Statistician

Summary This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (PLCY), Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS). Non-BU: This is a non-bargaining unit position. Responsibilities The primary purpose of this position is to leverage a variety of statistical and analytical tools to initiate and manage studies, execute data management and processing, support develop of statistical findings, and author reports to meet statutory requirements and inform DHS leadership decisions. As a Statistician, GS-1530-13, your typical work assignments may include: Selecting and implementing statistical techniques and methods to produce accurate and timely data. Planning analytical projects requiring application of statistical theory related to immigration issues with a specific focus on immigration benefits or enforcement. Selecting and modifying statistical techniques and methods to produce accurate and timely data for reports in various formats. All DHS-HQ announcements have a 5 business day open period due to the number of applications received. This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 100 applications have been received, whichever happens first. View common definitions of terms found in this announcement: Common Definitions. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications In addition to meeting the basic requirements, applicants must demonstrate possession of at least one year of specialized experience in public or private sector at GS-12 for GS-13. Basic Requirements: (A): Demonstrated possession of a degree that included 15 semester hours in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology. Credit toward meeting statistical course requirements should be given for courses in which 50 percent of the course content appears to be statistical methods (e.g., courses that included studies in research methods in psychology or economics such as tests and measurements or business cycles, courses in methods of processing mass statistical data such as tabulating methods or electronic data processing). OR (B) Possession of a combination of courses shown in A above plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should include a full range of professional statistical work such as (including but not requiring all) (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance. Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience may not be used for this grade. Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal government, performing duties such as: For this position, specialized experience is defined as: 1) Initiating and managing studies that included multivariate analysis, factor analysis, and forecasting of populations; 2) Independently identifying implementing improved methods of data management to include methods of data masking, data anonymization, and linking data across datasets using a variety of software packages and routines; and 3) Presenting statistical findings clearly as main contributor to senior leadership and/or in public forums. All qualifications and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. Note: Current or former Federal employees MUST submit a copy of their SF-50 Form which shows competitive service appointment ("position occupied" block 34 on the SF-50 should show a "1"), tenure group (block 24 should show a 1 or 2), grade, and salary. If you are applying for a higher grade, please provide the SF-50 Form which shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade (examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, With-in Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s dated a year apart within the same grade/job). If you have promotion potential in your current position, please provide proof. IF YOU DO NOT SUBMIT ALL OF THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CONSIDERATION AS A STATUS CANDIDATE. National Service 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 directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Education Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage on the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. Additional Information The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. Pursuant to Executive Order 12564 and DHS policy, DHS is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, conducts random and other drug testing of its employees in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. Headquarters personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions are subject to random drug testing and all applicants tentatively selected for employment at DHS Headquarters are subject to drug testing resulting in a negative test result. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration of Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation for Secret Clearance as a condition of placement in this Non-Critical Sensitive position. This review may include financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.