Clarification from the agency

Open to any U.S. Citizen, at least 16 years old, who is a student that is enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited college (including 4-year colleges/universities, community colleges, and junior colleges); professional, technical, vocational, and trade school; advanced degree programs; or other qualifying educational institution pursuing a qualifying degree or certificate.

As a Student Trainee (Program Analyst) GS-7, the incumbent will:

• Continue learning and gaining experience in the fundamentals, concepts, principles, practices, and procedures of program analysis through work experience.
• Perform assigned qualitative and quantitative program analysis and research assignments related to Departmental programs.
• Participate in the program operations to identify potential program weaknesses and opportunities to improve program effectiveness and efficiency.
• Assist in developing and applying appropriate qualitative and quantitative evaluation techniques to achieve defined study objectives.
• Prepare assigned parts of work plans and draft reports based on sound research and evidence based data.
• Participate as a team member to contribute to work planning and preparing progress reviews of currently assigned work.
• Provide basic recommendations for improving current work activities and methods.

As a Student Trainee (Program Analyst) GS-9, the incumbent will:

• Gather and organize narrative and statistical information using established qualitative and quantitative methods, techniques, and models, such as questionnaire, interviews, standard computer software applications, and data trends. Programs are reviewed and studied to identify problems in duplication, overlapping and continued need.
• Apply a full range and sequence of qualitative and quantitative analytical steps appropriate for assigned studies, or portion of studies, from planning through fact-finding to reporting results.
• Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of Medicare, Medicaid, and public health and human service programs to identify program vulnerabilities and potential waste, fraud, and abuse.
• Develop draft findings and recommendations for modifying, revising, or implementing procedures to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the programs under review.
• Extract and compile data from a variety of sources and uses statistical applications in the evaluation process.
• Provide assistance on program operations to senior program analyst and program staff for effective implementation of office goals and priorities.
• Apply qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of a health care program, or a segment of a program; program policies, practices and procedures. Use qualitative and quantitative methods to assess program toward goals and objectives.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Registration with the Selective Service (if applicable).
• Suitability for Federal employment determined by background investigation
• Must sign a Pathways Participant Agreement
• Must be able to work full-time for the duration of the program.

This is an excepted service appointment under the OIG Pathways Internship Program. The internship will begin May 2020 and is not to exceed September 25, 2020. This appointment does not allow for non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent appointment in the federal service.

The pay for this position may vary depending on the location. Click here for locality tables: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2019/general-schedule/

Qualifications

These positions are in the Office of Evaluation and Inspections (OEI), in OIG. The mission of OEI is to protect the integrity of HHS programs, as well as the health and welfare of beneficiaries, by conducting evaluations and producing reports that provide timely, useful, and reliable information and advice to decision makers. The purposes of evaluations include measuring the effectiveness of Departmental legislation, policies, and procedures; assessing efficiency of operations; and identifying vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, and abuse. The evaluations provide decision makers with current, reliable data on high-impact, targeted issues important to HHS.

You must meet all eligibility requirements for the OIG Internship Program and all qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Internship Eligibility Requirements:

Individuals accepted for enrollment (must provide an acceptance letter from the academic institution on letterhead) or students enrolled (you must provide academic transcripts) in an accredited high school, college (including 4-year colleges/universities, community colleges, and junior colleges); professional, technical, vocational, and trade school; advanced degree programs; or other qualifying educational institution pursuing a qualifying degree or certificate.

Note: You must provide an unofficial academic transcript that reflects your current enrollment and a verification of Spring 2020 enrollment. If you have been accepted for enrollment at a qualifying academic institution, you must submit an acceptance letter from the academic institution on the institution's letterhead. For Summer 2020 or Fall 2020 enrollment, you must provide sufficient proof of acceptance.

Minimum Qualifications

To qualify for the GS-07 grade level, the applicant must:

• Have 1 year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement; OR
• Have 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-05 grade level or equivalent level. Specialized Experience includes conducting program evaluation; experience requires familiarity with a variety of research methodologies and sources; and experience conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis of data; OR
• Combination of education and specialized experience as described above.

*One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks.

Note: Superior Academic Achievement (SAA), may be substituted to meet the specialized experience requirement. Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) allows applicants to apply for certain positions at the GS-7 level if they have a Bachelors degree in a qualifying field of study and they meet one of the following requirements: class standing (upper 1/3 graduating class), G.P.A. is 3.0 or higher, or if applicant was a member in a National Scholastic Honor Society.

To qualify for the GS-09 grade level the applicant must:

• Have 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR
• Have 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-07 grade level or equivalent level. Specialized Experience includes conducting program evaluation; experience requires working knowledge of a variety of research methodologies and sources; and experience conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis of data;Combination of education and specialized experience as described above; OR
• Combination of education and specialized experience as described above.

To determine if you qualify based on a combination of education and experience, first determine your education as a percentage (e.g., 30 semester hours divided by 60 equals 50%); then determine your experience as a percentage (e.g., 6 months general experience divided by 12 equals 50%); finally, add the two percentages and if the total equals 100% or more, you qualify (e.g., 50% + 50% = 100%).

Experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work.

If you fail to submit sufficient academic documentation necessary to demonstrate that you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements described in this announcement, you will be deemed ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed application and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions. Your application will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate possession of any general experience and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement.

Your responses to the self-assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions. Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your application. Your resume must support your answers to the self-assessment questions, or your score may be adjusted accordingly which may affect your overall final rating.

The self-assessment questions relate to the following:

• Collaboration with Others
• Critical Thinking
• Oral Communication

Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you and/or will affect your overall final rating.
This agency uses Category Rating Procedures. Under Delegated Examining, we will use your responses to the job questionnaire to place you in one of three categories. If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:

1. Best Qualified: Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a superior level of all evaluation criteria.
2. Well Qualified: Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a satisfactory level of evaluation criteria.
3. Qualified: Applicants possessing the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities.