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Operations Research Analyst

Department of Defense
Office of the Secretary of Defense
Office of the Director - Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Office of the Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE). The Director, CAPE is the principal staff advisor and assistant to the Secretary of Defense for planning, analysis, and evaluation of the Defense Program including formulating the force planning, fiscal, and material guidance upon which DoD forces and programs are based.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
10/17/2023 to 10/23/2023
Salary
$53,105 to - $122,459 per year

Pay range is GS-7 Step 1 to GS-12 Step 10. Pay table can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/

Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Pentagon, Arlington, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel 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
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
DHA-12148661-24-PLW
Control number
755281400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to the Public. Current Competitive Service Department of Defense (DoD) Status Employees.

Duties

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This is a Direct Hire Public Notice for the DoD Direct-Hire Authority for Pathways Post Secondary Students. Under this recruitment, applications will be accepted for each location and/or installation identified in this Public Notice and selections are made for vacancies as they occur. There may or may not be actual/projected vacancies at the time you submit your application. This Public Notice is to gather applications which may or may not result in a referral or selection. Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration. Incumbents typical work assignments may include the following: The below list of responsibilities reflect work at the Full Performance Level

  • Serves as a operations research analyst performing a wide range of high profile and sensitive assignments that ensure the effective and efficient functioning of the organization.
  • Resolves problems that include those that are long standing or with precedent within the organization.
  • Keeps executive leadership informed of critical developments and provides specialized advice about various problems or situations that may arise.
  • Identifies the most relevant factors and variables and performs sensitivity and risk analyses.
  • Provides specialized guidance and assistance in the management of complex projects, activities, and action items.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
  • Total salary varies depending on location of position
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment
  • Required to participate in the direct deposit program
  • This position is designated as a Testing Designated Position (TDP) under the civilian drug-testing program.
  • The employee must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI security clearance.
  • The employee may be required to work other than normal duty hours, which may include evenings, weekends, and/or holidays and/ or mandatory overtime.
  • Work may occasionally require travel (10%) away from the normal duty station via military or commercial aircraft.

Qualifications

Pathways Post Secondary Students: The applicant must be currently enrolled, in and in good academic standing at, a full-time program at an institution of higher education; and is making satisfactory progress toward receipt of a baccalaureate or graduate degree; and has completed at least one year of the program.

Basic Requirements:
The applicant must have an Operations Research degree; or at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistic, with at least 3 of the 24 semester hours in calculus. ***NOTE*** Submit a copy of your transcript, degree audits will not be accepted. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your resume and application materials should reflect your competency in the following KSAs. Do not submit a separate written statement addressing the KSAs below. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

