Duties

Summary

As a Director, you will serve as the GSA official responsible for coordinating evidence and evaluation activities government-wide and for GSA, and serves as a senior advisor to the Associate Administrator for Government-wide Policy, providing advice and expertise on all GSA evaluations.

Location of position: GSA, Office of Government-wide Policy, Office of Evaluation Sciences, Washington, DC

We are currently filling one vacancy, but additional vacancies may be filled as needed.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Assures that office goals, objectives, policies, programs, activities, and initiatives are executed in coordination with senior agency officials and support successful delivery of the government's evidence requirements, including the development of an agency Learning Agenda, in compliance with the various laws, executive orders, and government-wide regulations.
• Responsible for executive level oversight and direction of the office through a staff of employees comprised primarily of technical experts; oversees collaborations with federal agencies to execute various evidence building activities, and academic, research, non-profit organizations that partner and provide services related to evidence and evaluation.
• Provide leadership and direction in the planning, development, implementation, and administration of various critical programs, strategies, policies, and initiatives for the Office; evaluates program needs, conducts workload assessments and develops appropriate resource strategies to ensure successful program execution.
• Responsible for providing technical and methodological leadership to assess, improve, and advise on evaluation activities across the agency; overseeing the agency's evaluation activities, learning agenda, and capacity assessment, as well as collaborating with, shaping, and contributing to other evidence-building functions within the agency.
• Oversee numerous interagency collaborations and related legal agreements, including interagency agreements, intergovernmental personnel act agreements, gratuitous services agreements, data sharing agreements, memorandum of understanding and co-sponsorship agreements; ensures that data are gathered, processed, and curated so as to produce statistical products with the highest standards of data quality while protecting confidentiality, privacy, and security.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Occasional Travel may be authorized for training and/or conferences.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• US Citizens and National (Residents of American Samoa and Swains Island)
• Meet all eligibility criteria within 30 days of the closing date
• Register with Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/31/1959
• Applicant must provide a college transcript(s)

If selected, you must meet the following conditions:

• Receive authorization from OPM on any job offer you receive, if you are or were (within the last 5 years) a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch.
• Serve a one year probationary period, if required.
• Undergo and pass a background investigation (Tier 2 investigation level).
• Have your identity and work status eligibility verified if you are not a GSA employee. We will use the Department of Homeland Security's e-Verify system for this. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of continued employment.
• Complete a financial disclosure report to verify that no conflict, or an appearance of conflict, exists between your financial interest and this position
• Serve a one year supervisory or managerial probationary period, if required.

Qualifications

For each job on your resume, provide:

• the exact dates you held each job (from month/year to month/year)
• number of hours per week you worked (if part time).

If you have volunteered your service through a National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, Americorps), we encourage you to apply and include this experience on your resume.

For a brief video on creating a Federal resume, click here .

The GS-15 salary range starts at $ 144,128 per year.

If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will likely be set at the Step 1 of the grade for which you are selected.

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcript(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcements to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment.

Basic Requirement: Degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with 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 demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

In addition to the Basic Requirement above, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 in the federal service. Specialized experience is experience providing executive level oversight and direction as an expert on Government-wide policy or corporate/company-wide on evidence and evaluation activities, developing and overseeing implementation of complex evaluations; interpreting and assessing guidelines, assessing program effectiveness, and analyzing and resolving unusual issues or problems; experience leading or managing a team of technical experts to support the mission of an Evaluation or Policy Office; providing senior-level guidance and direction regarding evidence-building activities and evaluations related to the Evidence Act of 2018.

Note: Qualifications are based on length and level of experience. Therefore, in addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours per week if part time. Qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, so failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here .

Education

Note: 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://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.htm

Additional information

Bargaining Unit status: This position is not covered by a bargaining unit.

Relocation-related expenses are not approved and will be your responsibility.

Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement as needed; through other means; or not at all.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will use a method called Category Rating to assess your application. Here's how it will work:

• You will be scored on the questions you answer during the application process, which will measure your possession of the following competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities:

Knowledge of multiple prominent fields within the social and behavioral sciences.

Ability to creatively apply research knowledge within the organization setting.

Ability to oversee a large portfolio of rigorous evaluations to include but not limited to managing operations, assessing evaluation and statistical techniques and outputs, and ensuring quality and clarity of all results and products, and overseeing dissemination and promoting utilization of findings.

Skill in applying, the theories, advanced concepts, and principles of the behavioral or social sciences to agency programs and policies.

Skill in thinking creatively about how insights from the social and behavioral sciences can be translated into concrete interventions that are practically feasible within specific federal programs, policies, or organizations.

Skill in written and oral communications to present sensitive recommendations to higher authority, to articulate positions/policy of vast technical complexity, and to represent the Agency on interagency committees and/or task forces as a recognized authority.

• Your answers to the questions will be used to place you in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified.
• We will verify your answers to the questions in your resume. If your resume doesn't support your answers, we may lower your score, which could place you in a lower category.
• Within each category, veterans will receive selection priority over non-veterans.

Additional assessments may be used, and, if so, you will be provided with further instructions.

If you are eligible under Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan or GSA's Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP/CTAP) , you must receive a score of 85 or higher to receive priority.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

ALL required documents must be submitted before the closing date. Review the following list to determine what you need to submit.

If you are claiming veterans' preference:
(a) Copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, DD-214 that shows the dates of your active duty service. If selected, a DD-214 showing your type of discharge (member 4 copy) will be required prior to appointment.
(b) If you are claiming 10-point preference or derived preference (a spouse, widow or widower, or parent of a deceased or disabled veteran), submit both of the following in addition to the DD-214: (1) completed SF-15 form; and (2) proof of your entitlement (refer to SF-15 for complete list).

If you are active duty military - Certification on a letterhead from your military branch that includes your rank, character of service (must be under honorable conditions) & military service dates including discharge/release date (must be no later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted).

If you are ICTAP / CTAP eligible - submit a, b, and c: (a) proof of eligibility including agency notice; (b) SF-50, and (c) most recent performance appraisal.

Current or Former Political Appointees: Submit SF-50.

College transcripts: If you are using some or all of your college education to meet qualification requirements for this position, you must submit a photocopy of your college transcript(s). If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment. For education completed outside the United States, also submit a valid foreign credential evaluation that substantiates possession of the required education.

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.