As a Behavioral Scientist (Violence Prevention), you will:

• Research and provide subject matter expertise in the prevention of various forms of violence: community violence, youth violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, teen dating violence, child abuse and neglect, and/or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
• Provide expertise in multiple areas, such as: conducting rigorous evaluation studies and implementation research; applying key concepts to violence prevention activities; and applying diverse methodologies to analyze violence-prevention related data.
• Identify design, and conduct scientific studies to address the legal and social dimensions of various forms of violence before harmful effects have occurred; provide important linkages between health services, social support networks, community resources, legal systems, and improve comprehensive preventive/intervention efforts; research and provide solutions to enhance efforts to expand the range of health and social services available to the general population.
• Collect and manage injury and violence data from multiple sources to reveal underlying patterns of violence in communities; identify individuals and groups at risk; and to highlight and control the risk factors and behaviors that are associated with forms of violence, such as child abuse, domestic violence, etc.
• Provide technical advice and assistance to national, state, and local health agencies and universities to develop and implement surveillance systems, including the use of surveillance data for violence prevention and early intervention programs.
• Develops and maintains positive relationships with injury and violence researchers and data providers. Serves as a liaison with local/national organizations to establish and promote effective injury and violence prevention initiatives. Leads cooperative agreement recipients in the understanding of grant awards and the implementation of recipient activities. Performs site visits at recipient facilities to assess progress under awards.
• Promote the use of scientific knowledge, integrating various perspectives on the determinants of behavioral health and performance monitoring for improvement in the community health process to achieve public health goals related to violence.
• Establish viable prevention strategies and demonstrates evidence of their effectiveness in public health in general, as well as targeted populations.
• Provide technical assistance, consultation, and scientific contributions in innovative violence prevention surveillance, research, or evaluation projects.
• Integrate multicultural, community-based interventions research with implementation science, community-based participatory research, and projects on the health impact of violence and its effect on different stages of behavioral and social development over the early stages of life.
• Identify and define the behavioral aspects of violence prevention using theory-based paradigms from the scientific literature.
• Prepare scientific and other articles and technical reports for peer-review publication and presentation at local, state, and national workshops and conferences.
• Collaborates with internal staff and external government agencies, private organizations, and other stakeholders to develop and accomplish program objectives.
• Supports and mentors professional development of students, fellows, junior staff and/or partners.
• Communicate information to various audiences. Prepare scientific and other articles and technical reports for publication about the results and implications of scientific investigations of injury and violence prevention.
• Make presentations at international and national meetings. Prepare manuscripts for submission to peer review journals.
• Provide written responses to congressional inquiries and plays a key role in the preparation of congressional reports.
• Represent the division and team at CDC, other federal agencies, state or local agencies, advocacy groups, and other partners at planning meetings and other work sessions as requested.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

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
• Annual Leave for non-federal service may be authorized: No
• Promotion potential: Yes. 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.

Qualifications

• CDC Financial Disclosure -OGE form 450 Holding ourselves to a higher standard; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspires public confidence in its trust responsibilities and mission by maintaining high ethical principles. This position is subject to the confidential financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521). Therefore, if selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) to determine if a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists between your financial interest and your prospective position with the agency. This Information will be required annually.
• Public Trust/Moderate Background Investigation (5) is required.
• 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.
• 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.

Open Continuous Announcement:

• This announcement is being posted as an open continuous announcement and will be used to create an inventory of applicants for Behavioral Scientist (Violence Prevention) positions and will be used to fill immediate and future needs.
• Positions will be filled as Permanent appointments.
• Applicants are encouraged to apply early in order to maximize their employment opportunities. Your application will remain in the inventory of tentatively qualified applicants. Applicants that are among the best qualified will be referred to the selecting official for consideration as requests to fill vacancies are processed by the Human Resources Office. We will cut-off at the first 50 applications received. Thereafter, additional referral lists will be generated throughout the open period as vacancies occur. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted.
• This is an open continuous announcement. Qualified applicants will be considered as job opportunities occur and may or may not receive further notification regarding the status of their application.

Basic Qualifications:

Degree in Behavioral or Social Science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

or

Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the Behavioral or Social Sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

or

Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the Behavioral or Social Sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

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 position to include experience in designing and conducting behavioral science research and studies related to public health issues (i.e. health disparities, violence prevention and/or other behavior disparities).

GS-13:
Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-13 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 in planning, directing and conducting etiologic studies, research, and program evaluations focusing on the prevention of violence, (i.e. child abuse and neglect, community violence including youth violence, intimate partner violence, teen dating violence, sexual violence, and/or elder abuse).


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.

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 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 eligible within each category. Preference eligible 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).

• Behavioral and Social Science Knowledge
• Collaboration / Partnering
• Customer Service
• Data Analysis and Interpretation
• Data Collection
• Decision Making
• Health Intervention Planning and Implementation
• Integrity
• Oral Communication
• Program Analysis and Evaluation
• Public Health Knowledge
• Research (2)
• Research Dissemination
• Written Communication