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Health Scientist

Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Incumbent serves in a developmental capacity as a Health Scientist, in the evaluation of public health issues or health hazards.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, some CDC employees have been authorized to work virtually. However, when CDC is cleared to return back to work, you will be required to report to the location identified in the vacancy announcement for which you applied.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/13/2022 to 02/02/2022
Salary
$69,878 to - $108,886 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
3 vacancies 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 up to 10% domestic for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
HHS-CDC-D1-22-11322712
Control number
630861600

Duties

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As a Health Scientist, you will:

  • Conduct scientific studies/surveys or projects at local, state, and national levels.
  • Prepare research or study findings for dissemination.
  • Review and analyze studies and projects assessing public health issues in order to make recommendations.
  • Apply established methodologies and techniques.
  • Consult on scientific and technical issues.
  • Communicate information to various audience.

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 may be paid: No
  • Bargaining Unit Position: No
  • Drug Screening Required: No
  • Recruitment Incentive may be authorized: No
  • Annual Leave for non-federal service may be authorized. No
  • Research position: No
  • Promotion potential: Yes: This position has promotion potential to GS-12. 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
  • Political Appointee language/statement should be included in all vacancies, please make sure, to pull in updated template Current or Former Political Appointees: Agencies must seek prior approval from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service. Current or Former Political Appointees: Submit SF-50

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications: A 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 (https://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/) at the time the degree was obtained.

Minimum Qualifications GS-11:
In additional to meeting the Basic Qualifications requirements above, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-9 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 positionto include experience conducting a variety of surveillance or monitoring and evaluation activities related to public health programs.

OR

A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or completed three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related.

OR

A combination of experience and education that meets 100% of the qualification requirements.

Minimum Qualifications GS-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 positionto include experience providing scientific advice on the development and implementation of informatics strategies for public health programs and health information systems.

Documenting Experience: In accordance with Office of Personnel Management policy, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable, however, when documented by satisfactory evidence, such as a signed memorandum from the employee's supervisor or an SF-50 or SF-52 documenting an official detail or other official assignment. The documentation must indicate whether the duties were performed full time or, if part time, the percentage of times the other duties were performed. It is expected that this documentation is included in the employee's official personnel record. In order to receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your official position, you must provide a copy of the appropriate documentation of such experience as indicated above.

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.


https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0600/general-health-science-series-0601/

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-MP1-22-11322956 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.

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.

Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

In accordance with Executive Order 12564 of September 14, 1986, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is A Drug-Free Federal Workplace. The Federal government, as the largest employer in the Nation, can and should show the way towards achieving drug-free workplaces through programs designed to offer drug users a helping hand, and at the same time demonstrating to drug users and potential drug users that drugs will not be tolerated in the Federal workplace. The use of illegal drugs, on or off duty, by Federal employees is inconsistent not only with the law-abiding behavior expected of all citizens, but also with the special trust placed in such employees as servants of the public. Applicants tentatively selected for this position may be required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and be subject to reasonable suspicion and post-accident drug testing upon hiring. If required to submit to urinalysis, the appointment to the position will be contingent upon a negative applicant drug test result. In order to demonstrate commitment to the HHS goal of a drug-free workplace and to set an example for other Federal employees, employees not in a testing designated position may volunteer for unannounced random testing by notifying their Drug-free Federal Workplace Program Point of Contact upon hiring.

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 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).

  • Collaboration / Partnering
  • Continuous Development
  • Customer Service
  • Data Analysis and Interpretation
  • Data Collection
  • Decision Making
  • Diversity
  • Integrity
  • Needs Assessment (2)
  • Oral Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Public Health Knowledge
  • Research (2)
  • Research Translation
  • Results Driven
  • Written Communication

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