Duties

Summary

Bargaining Unit Status: Not Covered

Location: Office of the Director
Office of Planning, Policy Analysis
Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.

This is not a law enforcement position.

You are encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application package to ensure that you receive full consideration.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As a Social Scientist, you will:

Identify and analyze criminal justice data issues and their impact on public policies, statistical studies or surveys.

Provide organizational support on various cross-functional initiatives related to statistical data and other means of validating data to assess program effectiveness.

Write in the form of authorship or co-authorship of scientific articles.

Collaborate with analysts and statisticians to develop joint analyses and publications. Author publications related to analytical findings.

Participate in the syntheses of sociological and criminal data to be applied toward designing effective prevention programs and practice guidelines.

Serve as a technical expert to review, analyze, and develop quantifiable data based analysis and studies.

Serve as a subject matter expert on the evaluation and assessment of legislation, regulations, guidance documents, and other policy documents in order to provide recommendations to emerging and ongoing project trends in the field of criminal justice.

Provide in-depth reviews of studies in the field of criminal justice to ensure soundness and outcome findings are accurate.

Independently or as a leader of teams, provide recommendation to analytical internal studies of PSA programs. Develop methodologies and schedules and executes analyses, including assessment of risk, cost benefit, feasibility, and effect on current operations.

Represent OPPA and PSA in planning, evaluation and other efforts with CSOSA, law enforcement agencies and other criminal justice agencies in both the public and private sectors. Articulate PSA policy, provide statistical and narrative information and respond to special requests.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary period, if not already completed
• All applicants are subject to a comprehensive criminal background investigation, and required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice
• Status applicants for promotion must have 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade
• Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the close of this announcement

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic professional requirements, and specialized experience requirement below.

Basic Professional Requirement:This position requires a four-year degree in behavioral or social science or other related disciplines appropriate to the position; OR a combination of education and experience that provides you with the knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field; OR four years of appropriate experience that demonstrates that you have knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

You must possess one year of specialized experience that equipped you with the skills needed to perform the job duties. This experience must be equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level. Specialized experience is defined as developing, analyzing, validating and presenting sociological and/or criminal justice data information statistically to internal and external stakeholders. Demonstrating experience in authoring or co-authoring scientific articles and other reports by using quantifiable data based analysis, statistical studies, or surveys to assess risk, cost benefit, feasibility and effects on operational programs.

Education

Degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.If you are claiming education as any part of your qualification for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter semester hours earned.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that 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. For further information, click on http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Transcripts must be received on or before the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information

1.If you are an eligible Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) applicant, you may apply for special selection over other applicants for this position. Individuals who have special priority selection rights under the ICTAP must be well-qualified for the position. To be well qualified, applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and meet the well-qualified level (mid-level) of the crediting plan for all factors. ICTAP eligibles must submit one of the following as proof of eligibility for the special selection priority: a separation notice, SF-50, Notice of Personnel Action, documenting separation, an agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated, an OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated, OR a Military Department or National Guard Bureau notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. Section 833(h) or Section 8456.

2. If you are a current career or career-conditional Federal employee or former Federal employee who has reinstatement eligibility, you must submit a copy of your latest SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" and/or a copy of the SF-50 that reflects career or career-conditional tenure, or you will not be considered under the merit promotion process. Also, you should submit your most recent performance appraisal.

3. Veterans' Employment Opportunities Act of 1998: Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after 3 years or more of continuous active duty service may apply. If you are applying under this provision, please submit a copy of your DD-214 (unedited long version).

4. If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/59 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.

5. You can apply for a non-competitive appointment if you meet the basic eligibility requirements and you are eligible for special appointment such as those authorized for the severely disabled; certain Vietnam era and disabled veterans; returned volunteers from the Peace Corps or Vista , etc. Please indicate the type of special appointment you are seeking, if any, on your application and follow all other instructions for applying shown in this announcement.

6. Reasonable Accommodation, this agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of this application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation is made on a case-by-case basis.

7. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review in our office, in other Federal agency personnel offices, and on OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

8. Equal Opportunity Employer: The Pretrial Services Agency is an equal opportunity employer. Selection for this position will be based solely on merit without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status or other non-merit based factors.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your rating will be based on your responses to the job specific information provided in your resume. Your resume must clearly show how you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed below. Failure to demonstrate how you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities will result in a rating of "Qualified" by the rating panel.

1. Identifies and analyzes data segments of an organization's statistical studies or projects.

2. Skill in writing in the form of authorship or co-authorship of scientific articles.

3. Ability to lead teams, projects, gain consensus and establish and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders in a planning and evaluation environment.

Once the application process is completed, your application will be reviewed to ensure you meet the job requirements. You will be evaluated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training, job- related awards and supervisory appraisal of performance. If you meet the basic qualification requirements, your resume will be forwarded to a panel for rating. Category Rating will be used to evaluate applicants using the following categories to further determine which applicants will be referred to the selecting official for final consideration.

Best Qualified: Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a superior level on all evaluation criteria.

Well Qualified: Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a satisfactory level on evaluation criteria.

Qualified: Applicants possessing the specialized experience described above.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
1. Your Resume listing hours worked per week, salary, dates of employment and duties performed.
2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• College transcript(s), if qualifying based on education. Transcripts must include the school name, student name, degree and date awarded, if applicable. (Note: If you are selected for the position, official transcript(s) will be required prior to your first day)
• Most recent SF-50 or Notification of Personnel Action showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held (if applying as a status candidate with current or former Federal Service). (Award Notification of Personnel Actions are not acceptable)
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• DD-214 (member 4 copy), SF-15 Form and VA letter, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty from Veterans for consideration under Veteran hiring authorities
• Non-competitive appointment authority documentation, if applicable
• Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program Documentation, if applicable (e.g. Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.)
• Employees applying with an interchange agreement must provide proof of their permanent appointment.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.