing and managing a database of amendments and conference documents.
Preparing materials for use at consultations, briefings, and seminars for congressional clients. Attending consultations, briefings, seminars, and outreach activities to gain familiarity with CRS’s information and analytic capabilities, recording questions, gauging audience engagement, and capturing audience suggestions for future sessions.
Creating and populating databases and spreadsheets, reformatting and standardizing data from different sources, and performing data input, calculations, and analysis. Training colleagues and/or instructing staff on the content, nature, and use of division data resources.
Formatting a range of tables, graphs, images, and other insertions to CRS products, reviewing and verifying this content for accuracy and completeness. Updating statistics in CRS reports or other general distribution products. Recommending quality control procedures and making suggestions to improve and enhance these insertions to CRS products.
Locating, extracting, collecting, and/or compiling quantitative data and other information; evaluating data for accuracy, relevance, authoritativeness, and usefulness; in some cases, cleaning and manipulating quantitative data through programming using SAS, STATA, or Excel.
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.
Knowledge of domestic social policy.**
Ability to apply knowledge of the analytic research process in a disciplinary area relevant to domestic social policy.**
Ability to identify, exploit, and manipulate research resources and tools to perform research tasks pertinent to a discipline relevant to domestic social policy.**
Ability to prepare written research materials related to a discipline relevant to domestic social policy.**
Ability to convey information orally through briefings, consultations, and other presentations.
Ability to collaborate.
Ability to exercise objectivity in all phases of research, including written and oral presentations.
Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.
Additional information
The Congressional Research Service, within the Library of Congress, is part of the Legislative Branch of the federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service. The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustment for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
Although it is the Library's policy to afford the maximum pay benefit to employees when setting rates of pay, a new appointee who has had no previous federal service will generally be paid the minimum step of the grade.
This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position.
The tour of duty for this position is full-time. The position description number for this position is 308062.
The incumbent of this position may elect to work a flexitime or compflex work schedule.
RELOCATION EXPENSES ARE NOT AUTHORIZED FOR THE PERSON(S) SELECTED UNDER THIS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT.
The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.
Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation.
Initial appointments, permanent or indefinite, to the Library of Congress require completion of a one-year probationary period.
This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify this agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The certificate of disability may be issued by a State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of an applicant's college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The date of certification must be within one year of the vacancy closing date and must be submitted with your application. For more information view the directive on the Library's Selective Placement Program and/or contact the Library's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 (voice or TTY) or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.
Are you a veteran? Please indicate the type of Veterans' Preference you are claiming in your application materials and/or applicant profile and provide the appropriate supporting documentation to validate your claim. Those applying for 5-point preference must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD 214. Those applying for 10-point preference must fill out an SF-15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and provide the required documentation listed on the back of the form. For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please see the Library's Merit Selection Plan, Section X.D. IF REQUIRED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION IS NOT ATTACHED, VETERANS' PREFERENCE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
The Library of Congress evaluates applicants through an applicant questionnaire and a structured interview. Applicants may also be screened for some jobs through licensing, certification, and/or education requirements, a narrative/application review, and/or a preliminary telephone interview. The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are marked with a double asterisk (**) in the vacancy announcement and the applicant questionnaire are considered the most critical for a position. To be considered for final selection, applicants must demonstrate fully acceptable experience in these designated KSAs in the narrative/application review, preliminary telephone and/or full structured interview. The various assessment tools listed above are designed to verify or explore applicants' experience, knowledge, and training directly related to the job in order to identify the best qualified applicants for selection. To preview questions please click here.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Current or former federal employees must submit their most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50 or equivalent). Disabled applicants claiming Selective Placement eligibility must submit proof of disability and a certification of job readiness. If Selective Placement is applicable to you, you will not be considered without submitting this documentation.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position. You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps. Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress. Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements. Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly. Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement. (1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement. (2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation of the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS. (3) You may follow the "Faxing Supporting Documentation" instructions within the online application, which will provide the necessary cover sheets for each of your documents so that they will be correctly submitted. The fax number will be available on the cover sheet. Please note that each cover sheet and corresponding document must be faxed separately. Be certain to review your complete fax transmittal confirmation to ensure that all pages have been received. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. Likewise, if sending them by fax, be sure and include both of them behind the respective fax cover sheet and send them as one fax. If you send them individually with the same cover sheet, the last one sent will overwrite the first one. Finally, if you upload a document, e.g. your undergraduate transcript, do not also fax that same document (or fax another undergraduate transcript), because whichever one you send last will be the only one that is visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date. Step 6: Click on "Finish" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement. If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact jobhelp@loc.gov , no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
101 Independence Ave. SE
LM-107
Washington, District of Columbia 20540
United States
Next steps
Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Current or former federal employees must submit their most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50 or equivalent). Disabled applicants claiming Selective Placement eligibility must submit proof of disability and a certification of job readiness. If Selective Placement is applicable to you, you will not be considered without submitting this documentation.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position. You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps. Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress. Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements. Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly. Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement. (1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement. (2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation of the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS. (3) You may follow the "Faxing Supporting Documentation" instructions within the online application, which will provide the necessary cover sheets for each of your documents so that they will be correctly submitted. The fax number will be available on the cover sheet. Please note that each cover sheet and corresponding document must be faxed separately. Be certain to review your complete fax transmittal confirmation to ensure that all pages have been received. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. Likewise, if sending them by fax, be sure and include both of them behind the respective fax cover sheet and send them as one fax. If you send them individually with the same cover sheet, the last one sent will overwrite the first one. Finally, if you upload a document, e.g. your undergraduate transcript, do not also fax that same document (or fax another undergraduate transcript), because whichever one you send last will be the only one that is visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date. Step 6: Click on "Finish" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement. If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact jobhelp@loc.gov , no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
101 Independence Ave. SE
LM-107
Washington, District of Columbia 20540
United States
Next steps
Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
