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Chemist (Program Director)

National Science Foundation
Division of Chemistry
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The National Science Foundation is seeking qualified candidates for a Chemist (Program Director) position within the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Division of Chemistry (CHE), Alexandria, VA.

For more information on MPS please click here.

For more information on CHE please click here.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/12/2024 to 01/02/2025
Salary
$169,430 to - $204,000 per year
Pay scale & grade
AD 4
Location
Alexandria, VA
FEW vacancies
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
Yes—Relocation MAY be paid contingent upon the availability of funds.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
CHE-25-12630656
Control number
823837300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from all US citizens who meet citizenship and eligibility requirements. Please see the "Other Information" section for further information.

Duties

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NSF Program Directors bear the primary responsibility for carrying out the agency's overall mission to support innovative and merit-reviewed activities in basic research and education that contribute to the nation's technical strength, security, and welfare. To fulfill this responsibility requires not only knowledge in the appropriate disciplines, but also a commitment to high standards, a considerable breadth of interest and receptivity to new ideas, a strong sense of fairness, good judgment, and a high degree of personal integrity.

The responsibilities of the NSF Program Director include, for example, long-range planning and budget development for the Program, the administration of the merit review process and proposal recommendations, the preparation of press releases, feature articles and material describing advances in the research supported, and coordination and liaison with other programs in NSF, other Federal agencies and organizations. Additional duties and responsibilities include:

PROGRAM PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

  • Maintains a healthy balance of support for all the needs of the research and education enterprise through program, division, directorate, Foundation, or interagency activities.
  • Manages program resources to provide optimal appropriate scientific judgment to insure integrity and consistency in the grant/declination process without conflict of interests, and with balance among appropriate sub-fields and institutions, and participation of all qualified scientists.
  • Incorporates cross-directorate responsibilities into program administration.
  • Manages an effective, timely merit review process, with attention to increasing the size and quality of the reviewer pools and insuring participation by women, minorities and disabled scientists.
  • Provides scientific expertise, evaluation and advice for other programs in NSF, including international programs, and other research programs, and cross-directorate programs.
  • Advises and assists in the development of short-and-long range plans, establishing goals and objectives for support of research programs.
  • Plans the budget for the program/programs considering past, present and future fiscal years, allocates resources within the budget by distributing scarce resources among major competitive programs, and manages post-award evaluation.
  • Controls waste, fraud and abuse.
REPRESENTATION, COMMUNICATION AND LEADERSHIP
  • Represents the Program, Division and the Foundation within the scientific community, with other NSF Divisions, with other appropriate agencies and organizations, and with the public, accurately reflecting NSF policy and positions.
  • Creates and maintains linkages to other NSF units and other Federal agencies in pursuit of the overall NSF mission.
  • Participates in staff, panel, committee and other meetings, providing input relevant to program area and/or Division.
  • Pursues affirmative action and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) goals.
  • Pursues and/or is responsive to assignment on special projects and temporary function teams across the Foundation to solve problems, improve staff communication, and effect coordination for special programs.
  • Contributes ideas and effort to improving the quality of policies and NSF's performance of the overall mission.
  • Develops policies and plans for strengthening support of research and education programs.
  • Provides information to the community on how NSF is pursuing its mission and gathers data and impressions from the community on the effectiveness of NSF's performance of its mission.
  • Prepares and disseminates a variety of informational documents which may include data on progress being made toward NSF goals, trends and opportunities, and budget plans.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
  • Establishes contacts and maintains active involvement in Program and related areas through participation in professional activities.
  • Maintains familiarity with salient current research developments.
  • Pursues individual research as workload and travel funds permit.
  • Expands administrative capabilities through training courses or assumption of new management.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

This position is outside the competitive civil service.

You must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

All online applicants must provide a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full/blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

This position is in the bargaining unit represented by AFGE Local 3403.

The Selected Candidate(s) may be subject to a background investigation.

Qualifications

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in Chemistry plus after award of the Ph.D., six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position.

The applicant will fill a leadership position in our Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) or Broadening Participation (BP) Programs, and provide technical expertise to at least one of our core disciplinary research programs. Applicants should demonstrate breath of knowledge regarding how REU or BP Programs are managed to be successful, and must demonstrate expert knowledge in a chemistry disciplinary research program. The ability to effectively lead individuals and teams within a collaborative environment is a must, as is the commitment to high scientific standards, high ethical standards, and problem solving skills. Experience in managing budgets and working with NSF electronic and financial systems is desirable.


Education

Please refer to the Qualifications section.

If your degree was obtained from a foreign institution, please also submit the certification from the Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals, or certification equivalency.

Additional information

Relocation expenses MAY be paid contingent upon the availability of funds.

It is NSF policy that NSF personnel employed at or IPAs detailed to NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign government talent recruitment programs. Failure to comply with this NSF policy could result in disciplinary action up to & including removal from Federal Service or termination of an IPA assignment & referral to the Office of Inspector General. Foreign Talent Definitions

This announcement is open to All US Citizens who meet citizenship and eligibility requirements.

Federal Appropriations Law requires that Non-Citizens meet certain eligibility criteria to be considered. Therefore, Non-Citizens must certify eligibility by signing and attaching this Citizenship Affidavit to their application. Non-citizens who do not provide the affidavit at the time of application will not be considered.

This announcement may be used to fill like positions in other organizations within the National Science Foundation.

NSF has determined that all of its positions are eligible for telework. Work suitable for telework depends on job duties; therefore, employees must receive approval from their supervisor for telework and have a telework agreement in place. Entering into a telework agreement is voluntary.

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 on the extent and quality of your experience, expertise, education, and research activities relevant to the duties of the position. In some cases, additional assessment processes may also be used. We strongly encourage you to specifically address the Quality Ranking Factors below. This will ensure that you receive full consideration in the evaluation process.

Quality Ranking Factors

  1. Demonstrates a broad knowledge of current research in chemistry, specifically related to one of our core disciplinary research programs.
  2. Provides leadership for the Division's management of the REU or BP programs and portfolios.
  3. Serves as a liaison to scientific community on behalf of NSF and as the chemistry community's representative to the Federal government.
  4. Communicates with members of the scientific community about what they envision- identifying new directions and trends in the field and writing with colleagues to help push the vision forward and shape chemical sciences.
  5. Selects top researchers and experts for the peer review process and manages proposal review at all junctions, including conducting fair and objective reviews and ensuring compliance with NSF regulations and procedures.
  6. Makes funding decisions and recommend awards to the most worthy proposals, ensuring that those funded reflect a diverse range of scientific opportunities and strong broader impacts (e.g., advancing discovery and understanding; promoting teaching, training, and learning; broadening participation of underrepresented groups; enhancing infrastructure for research and education).

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