Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information.
WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? Visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov
Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information.
WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? Visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov
Open to IRS Career/Career-Conditional, Treasury/IRS CTAP, & IRS RPP employees
WHAT IS THE ONLINE SERVICES DIVISION?
A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions
Vacancies will be filled in the following specialty areas:
ONLINE SERVICES- (3 vacancies) - UX RESEARCH TEAM 3 and (1 vacancy) - UX RESEARCH TEAM 1
The following are the duties of this position at the full working level.
- Define problems, design research studies, conduct qualitative and quantitative research and usability testing, evaluate findings and recommend evidence-based solutions. Track UX research needs and goals and work with site metrics tools to conduct quantitative analysis of user behaviors and investigate ways to improve the end-user interaction with computer programs to increase satisfaction, brand loyalty, and overall use.
- Conduct UX research identifying the probable causes of digital service experience variances. Select and apply the most effective UX methodology and applications and ensure that project and study teams use appropriate UX research and analysis methodologies appropriate to solving UX problems; determining the types of data to be collected, formulating study methodologies, assisting functional activities in the implementation of taxpayer segments and analyzing data.
- Conduct activities associated with running a usability study, such as recruiting and screening participants with or without participant incentive, scheduling sessions, and writing test plans and scripts. Participate in studies, panels, and teams focusing on Service wide policy statements and other written guidelines and recommendations governing the development or modification of user experience designs, prototypes and specifications.
- Consult with product managers, business leads and other UX team members to conduct research, presents findings and assist with programmatic and technical decision-making. Monitor, evaluate, and document the analysis and results of research studies and projects, and prepare final recommendations Create reports based on trends and user surveys, analyzing the information and reporting observations to members of the team, key stakeholders, and managers.
- Support, design, monitor and measure UX initiatives. Facilitate meetings with stakeholders to determine research needs, defining research goals and drafting research plans.
- Collaborate and assist in the development of support and tools (technical and policy) for implementing a common user experience by researching user experience services, based upon private sector best practices and tests the success of established agency-wide standards.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
This position has career progression. If you are selected at a grade level lower than the full working level, you may be non-competitively promoted as your career progresses. For example, you may be hired as a GS-05, but if the position has career progression to GS-11, then you may move from a GS-05 to a GS-11 in as little as three years.
STANDARD POSITION DESCRIPTIONS (SPD):
PD98881, PD98882, and PD98883
Visit the IRS SPD Library to access the position descriptions.
Federal experience is not required. The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or Volunteer Service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.
You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-9
To be minimally qualified for this position you must have at least one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: Assisted other researchers in designing research studies (including to define User Experience (UX) research questions or design hypotheses, select appropriate research methodologies, and draft research plans) to achieve research goals; Assisted in conducting qualitative and/or quantitative research, including usability testing and user surveys, to collect user feedback; Assisted in analysis of qualitative and/or quantitative data and documentation of findings to provide evidence-based recommendations and solutions to stakeholders. Collaborated with other researchers to prepare reports, journey maps, personas, and other artifacts (such as service blueprints, flowcharts, and/or user stories) to communicate research insights. Collaborated with stakeholders to apply research insights to improve digital products and services.
OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:
Master's or equivalent graduate degree in a related field of study such as research and/or statistics, psychology, or human-computer interaction at an accredited college or university.
OR
2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a degree in a related field of study such as research and/or statistics, psychology, or human-computer interaction.
OR
LL.B. or J.D., if related.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-11
To be minimally qualified for this position you must have at least one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: Experience designing research studies (including to define User Experience (UX) research questions or design hypotheses, select appropriate research methodologies, and draft research plans) to achieve research goals; Experience conducting qualitative and/or quantitative user research or usability testing; Experience conducting qualitative and/or quantitative analysis, evaluating findings, and providing evidence-based recommendations and solutions.
Experience working with stakeholders to apply research insights to improve digital products and services.
Experience communicating research insights using tools such as journey maps, service blueprints, user stories, or personas to help improve services.
OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:
Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree in a related field of study such as research and/or statistics, psychology, or human-computer interaction at an accredited college or university.
OR
3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree in a related field of study such as research and/or statistics, psychology, or human-computer interaction.
OR
LL.M., if related
OR
At least 1 year of combined graduate education and experience as defined in paragraphs above.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-12
To be minimally qualified for this position you must have at least one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: Experience designing research studies (including to define User Experience (UX) research questions or design hypotheses, select appropriate research methodologies, and draft research plans) to achieve research goals; Experience conducting qualitative and quantitative user research or usability testing; Experience conducting qualitative and quantitative analysis, evaluating findings, and providing evidence-based recommendations and solutions. Experience working with stakeholders to apply research insights to improve digital products and services. Experience communicating research insights using tools such as journey maps, service blueprints, user stories, or personas to help improve services.
AND
MEET TIME IN GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT: You must meet applicable TIG requirements to be considered eligible. To meet TIG for positions above the GS-05 grade level, you must have served at least one year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade (or equivalent) in the normal line of progression for the position you are applying to. Advancement to positions up to GS-05 is permitted if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade held within the preceding 52 weeks.
AND
TIME AFTER COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT: By the closing date (or if this is an open continuous announcement, by the cut-off date) specified in this job announcement, current civilian employees must have completed at least 90 days of federal civilian service since their latest non-temporary appointment from a competitive referral certificate, known as time after competitive appointment. For this requirement, a competitive appointment is one where you applied to and were appointed from an announcement open to "All US Citizens".
For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards.
A copy of your transcripts or equivalent documentation is required for positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying based on education or a combination of education and experience. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. If the position has specific education requirements and you currently hold, or have previously held, a position in the same job series with the IRS, there is no need to submit a transcript or equivalent at this time. Applicants are encouraged, but are not required, to submit an SF-50 documenting experience in a specific series.
A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page.
FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here (Section 3, Explanation of Terms) or here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your application includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination. Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.
Rating: Your application will be evaluated on the Critical Job Elements (CJE) of the position to be filled, in accordance with Article 13 of the IRS/NTEU National Agreement. Your application will also be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions/assessment. Your experience, education, training, prior performance, and awards, relevant to the position being filled, will be considered throughout the hiring process. IRS employees may obtain most recent awards listing at https://persinfo.web.irs.gov/.
Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring polices). We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.
If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee eligible for Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), you must receive a score of 80 or better to be rated as well qualified to receive special selection priority.
The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 01/28/2025 and/or cut-off dates in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on 01/28/2025.
To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12666373
Treasury believes in a working environment that supports inclusion; to review reasonable accommodation policies and procedures please visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/reasonable-accommodations/. We provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.
Once your application package and online questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement email. You are responsible for checking status updates and notifications in USAJOBS. Hard copy notifications will not be sent to you. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My Account" tab and clicking on "Application Status." For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on "more information." Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. If your email mailbox is full or blocked (SPAM) you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
As a current employee, you know the great benefits we offer. Should you have any questions about benefits, please contact the Employee Resource Center (ERC) at 1-866-743-5748 option #1 for ERC.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
