Duties

Summary

This Statistician serves in the National Cemetery Administration, Policy and Planning Service located in Washington, DC, with delegated responsibility for formulating the statistical approach to meet mission objectives, and management policy and priorities.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Serves as the primary source of statistical analysis in support of NCA customer service analysis, statistical records and historical trends, documentation and in developing future projections of the ability of the Administration to continue high quality operations and expand service areas. The position requires professional knowledge of applied and mathematical statistical methods, and the ability to convey findings in verbal and written reports using non-technical language.

• Educates about new sampling designs, statistical procedures and methodological developments, and help apply new approaches to the field.
• Report findings to senior leadership within the organization, as well as assisting other components within NCA understand the findings, and incorporate these findings in a useful way in the development of future operational and continuous improvement activities.
• Communicate meaning and intent of findings using non-technical language such that leadership and operators in the organization understand the findings, and will be able to incorporate that information in operations and planning activities.
• Responds to ad-hoc requests and works collaboratively on analysis related to the mission of the NCA from a broad range of internal and external customers.

Work schedule: Required to work Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: May be available per agency policy
Telework: May be available per agency policy
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Washington DC GS-13 PAY RANGE $103,690-$134,798
Washington DC GS-14 PAY RANGE $122,530-$159,286

Position Description Title/PD#: Statistician (Data Scientist)/1505326
The full performance level of this position is GS-14. At the GS-13 level, you will perform similar duties but under closer supervision.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Relocation Expenses: Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.06/23/2021.

Basic Education Requirement:
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, 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
B. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience, as described below:
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience in statistical consulting, advising and analysis. Professional knowledge of and skill in serving as a consultant and technical advisor to senior management and other officials responsible for broad program operations. This includes formulating, amending, and verifying theoretical, statistical and empirical models and data from multiple application areas. The position requires professional knowledge of applied and mathematical statistical methods, and the ability to convey findings in verbal and written reports using non-technical language.

• To qualify at the GS-13 level you must have at least one year of specialized experience at the GS-12.
• To qualify at the GS-14 level you must have at least one year of specialized experience at the GS-13.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Communication
• Data Management
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Problem Solving
• Technical Competence

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; religions; 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: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the incumbent sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items, such as papers, books, or small parts; or driving an automobile. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Education

There is no educational substitution for experience at this grade level.

A transcript must be submitted with your application to show that the basic education requirement is met.

PLEASE NOTE: 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 (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html . All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. 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.

Additional information

VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/ .

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in alphabetical order.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• OF-306
• Other (1)
• Performance Appraisal
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Documents Required:

• Resume
• Transcript

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.

Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

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.