Duties

Summary

This position is part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As a MATHEMATICAL STATISTICIAN at the GS-1529-12/13/14 some of your typical work assignments may include:

• Serves as a senior statistician.
• Applies objective and critical thinking to the analysis of complex problems as they relate to the counter improvised-threat mission.
• Supports this analysis with the application of a wide range of advanced statistical theories, concepts, and methods to include statistical inference, parameter development, modeling and simulation, mathematical programming, statistical quality control, stochastic processes, time series analysis, sensitivity analysis, and data mining.
• Applies software and statistical analysis tools (e.g., SAS, R, Excel, MatLab) to support these analytical processes.
• Plans, develops, and evaluates statistical methodologies used in the collection, classification, and analysis to support tactical to strategic level issues related to JIDO mission areas.
• Synthesizes information and relationships from diverse sources of activity including data from open source, operational, and intelligence reporting, comprehensively interrelating these into a coherent whole.
• Serves as a statistics subject matter expert and advises personnel, internal and external to the division, on the proper application of statistical methods.
• Serves as a study team leader/senior team member working with groups internal and external to the organization tasked to develop solutions to complex problems where initial source or research data are typically inadequate, inappropriate, or lacking.
• Exercises originality to define the problem, visualize the approaches, provide statistical guidance and coordination, and apply and extend new methods in the application of statistics.
• Work is performed through cross-functional teams, matrixed with military, government civilian, and contracted analysts and engineers.
• Prepares professional written technical evaluations and reports for supervisor and senior leaders within the organization.
• Prepares and presents briefings to senior decision makers (internal/external to the organization) that summarize results of studies and statistical methodologies in order to facilitate leader decisions.
• Develops and maintains a network of contacts and working relationships with relevant members both internal and external to the organization (DTRA, deployed forces, defense intelligence community, defense analytical community, academia, and industry) to exchange technical information, advise on problem solution, and advance the organization's technical capabilities.
• Keeps abreast of latest developments in the field of mathematics and statistics for possible application to assigned projects.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for or exempt from Selective Service http://www.sss.gov
• Resume and supporting documents (See How To Apply)
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
• Work Schedule: Fulltime
• Overtime: Occasionally
• Tour of Duty: Flexible
• Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Exempt
• Financial Disclosure: Not Required
• Telework Eligibility: This position is NOT telework eligible

Qualifications

In addition to meeting the qualification requirements listed below, the incumbent must also meet the Individual Occupation Requirements for the :

1. Degree: that included 24 semester hours of mathematics and statistics, of which at least 12 semester hours were in mathematics and 6 semester hours were in statistics.

OR

2. Combination of education and experience -- at least 24 semester hours of mathematics and statistics, including at least 12 hours in mathematics and 6 hours in statistics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluation of Education:
Courses acceptable toward meeting the mathematics course requirement of paragraphs A or B above must have included at least four of the following: differential calculus, integral calculus, advanced calculus, theory of equations, vector analysis, advanced algebra, linear algebra, mathematical logic, differential equations, or any other advanced course in mathematics for which one of these was a prerequisite. Courses in mathematical statistics or probability theory with a prerequisite of elementary calculus or more advanced courses will be accepted toward meeting the mathematics requirements, with the provision that the same course cannot be counted toward both the mathematics and the statistics requirement.
Evaluation of Experience:
The experience offered in combination with educational courses to meet the requirements in paragraph B above should include evidence of statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying known statistical techniques to data such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance.

Without other indications of statistical experience, work required in the processing of numerical or quantified information by other than statistical methods is not considered appropriate qualifying experience. Examples of such nonqualifying work include statistical clerical work; statistical drafting; calculation of totals, averages, percentages, or other arithmetic summations; preparation of simple tables or charts; or verification of data by simple comparison or proofreading.

You may qualify at the GS-14, if you fulfill the following qualifications:

A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service:

• Compiling objective data for acquisition decisions, studies, system comparisons, analytic models, or war games.
• Providing support by developing statistics, performing standard statistical tests and conducting exploratory analyses.
• Consolidating ill-defined problems with limited available data into executable tasks, research designs, and study methods.
• Applying commonly available statistical analysis and software tools to extract, maintain, and transform large, complex data sets, to include conceptualizing and programming methods for data analysis and presentation.
• Leading teams by managing the workload and by coaching and mentoring team members.
• Performing tasks to correct deficiencies or to improve the performance of systems, processes, or operations.

