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Social Science Research Analyst

Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
This job announcement has closed

Summary

We are looking to fill Social Science Research Analyst, GS-0101-7/9, positions in the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Click on "Learn more about this agency" for more details!

What is an SSRA?
Social Science Research Analysts (SSRAs) perform qualitative and quantitative analysis in social science areas. At CMS, SSRA's focus on human and health research.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/01/2023 to 09/02/2023
This job will close when we have received 150 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$40,082 to - $63,734 per year

This is the BASE salary for the position. Please see "Additional Information" for locality pay rates.

Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)
Remote job
Yes - This is a remote position; however, the position reports to a CMS Office location on a periodic basis.
Telework eligible
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel up to 5% for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Recent graduates
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
11 - Please see note in the "Additional Information" section.
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-CMS-RG-23-12111176
Control number
746559600

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Duties

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  • Utilize appropriate market research and qualitative or statistical techniques to identify ways to improve communication, outreach, and education to these program populations.
  • Interpret data including routine data tabulations and graphs; identify factors such as data limitations, biases, sampling errors, and inconsistencies.
  • Apply qualitative and quantitative methods when participating in the review and assessment of management program operations, policies, and projects determined to be high-priority.
  • Conduct portions of program studies and projects related to the mission of the organizational unit and agency.
  • Prepare and coordinate a variety of written products, including position papers and briefing materials for senior officials to use as background information on program policy-related activities.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or National to apply for this position.
  • You must possess a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
  • You must meet all program, qualification and education requirements.
  • You will be subject to a background and suitability investigation.
  • You must sign a Pathways Participant Agreement before starting employment.

Qualifications

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS: You must be ELIGIBLE and QUALIFIED in order to be referred to Hiring Managers.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Am I considered a Recent Graduate?


GPA Requirement: You must possess a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on the unweighted 4.0 scale upon completion of your academic degree or certificate program. (GPA 2.95 is rounded to 3.0 and 2.94 is rounded to 2.9.)

To be eligible as a Recent Graduate:

  • Individuals who within the previous 2 years, completed a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. Therefore, you must have completed your educational program no earlier than September 7, 2021. Veterans who were precluded from applying due to their military service obligation, begin their 2-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty. Eligibility for veterans cannot exceed 6 years from the date on which they completed their degrees (or certification). Therefore, veterans must have completed your educational program no earlier than September 7, 2017.
  • To verify your eligibility as a Recent Graduate, you must submit the following at the time of application: A copy of your unofficial transcripts from the educational institution you attended attesting to your possession of the required education. Your unofficial transcripts must reflect: (1) your name; (2) overall grade point average (GPA); and (3) Degree Type (e.g., Bachelor's, Master's, etc.) and Degree Major; AND (4) the date your Degree was conferred. Failure to submit proof of degree/certificate completion at time of application will result in the withdrawal of your application from consideration for this position.
To be eligible as a Degree Candidate for Fall 2023:
  • Individuals who are degree candidates for this current semester/term, i.e. Fall 2023, scheduled to complete a qualifying Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, Doctorate, professional, vocational or technical degree or certificate program AND degree/certificate has not been conferred at time of application.
  • To verify your eligibility as a Degree Candidate for Fall 2023: you must submit the following at the time of application: A copy of your unofficial transcripts from the educational institution you attended attesting to your education completed to date. Your unofficial transcripts must reflect: (1) your name; (2) overall grade point average (GPA); AND (3) Degree Type (e.g., Bachelor's, Master's, etc.) and Degree Major. If referred and selected, you must submit an additional unofficial transcript that confirms the date your degree was conferred before an Official Offer can be made. Degree must be conferred by January 31, 2024. Failure to submit proof of degree/certificate completion will result in the withdrawal of your application from consideration for this position.
Note: For those applying as Degree Candidates for Fall 2023, you will be required to submit an additional transcript that confirms the above major or course requirements and the date your degree was conferred. Degree requirements must be completed during the Fall 2023 semester and the degree must be conferred by January 31, 2024. Failure to submit proof of degree/certificate completion will result in the withdrawal of your application from consideration for this position.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Do I qualify at the GS-07 or GS-09 Grade Level?

