Clarification from the agency

Open to current and former federal employees with competitive service and status candidates; USPHS Commissioned Corps

As a Epidemiologist at the GS-12 you will:

• Identify and analyze public health issues and their impact on public policies or scientific studies or surveys.
• Analyze study or project implementation procedures for improvement; works with program specialists and/or scientists as appropriate, to develop more viable implementation procedures and coordinates with appropriate staff to make needed changes.
• Consult on, monitor, and measure the outcome of assigned programs through studies that evaluate the effectiveness of subject activities in meeting the needs of program participants.
• Participate with scientists and program consultants both in various aspects of the study or survey design process, including: conducts a search or review of the existing literature and data in a scientific area, and prepares and/or presents summaries for a variety of purposes, monitors internal review board clearances, designs questionnaires and other data collection instruments.
• Use established, modified, newly developed scientific and technical methods and practices, identifies and evaluates a wide range of conventional/unconventional health conditions in a specialty area.
• Plan, carry out quality control program and select appropriate epidemiologic methods to be used in quality control analysis.
• Identify inadequacies and inconsistencies in data; development of procedures and methodology to modify the data; and overseeing the modification of the data.
• Provide scientific advice and technical assistance to various public, private, and/or nonprofit health and/or health-related agencies and organizations for specific programs or issues where the type of resources provided, and/or the impact on communities is extensive so program needs require the application of advanced scientific and technical methods and practices.

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.
• One-year probationary period may be required.
• Travel, transportation, and moving expenses will be paid: No
• Bargaining Unit Position: No
• Drug Screening Required: No
• Student loan repayment incentive may be authorized: No
• Annual Leave for non-federal service may be authorized: No
• Promotion potential: Yes/No, 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.
• Public Trust/Moderate Background Investigation (5) is required.
• Time in grade (TIG) must be met within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.
• All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• 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 (GS-12/13): 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 (http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/)

Minimum Qualifications/GS-12:

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

Specialized experience is experience at or equivalent to 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 identifying and analyzing studies to coordinate the evaluation of scientific programs, methods, and policies relative to vital statistics data, surveillance, and statistics.

Minimum Qualifications/GS-13:

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

Specialized experience is experience at or equivalent to 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 applying epidemiological methodology to analyze scientific data from national surveys/data systems and formulate health status and health outcomes; interpret data to communicate scientific information.

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.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

• Cultural Competence
• Data Management, Analysis, and Interpretation
• Epidemiological Knowledge
• Oral Communication
• Public Health Intervention
• Research (1)
• Research Ethics
• Surveillance Systems
• Written Communication