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Health Scientist (Data Scientist)

Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Health Scientist performing data science work that requires extraction of knowledge from public health surveillance systems and programs at the local, state and national levels that are structured or unstructured for: analysis; improved understanding and communication; development/visualization of new concepts, and/or processes that add value to health services delivery and the decision making process.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/16/2021 to 06/30/2021
Salary
$81,638 to - $126,202 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Atlanta, GA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel 5% or less domestically for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
HHS-CDC-D2-21-11133013
Control number
604771100

Duties

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As a Health Scientist (Data Scientist), you will:

  • Consult and collaborate with statistical, data science, artificial intelligence (e.g., machine learning), and public health professionals in the collection, linkage, processing, coding, classification, and analysis of public health surveillance, research, and administrative health data.
  • Learn and use current data science methods and tools to plan and conduct research using public health data systems, including survey data, health care facility data, syndromic surveillance data, electronic health records, vital records, and non-traditional data sources such as social media and unstructured web-based data.
  • Support the development of proposals and projects that align with research and policy goals for data science research and analytic projects, defining the scope and intent of the projects, the data to be used, the analytic approaches and methods, technology resource requirements, timelines and significant milestones, and intended outputs.
  • Serve as a data science expert in the analysis and classification of public health surveillance, research, and administrative health data.
  • Consult with Center epidemiologists, statisticians, computer scientists, economists, policy analysts, and public health professionals concerning ongoing and established studies or other projects where extensive analytic methodological support or innovation is required.
  • Provide technical input to Center analysts and programmers in updating data from multiple sources with appropriate technical documentation.
  • Collaborate with Informatics and Information Technology professionals to develop data storage and management systems that enable analysis of large structured and unstructured datasets.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • US Citizenship is required.
  • Background Investigation is required.
  • E-Verify: If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System. Federal law requires DHS to use the E-Verify System to verify employment eligibility of all new hires, and as a condition of continued employment obligates the new hire to take affirmative steps to resolve any discrepancies identified by the system. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is an E-Verify Participant.
  • Direct Deposit: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
  • One-year probationary period may be required.
  • Travel, transportation, and moving expenses will be paid: May be authorized
  • Bargaining Unit Position: No
  • Drug Screening Required: No
  • Recruitment Incentive may be authorized: May be authorized
  • Annual Leave for non-federal service may be authorized: No
    Research position: No
  • Promotion potential: Yes, If yes add: This position has promotion potential to GS-13. Promotion to the next grade level is at management's discretion and is based on your meeting qualifications and time-in-grade requirements, demonstrated ability to perform the higher level duties, the continuing need for the higher level duties, and administrative approval. Promotion to the next grade level is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied.
  • Supervisory position: No
  • Public Trust/Moderate Background Investigation (5) is required

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (external link) at the time the degree was obtained.

Minimum Qualifications for Health Scientist (Data Scientist) GS-0601-12:

Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service as defined in the next paragraph.

Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the position which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position to include experience assisting in developing automated systems and tools to process, clean, and verify data integrity.

Minimum Qualifications for Health Scientist (Data Scientist) GS-0601-13:

Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service as defined in the next paragraph.

Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the position which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position to include experience providing advice on the use of data science tools, methods, and statistical learning models to collect, link, process, code, classify, and analyze public health surveillance, research, and administrative data.

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.

Education

Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the education requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/jobs/future-applicant-information.html.

Additional information

This vacancy is also being announced concurrently with vacancy announcement HHS-CDC-MP2-21-1133014 under merit promotion procedures. Please review that announcement to see if you are eligible for consideration under merit promotion procedures. NOTE: Applicants must apply separately for each announcement in order to be considered.

PHS Commissioned Corps Officers interested in performing the duties of this position within the Commissioned Corps (not as a career/career-conditional employee) are encouraged to apply under the merit promotion announcement (if applicable).

Additional selections may be made within the same geographical location CDC-wide.

If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming 5-points veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility. If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form.

For more information on veterans' preference see http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx.

Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov).

For information on "People with Disabilities" please see http://opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp
and https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/getting-a-job/sampleschedaletters.pdf.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible see http://opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp#ictap. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 85.0 or above on the rating criteria for this position.

Former and present Peace Corps personnel may be considered to fill vacancies. Peace Corps personnel are eligible for consideration if you have completed at least 36 months of continuous service, without a break in service of 3 days or more. This requirement is consistent with section 7(a) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2506), which pertains to the appointment of Peace Corps staff (not volunteers) and is applicable within 3 years after separation from qualifying service with the Peace Corps. A copy of your SF-50 is required to support your request.

Peace Corps Volunteers may be considered to fill vacancies. Executive Order 11103 provides eligibility for appointment in the competitive service for any person who is certified by the Director of the Peace Corps as having served satisfactorily as a Volunteer or Volunteer Leader under the Peace Corps Act and who passes such examination as the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe.

To view the questionnaire, click on the following link:
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11133013

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document(s), view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, a review of the resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. Category rating procedures will be used to rate and rank candidates.

The utilization of shared certificates within multiple Centers of the Center of Disease Control and Prevention may be used from this vacancy announcement for specialties to include but not limited to: Applied Epidemiology, Behavioral Epidemiology, Chronic Diseases, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Environmental Health, HIV/AIDS, Immunization, Infectious Diseases (e.g. Viral, Parasitic, etc.), Influenza, Malaria, Non-communicable Diseases, Outbreak Investigations, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), Surveillance, Tropical Medicine, Tuberculosis (TB), Viral Hepatitis, and/or Zoonotic Diseases.

The category assignment is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Qualified candidates will be ranked into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified or Qualified. The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher).

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics).

  • Data Analysis and Interpretation
  • Data Collection
  • Diversity
  • Oral Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Public Health Knowledge
  • Research (2)
  • Written Communication

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