In order to qualify for the GS-07, you must meet one of the following:
  • Specialized Experience: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one year (52 weeks) of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal government, obtained in either the private or public sector, to include: 1) collecting information that will be used to conduct studies or surveys, and 2) assisting in preparing reports of findings related to data analysis. - OR -
  • Substitution of Education for Experience: You may substitute education for specialized experience at the GS-07 grade level by possessing at least one full year of graduate level education. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended - OR -
  • Superior Academic Achievement: A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university AND one of the following provisions of superior academic achievement:
    • A grade-point average of "B" (3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale) for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. For example, 2.95 is rounded to 3.0, and 2.94 is rounded to 2.9.
    • A grade-point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all required courses completed in your major field of study, or those required courses in your major completed in the last two years of your undergraduate study.
    • Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university, or major subdivision.
    • Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. - OR -
  • Combination of Experience and Education: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements at the GS-07 grade level. The percentage of your total qualifying experience the education must equal to 100% to qualify for this grade.
In order to qualify for the GS-09, you must meet one of the following:
  • Specialized Experience: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one year (52 weeks) of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal government, obtained in either the private or public sector, to include: 1) Utilizing surveys, market research, or statistical techniques to assist with conducting studies or surveys; and 2) assisting with preparing draft operational or program policies. - OR -
  • Substitution of Education for Experience: You may substitute education for specialized experience at the GS-09 grade level by possessing a Master's Degree or equivalent graduate degree or at least 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D. - OR -
  • Combination of Experience and Education: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the GS-07 grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at the GS-09 grade level. Therefore, only education in excess of one full year of graduate level education may be used to combine education and experience.
ALL TRANSCRIPTS are required at the time of application to verify satisfactory completion of the educational requirement related to substitution of education for experience and combination of experience and education. Please see "Required Documents" section below on what documentation is required.

NOTE: If you are using specialized experience to qualify for this position, your resume must include detailed information as it relates to the responsibilities and specialized experience for this position. Evidence of copying and pasting directly from the vacancy announcement without clearly documenting supplemental information to describe your experience will result in an ineligible rating. This will prevent you from receiving further consideration.

Click the following link to view the occupational questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12111176

Education

EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the qualification requirements, all candidates must have the following educational requirements:

Degree: 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.

NOTE: A certificate program is defined as post-secondary education, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study (30 undergrad credits/18 grad school credits) that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum.

Additional information

NOTE: This job will close when we have received 150 applications which may be sooner than the closing date.

Bargaining Unit Position: Yes-American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923
Tour of Duty: Flexible
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure: Not Required

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce Executive Order 14043 Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a federal job announcement includes the requirement to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Positions with vaccination requirements under authority(ies) separate and distinct from Executive Order 14043 will be clearly identified. HHS may continue to require documentation of proof of vaccination to ensure compliance with those policies. Health and safety protocols remain in effect, in accordance with CDC guidance and the Safer Federal Workforce Task force. Consistent with current guidance, workplace safety protocols will no longer vary based on vaccination status or otherwise depend on the availability of vaccination information. Therefore, to the extent a job announcement states that HHS may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, this statement does not currently apply.

Remote-Out Positions at CMS: This is a remote position; however, the position reports to a CMS Office on a periodic basis (e.g. 1-2 times per year). Requirements to report to the office will vary and can be discussed at the time of interview. As such, your pay will be based on your home address. For more information on locality and pay scales, please click here. Your worksite must be within the United States and you must adhere to all regulations and policies regarding remote work at CMS and in the federal government, including the signing of a remote work agreement.

Base Salary Range by Grade:
GS-7 - $40,082 - $52,106
GS-9 - $49,028 - $63,734

For more information about pay based on locality, please visit the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Salaries & Wages Page.

Conversion Eligibility: Recent Graduates may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a career, career-conditional, or term appointment after successful completion of the Pathways Recent Graduate program. The position to which converted may have a full-performance level up to a GS-12.

NOTE - Full Performance Level (FPL): Employees selected for this position may be eligible for promotion up to the GS-11 level while in the Pathways Program and up to the GS-12 level after successful completion of the Program. There is no obligation to provide future promotions if you are selected.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Recent Graduate candidates will meet the qualification requirement consistent with the OPM qualification standards applicable to the position being filled. Recent Graduate candidates who meet all requirements will be placed in one of the following categories based on category rating and selection procedures:
  • Well Qualified - for those who excel in the evaluation criteria
  • Qualified - for those who only meet the minimum qualification requirements
If you are found to be among the top qualified candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

The category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three" but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans' preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent will be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of professional or scientific positions at the GS-09 level or higher). Veterans' preference applies to selections made under the Pathways authority in accordance with Part 302 of 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

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