  1. Mathematical Reasoning- Experience in applying mathematical reasoning skills in operations research, statistics, economics, mathematics or cost estimation.
  2. Problem Solving- Experience in solving complex problems with innovative solutions.
  3. Research- Knowledge of scientific research methods.
  4. Influencing/Negotiating- Experience articulating and/or negotiating very complex and/or sensitive issues with officials of diverse perspectives.
  5. Teamwork- Experience as an active participant of team projects or study teams.
  6. Written Communication- Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. Experience producing written material for senior leaders.
  7. Oral Communication- Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately; Experience briefing senior leaders in government and/or industry.
To be hired at the GS-07 level, applicants must minimally have:
  • Successfully completed 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-05 grade level or equivalent, which demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of the position, is required. You must clearly demonstrate in your resume that you possess specialized experience in following: established organizational policies and guidance to assist with the management of complex research projects, activities, and action items; AND/OR, working closely with senior leaders for the factual accuracy and thoroughness of the research analyses performed; AND/OR, participating in the development of appropriate models, which may require unconventional or novel approaches and techniques, metrics and measures of effectiveness.
  • Substitution of Education for GS-07: Have successfully completed one full year of graduate level education from a Department of Education accredited University or Institution (submit a copy of your transcript, a degree audit will not be accepted) OR Have Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) at the Undergraduate level.
To be hired at the GS-09 grade level, applicants must minimally have:
  • Successfully completed 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-07 grade level or equivalent requiring application of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the position being filled. You must clearly demonstrate in your resume that you possess specialized experience in: keeping executive leadership informed of critical research developments; AND/OR providing specialized advice about various research problems or situations that may arise; AND/OR assisting with conducting research analysis and evaluation of departmental programs within the assigned portfolio and in support of the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) process through the application of scientific methods including exploring and defining problems; AND/OR analyzing increased organizational knowledge and understanding of assigned portfolio by developing new theories to provide leadership with information to make critical program decisions.
  • Substitution of Education for GS-09: Have successfully completed 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's degree equivalent graduate degree at a Department of Education accredited university or Institution (Submit a copy of your transcript, a degree audit will not be accepted)
To be hired at the GS-11 grade level, applicants must minimally have:
  • Successfully completed 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-09 grade level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service or comparable in difficulty and responsibility to GS-09 if outside the Federal service. Examples of creditable specialized experience includes independently performing recurring assignments of limited difficulty and complexity in support of projects assigned to higher graded analysts. General operations research assignments for portions of a project or study consisting of a series of interrelated task or problems. AND/OR providing specialized advice about various research problems or situations that may arise; AND/OR assisting with conducting research analysis and evaluation of departmental programs within the assigned portfolio and in support of the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) process through the application of scientific methods including exploring and defining problems; AND/OR analyzing increased organizational knowledge and understanding of assigned portfolio by developing new theories to provide leadership with information to make critical program decisions.
  • Substitution of Education for GS-11: Three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree may be substituted to meet the specialized experience requirement.
To be hired at the GS-12 grade level, applicants must minimally have:
  • Successfully completed 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-11 grade level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, or comparable in difficulty and responsibility to GS-11 if outside the Federal service. Examples of creditable specialized experience include, under guidance of senior analyst(s), applies a range of analytical, mathematical, and/or statistical theories, principles, and practices to plan, coordinate, and execute segments of complex studies. AND/OR providing specialized advice about various research problems or situations that may arise; AND/OR assisting with conducting research analysis and evaluation of departmental programs within the assigned portfolio and in support of the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) process through the application of scientific methods including exploring and defining problems; AND/OR analyzing increased organizational knowledge and understanding of assigned portfolio by developing new theories to provide leadership with information to make critical program decisions.

Education

This position is developmental, and selections may be made at the GS-7, GS-9, GS-11, or GS-12 grade levels. Once eligibility and qualification requirements are met, selectees will be eligible for promotion at management discretion to the GS-09, GS-11 and GS-12 grade levels without further competition. Volunteer Experience: 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 to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.

ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY? You MUST provide transcripts to support your educational claims. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

Other priority consideration programs will continue under their current operating procedures.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

Washington Headquarters Services uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: http://www.dhs.gov/E-Verify

If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application. Please view the following link for information on how to obtain an alternative application https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?%20title=Alternate_Application_Information

Appointment Authorities: For more information on appointment authority eligibility requirements:

Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/

Employed Annuitants (Reemployed Annuitants): Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. /www.esd.whs.mil/DD/DoD-Issuances/140025/

Current or Former Political Appointees: Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from 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.

Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

Traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply to this vacancy. Your application (resumes and supporting documentation) will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required as listed in this announcement.

Note: Under this DHA, veteran's preference does not apply.

When the application process is complete, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and responses to the Occupational Questionnaire, along with your supporting documentation to determine your ability to demonstrate the following competencies:



Your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine your eligibility and qualifications for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

Your responses to the questionnaire may be compared to the documents you submit. The documents you submit must support your responses to the online questionnaire. If your application contradicts or does not support your questionnaire responses, you will receive a rating of "not qualified" or "insufficient information" and you will not receive further consideration for this job.

Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.

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