Duties

Summary

This vacancy is for a Pathways Recent Graduate, Survey Statistician, 1530, GS-09 position in Any Directorate located at the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland, Maryland locations. The Census Bureau is accessible from the Metro Rail Green Line - Suitland Station.

This developmental position applies statistical theories, techniques, and methods while performing statistical studies and/or conducting related projects and programs.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Performs parts of major projects involving numerous or unpredictable factors requiring setting up and
  carrying out of integrated procedures.

• Assists in the evaluation of alternatives used to determine the appropriate methodology.

• Prepares documentation of procedures, findings, and problems encountered. Makes preliminary
  recommendations.

• Communicate complex technical issues to a variety of audiences.

• Plan elements of projects using demographic data from surveys or censuses.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
TBD - Full Promotion Potential (FPL) is determined after the successful completion of the RG program at the time of conversion. Upon conversion the FPL could be at the Grade-12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• You must successfully complete a background investigation.
• You must sign a Pathways Agreement.

Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

This announcement will close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the date the first (75) applicants are received or on May 18, 2021, whichever comes first.

The Census Bureau is seeking bright, innovative, results-oriented individuals to join our Recent Graduates Program (RGP). The Recent Graduate Program is a one-year program that targets individuals who have recently graduated from qualifying educational institutions or programs. Successful applicants will be placed in a dynamic, one-year career development program. Throughout the program, you will participate in formal training, job assignments and receive a mentor to develop competencies applicable to the Census Bureau's mission and needs. These positions are at the grade GS 09 entry level, with an opportunity for permanent appointment upon successful completion of the program.

TO BE ELIGIBILTY FOR THE RECENT GRADUTE PROGRAM: Recent Graduates must have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx Exception: For a person who has completed a period of obligated service in a uniformed service of more than four years, the degree may be awarded by an institution of higher education not more than four years before the date of the appointment of the applicant

To be eligible for conversion to a permanent or term position, Recent Graduates must:

• Successfully complete at least 1-year of continuous service in addition to all requirements of the Program.
• Demonstrate successful job performance.
• Meet the Office of Personnel Management's qualifications for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted.

This position is in the Excepted Service.

This is a bargaining unit position.

This position is eligible for telework; additional criteria will be required (e.g., supervisory approval).

A probationary period may be required. If non-competitively converted, the time spent as a Recent Graduate will count towards the probationary period.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Basic Entry Requirements for All Grade Levels:

MINIMUM GRADE REQUIREMENTS:

• 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, etc. 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, or courses in methods of processing mass statistical data such as tabulating methods or electronic data processing.

OR

• Combination of education and experience -- courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (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.

AND

Qualification Requirement: In addition to meeting the Basic Entry Requirements above, applicants must have the experience or education listed below or a combination of both.

Specialized Experience: For the GS-09, you must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service. Experience for this position includes: Demonstrated experience reviewing or analyzing data from a census or social science or demography survey. Demonstrated experience using statistical software packages. Demonstrated experience using statistical research to prepare a report or presentation. Planning and executing projects or programs with rigid deadlines.

OR

Education: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree

NOTE: To show proof of meeting the Basic Entry Requirements, all applicants MUST submit a copy of their college transcripts. See the Required Documents section for more information.

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.

Education

Additional information

Recent Graduates and their supervisors must sign Pathways Agreements setting forth expectations for the program.

To find additional information regarding the Pathways Recent Graduate Program, please visit the following website: Pathways Recent Graduate Program

The Department of Commerce provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Human Resources Office. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis. TTY users can contact the Human Resources Office via the Federal Relay Service, 1-800-877-8339.

***Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and individual states being in different phases of reopening, once the selectee becomes an employee, the report date to the official duty station/facility may be delayed until such time that management notifies the employee of their requirement to report. Until it is safe to relocate, the employee may be approved to telework to the maximum extent possible, up to and including full-time.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the job opportunity announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions) and place you in one of three pre-defined categories. These categories are "gold," "silver," and "bronze." Your resume and/or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Candidates placed in the "gold" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans' preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed.

Preference eligibles will be listed at the top of their category.

The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

• Ability to work with social science or demographic surveys or censuses.
• Ability to communicate complex and technical program information in person and to a variety of audiences.
• Ability to analyze factual information, trends, and to write technical reports on assigned studies.
• Ability to use statistical software packages; experience planning and executing projects or programs with rigid deadlines.
• Basic knowledge of elements of methods and procedures to plan projects.
• Demonstrated experience reviewing or analyzing data from a census or social science or demography survey.
• Professional knowledge of statistical theories and techniques to resolve problems related to the review, analysis, and research of data.

For more information on category rating, please go to: http://www.hr.commerce.gov/s/groups/public/@doc/@cfpasa/@phrm/documents/content/prod01_009474.pdf

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process.

Do NOT include the following types of information in your application:

• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Date of Birth (DOB)
• Photos of yourself (if included on your resume you will not be considered for this position)
• Personal information: such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

A complete application consists of the following:

• Resume showing relevant experience; cover letter optional. Your resume should list your educational and work experience including the dates (mm/dd/yy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week. Your resume may be used to validate your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire. Your resume should also indicate your citizenship and if you are registered with the Selective Service System if you are a male born after 12/31/59.
• Veterans' Preference Documentation: Please indicate on your resume the type of veterans' preference you are claiming and provide the appropriate supporting documentation (DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.) to validate your claim. For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please go to: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .
• Eligibility Requirements: Recent Graduates must have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home
• Education Documentation: If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. This also applies to Census Bureau employees. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information.

You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html . You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

NOTE: You will not be considered if you fail to provide all required documents.

Documents:

• Resume
• Transcript
• Vet Documentation