You may qualify at the GS-13, if you fulfill the following qualifications :

A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service

• Consolidating ill-defined problems with limited available data into executable tasks, research designs, and study methods.
• Applying commonly available statistical analysis and software tools to extract, maintain, and transform large, complex data sets, to include conceptualizing and programming methods for data analysis and presentation.
• Leading teams by managing the workload and by coaching and mentoring team members.
• Performing tasks to correct deficiencies or to improve the performance of systems, processes, or operations.

You may qualify at the GS-12, if you fulfill the following qualifications:

A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service

• A high functioning member of an analytic or cross-functional team, leading portions of the analysis independently under supervision
• Performing tasks to correct deficiencies or to improve the performance of systems, processes, or operations.

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.

*NOTE: Failure to provide transcripts will result in you being rated ineligible for this position.

Education

Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.

ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: unofficial transcripts are acceptable at time of application.

All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: 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; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: Foreign Education

Additional information

For more information, please visit Required Supporting Documentation: http://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/Careers/downloads/FourthEstateRequiredSupportingDocumentation.pdf?ver=2019-02-08-123333-753

All applicants must meet qualifications and eligibility criteria by the closing date of the announcement.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs: This program applies to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. For more information:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documents, to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and evaluate your relevant work experiences as it relates to fundamental competencies, identified below, required for this position.

Competencies:

• Data Analysis, Systems Analysis and System Architecture Writing and Speaking
• Problem Solving
• Technical Credibility
• Technical Expertise
• Writing and Speaking

Based on the results of this evaluation, you will be placed in one of the following quality categories:

Best Qualified: This highest category will be used for those candidates who possess the type and quality of experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position, including any selective placement factors and/or appropriate quality ranking factor(s), as determined by the job analysis.
Highly Qualified: This higher category will be used for those candidates who possess the type and quality of experience that exceed the minimum qualifications of the position, including any selective placement factors and/or appropriate quality ranking factor(s) as determined by the job analysis.
Qualified: This lowest category will be used for those candidates that meet the minimum qualifications of the position, including all selective placement factors and appropriate quality ranking factor(s) and are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the position. Candidates may require extensive training and/or orientation in order to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/#url=Category-Rating

Names of the candidates in the Best Qualified category will be sent first to the hiring manager for employment consideration. Applicants in other categories will be referred in accordance with category rating procedures.

Veterans Preference: If you are entitled to veterans preference, you should indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming on your resume. Your veterans' preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency. If you are entitled to veterans' preference and qualified for the position, your name will be placed above non-preference candidates on a list sent to the hiring manager for employment consideration. Qualified veterans' preference eligible with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category depending on the position and grade level of the job.
For information on entitlement see http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

Military Spouse Preference: If you are entitled to military spouse preference, in order to receive this preference you must choose the spousal eligibility in your application package referencing MSP Military Spouse Preference. Your preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency. If you are claiming military spouse preference and qualified for the position, your name will be placed below preference eligible veteran candidates and above non-preference candidates on a list sent to the hiring manager for employment consideration. To claim Military Spouse Preference (MSP) please complete the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk

Trust determination process
National security

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc).
Your complete application includes your COMPLETE resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

The following documents are REQUIRED:
1. Your resume:

• Your resume may be submitted on any format. It must include your name and contact information and support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain the number of hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., "HRS per week and month/year to month/year" or "HRS per week and month/year to present").
• For additional information see: What to include in your resume

2. Transcripts:

• This position has a degree or education requirement so you are required to submit a copy of your transcript

3. Veteran's Documents:

If applying using veteran's preference or under a Veteran's hiring authority you must submit the following documents

• DD214 showing character of service, SF-15 Form and VA letter showing final percentage, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty.

PLEASE REVIEW THE BELOW LINK OR OTHER SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS needed for proof of eligibility: http://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/Careers/downloads/FourthEstateRequiredSupportingDocumentation.pdf?ver=2019-02-08-123333-753

If you are claiming Military Spouse Preference, you must submit supporting documents with your application package. These documents must provide acceptable information to verify: you reside within the commuting area of your sponsor's permanent duty station (PDS); proof of marriage to the active duty sponsor, proof of military member's active duty status, and other documentation required by the vacancy announcement to which you are applying; and must meet all pre-employment criteria and be eligible for immediate noncompetitive appointment to a position in the competitive service. Documentation required: Marriage Certificate or License, Signed Self-Certification Checklist, Veterans' Preference documentation (e.g., DD-214, VA Letter, Statement of Service, if applicable), Transcripts (if applicable). Additional documentation required if previously held a federal position: SF-50s (e.g., LWOP, highest grade held, overseas appointments, etc.), SF-75 Information, and documentation of performance rating of record (dated within the last 12 months)

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.