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Data Scientist-Direct Hire Authority

Department of State
Department of State - Agency Wide
This job announcement has closed

Summary

You can make a difference in the world with a career at the Department of State! As a Data Scientist, you can impact U.S. foreign policy goals by supporting data-driven diplomacy. 

This serves as public notice for the use of OPM's Direct Hire Authority. Applicants will be forwarded to the selecting official for consideration. We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/04/2023 to 12/08/2023
Salary
$112,015 to - $145,617 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
Washington, DC
Many vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - May require domestic and/or International travel.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
SharedCert-2024-0003
Control number
762494000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This public notice is to gather applications that may or may not result in a referral or selection.

Duties

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  • Serve as a technical authority on analytical, statistical, and programming techniques necessary to collect, organize, analyze, and interpret unique and highly specialized data sets for decision-making in the Department.
  • Participate in discovery processes with business owner teams and stakeholders to identify requirements, expected outcomes for new or existing initiatives, and the measurements of success.
  • Identify internal and external data sources, leverages new data collection processes and perform all phases of the systems development life cycle required in the design, development, and implementation of features enabling data access.
  • Provide technical expertise, leadership, and support to many Department and interagency interlocutors to ensure maximum achievement of product and program objectives; develop, implement and oversee new data science technologies and techniques.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  • One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
  • Depending on the job, a Secret security clearance or higher may be required.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/

Qualifications

Applicants MUST meet the required basic entry qualification requirements described below by the closing date of this announcement:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

Have an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science or field directly related to the position. The degree must be in a major field of study (at least at the baccalaureate level) that is appropriate for the position; 

OR

Have a combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major field of study (30 semester hours) as shown above, plus additional education or appropriate experience.

Note: You MUST submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement by the closing date of this announcement. If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you WILL lose consideration for this position.


IN ADDITION
to the BASIC REQUIREMENTS, you must have at least 52 weeks of full time experience demonstrating accomplishment of all the duties and competencies described below in order to qualify.  Please make sure your resume reflects this time required. 

Subject matter experts will evaluate your resume based on the competencies outlined below.   

  • Study Design:  Collaborates with colleagues, customers, and stakeholders to identify the appropriate data, methodological approaches, and designs.  Determine user needs and how they align to organizational objectives.

  • Data Analysis:  Conducts analyses using software and/or programming languages such as R, Python, SQL, or SAS to explore/group data, test hypotheses, predict outcomes, and inform decisions. Derive meaning from quantitative and/or qualitative data (i.e. datasets that may be large, disparate, unstructured, and/or complex).

  • Communication:  Translate complex concepts, findings, limitations, and recommendations of improvements into easy-to-understand products. Closely tie findings and conclusions into the original problem statement, and team objectives to communicate to both experts and nontechnical audiences.

GS-13: To qualify for the GS-13 level, your resume must show at least one year experience performing the competencies defined above relating to study design, data analysis, and communication.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements.

When an applicant has less than one year of specialized experience as described in the announcement, he or she may combine successfully completed graduate-level education with experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Generally, 18 graduate semester hours is equivalent to 1 full-time year of graduate study (your school and department determine what constitutes 1 full time year of graduate study). The percentage of specialized work experience (for example, 6 months equals 50%) and the percentage of graduate study (for example, 9 graduate hours for a GS-07 equals 50% where 18 graduate hours constitute a full time year) must total at least 100%.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.

Additional information

  • For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or OAA@state.gov.
  • If eligible, telework and/or remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.
  • Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Bureau/Office listed on this announcement for approximately 240 days. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

How you will be evaluated

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

This position is being filled through the Office of Personnel Managment's direct hire authority for Data Scientist positions. Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority, veterans’ preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply. For this announcement, all applicants will be forwarded to the selecting official for further consideration, and you may be subject to assessments during the selection process (e.g., technical writing sample or other work sample, structured interview, etc.). If you are selected, we will review your resume and required documents to determine if you meet the qualifications for this position, specifically the education, specialized experience, and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) necessary to perform the work of the position.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following KSAs and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

  • Knowledge of advanced data analytics methodologies.
  • Knowledge of principles involved in strategic planning.
  • Skill in complex problem solving 
  • Skill in communicating, explaining, or defending complex ideas or information

Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement.


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