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Data Scientist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration - National Center for Organization Development (NCOD)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The primary purpose of this position is to provide professional and technical leadership, coordination. and stewardship to VA stakeholders' (including field, central office and national level stakeholders') joint efforts and initiatives which focus on identifying, adopting and implementing best scientifically established, validated practices of monitoring and increasing employee engagement and effective leadership behaviors.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/03/2024 to 04/09/2024
Salary
$103,409 to - $134,435 per year

Salary will vary depending on location. Salary range included is from the Rest of US salary chart.

Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)
Remote job
Yes
Telework eligible
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBZY-12372395-24-TDC
Control number
784632700

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Duties

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NOTE: This announcement is open to current/permanent National Center for Organization Development (NCOD) employees and CTAP eligible only.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Duties will include:

  • Planning, conducting, and implementing all cross-program collaboration aspects for the continuing VA-wide program led by VHA NCOD Research Business Line: that is the program of organizational data-analytics and a full suite of related technical services, research, and consultation for VA leaders' needs.
  • Using advanced technical skills and knowledge of best methods, practices, and products.
  • Identifying VA stakeholders whose organizational role and mission includes involvement in organizational data analytics, reaching out to these stakeholders and negotiating/convincing them to join in putting VA analytic resources and initiatives together and collaborating on shared goals and shared mission aspects.
  • Assessing areas of shared and unique analytic needs, existing and lacking technical resources, analytic priorities, current and optimal distribution of technical and analytic expertise across stakeholders.
  • Planning future state of resources, expertise, and technology necessary to optimize shared goals in collaboration with partners/ stakeholders, and devising an overall plan/sequence, and specific steps/milestones, for transitioning from current state to the future state.
  • Advising on the potential benefits/uses of automation to improve the efficiency of program operations.
  • Analyzing and evaluating (on a quantitative and/or qualitative basis) the effectiveness of line program operations in meeting established goals and objectives.
  • Analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of organization based on data findings to improve operations.
  • Analyzing management information requirements to develop program or administrative reporting systems including the systems specifications, data gathering and analytical techniques, and systems evaluation methodology; combines, analyzes, and interprets large and/or complex data sets to develop data-driven organizational solutions.
  • Conducting in-depth analysis of data and disseminating the results of those analyses.
  • Conducting regression analyses, statistical analyses, modeling, machine learning, data engineering, mathematical programming, Natural Language Processing, auto coding and data visualization.
  • Conducting statistical analysis to make informed projections, data driven decisions, and recommendations based on findings.
  • Determining the best and most efficient ways to collect quantitative information and developing data required for use in the management and direction of programs.
  • Developing life cycle cost analyses of projects or performing cost benefit or economic evaluations of current or projected programs.
  • Developing management and/or program evaluation plans, procedures, and methodology.
  • Establishing procedures for data storage and retrieval.
  • Planning necessary quality checks and controls, organizing a reporting system, planning data dissemination systems, using tools, emerging technology, and various data sources to perform exploratory analyses on new and archival data sources, and exploring data using various means available to find insights and trends that may go undiscovered in traditional research.
  • Formulating guidance, policies and recommendation based upon validated practices and technical advances.
  • Providing scientific consultation and technical/analytic support for stakeholders in designing and implementing their local information strategies, empirical evaluations and related strategic communications.
  • Responding to inquiries from collaborating partners/stakeholders in VA (including central office and field), where stakeholders seek professional help with devising, launching, implementing, evaluating, and transitioning or sun-setting their local empirically-based (aka data-based) evaluation programs that address local and unique needs.
  • Representing NCOD and VA by speaking and sharing his/her knowledge and perspective during briefings, discussions, research conferences, and/or policy meetings (including at the national/VA headquarters level, federal level, and national or international conventions), on broad topics of data science practices and, particularly, on methods of evaluating workforce and management issues; recent findings in these domains; and scientific, data-analytic or technological solutions recommended.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

Duties continued:

  • Authoring professional publications which get accepted and published in peer-reviewed professional research journals-as a reflection and proof of the employee's advanced subject matter expertise and credibility, on issues considered to be of the most difficult and complex nature in terms of connecting their scientific/technical bases to their applied/organizational implication.
  • Speaking at professional conventions on topics of data science, at the level and from the perspective of a recognized authority for the scientific program of studies and for the translational/applied use of scientific findings to inform organizational action.
Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Mon-Fri.
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Virtual: This is at a 100% remote location
Position Description/PD#: Data Scientist/PD80795A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/09/2024.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Selective Placement Factors
Two (2) Selective Placement Factors* have been requested by the facility to help determine which of the basically qualified applicants are likely to be better qualified for this position. The selective placement factors for this position are:
1. Experience applying scientific methods of health science and organization development (i.e. knows how to evaluate properties of organizational data, do statistical data analyses using specialized software, e.g. SAS or R, and interpret the results using scientific models).
2. Experience designing and serving as a lead researcher (not as a coordinator or administrator) on scientific studies of organizational issues (i.e. studies using scientific models, organizational data, and statistical methods).

You must provide evidence of your knowledge, skills, or abilities that meet the above Selective Placement Factor in your Resume/OF-612 in order to receive credit.

*Selective Placement Factors represent knowledge, skills, or abilities that are essential for successful job performance and cannot reasonably be acquired on the job during the period of orientation/training customary for the position. Selective Placement Factors will be used for qualification purposes. Applicants with no evidence of the Selective Placement Factor present in their Resume/OF-612 will be disqualified from consideration.

AND

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT- You must first meet Basic Education Requirements for this position as described below. Transcripts are REQUIRED.

Basic Education Requirement
Degree: 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

Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major field of study (30 semester hours) as shown in paragraph above, plus additional education or appropriate experience. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED

AND

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS- In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must have specialized experience or directly related education as described below.

GS-13 Qualifications

Specialized Experience: 1 year of Specialized Experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

NOTE: To be minimally qualified for this position, you must meet 4 of the 6 examples of specialized experience listed below. Specialized experience is:
  • Experience assisting with managing research programs and health and administrative personnel.
  • Assisting others in implementing/consulting on research and management studies including review of their design, scientific method, interpretation of findings, and reporting.
  • Providing support for program evaluations at the national level through managing customer satisfaction survey data.
  • Working with quantitative data sets of organizational data using specialized statistical survey software (e.g., R or SAS).
  • Assisting with the creation of interactive data reports for use by executive leaders at local and national levels.
  • Assisting others in explaining the program office and agency's perspective on management issues and organizational practices to stakeholders, professional networks, and leadership groups in VA and beyond.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Research
  • Technical Competence
  • Psychology
  • Communications
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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, such as, papers and books.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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