Duties

Summary

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? Visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov .
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Responsibilities

WHAT IS THE WAGE AND INVESTMENTDIVISION?
A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions

The following are the duties of this position at the full working level. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

• Develops social economic and social psychology studies, using social science methods, to identify behavioral segments and profiles of taxpayer behavior.
• Performs a wide variety of duties involving social economics and social psychology to determine conclusions.
• Assumes technical responsibility for various phases of initiation, formulation, planning, execution, and control of major social psychology and social economic studies or continuous projects to recognize and evaluate significant and critical factors, to solve complex problems and to draw rational inferences based on research findings.
• Develops, analyzes, and presents social science information statistically, recognizing and adopting new techniques to fit the needs of research projects and prepares comprehensive reports necessary for the successful completion of assignments.
• Applies social economic and social psychology methods to tax administration research, including tax compliance. Such methods include social marketing, social norms marketing, anthropological marketing, and metaphor marketing.

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

- We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Additional jobs may be filled.
- The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the minimum locality pay up to maximum locality pay for all duty locations listed. The range will be adjusted for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages .
- This is a Bargaining unit position.
- Tour of Duty: Monday - Friday, 8:00.a.m. - 4:30.p.m.
- Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours or telework may be available.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
- A 1-year probationary period is required.
- Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
- Undergo an income tax verification and review of prior performance/conduct.
- Must successfully complete a background investigation, including a FBI criminal history record check (fingerprint check).
- Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
- If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
- Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9 . Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies.
- Provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. (Birth certificate showing birth in the U.S; Unexpired U.S. Passport; Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization; or Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen (Form FS-240))
- Relocation expenses - No
- Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.

Qualifications

Federal experience is not required. The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or Volunteer Service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-timework is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:

BASIC REQUIREMENT : GS-5/BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL GRADES/IOR: To be minimally qualified for this position you must meet the basic requirements. A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university 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.

GS-7 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION: In addition to meeting the basic requirements above, you must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: experience that demonstrates the use of standard methods and principles of social economics and social psychology and their application to tax return statistics, and related research projects; Experience using basic social economic and social psychology research and study design and administration processes from the formulation of concepts through specification and analysis of output to the presentation of conclusions; Experience assisting with reporting on social science projects, data and findings and assisting with creating presentation graphics displaying social science data and findings; Experience using basic standard statistical principles and practices sufficient to perform developmental assignments; Experience using basic computer programming languages and statistical software packages.
OR
1 year of graduate level education at an accredited college or university in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
Superior Academic Achievement may be met by having a Bachelor's degree, with one of the following: A GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last two years of study, or a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all courses in your major field of study or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of study, or rank in the upper one third of your class in the college, university, or major subdivision, or membership in a national honor society recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.

GS-9 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION: In addition to meeting the basic requirements above, you must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: experience demonstrating the use of standard methods and principles of social economics and social psychology and their application to tax return statistics and related research projects; Experience using basic social economic and social psychology research and study design and administration processes from the planning and formulation of concepts through specification and analysis of output to the presentation of conclusions and control of the studies; Experience using basic standard statistical principles and practices sufficient to perform developmental assignments; Experience should include assisting in performing social psychology, and social economics research, and interpreting pertinent information and transforming research into statistical and tax literature for data and social psychology research methodology; Experience entering social science data into databases; assisting with statistical analysis of social science or business data; Experience using basic computer programming languages and statistical software packages.
OR
A Master's or equivalent graduate degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

GS-11 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION: In addition to meeting the basic requirements above, you must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: experience demonstrating the use of practical technical methods and principles of social psychology and social economics in order to apply these methods, principles, and applications to research projects; experience applying scientific methods, some methods include: structured and unstructured interviewing techniques, focus groups, social surveys, social psychological studies, behavioral analyses, ethnographic designs, and participant observation; experience using statistical principles and practices on social psychology and social economic research procedures and techniques to research, develop, analyze and report results (orally and / or in writing) on social science or business assessments; experience using computer programming languages and statistical software packages to provide research products and develop tables and graphical materials; experience resolving a variety of conventional problems, questions, or situations and assistance in providing research conclusions.
OR
A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

GS-12 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the basic requirements above, you must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: demonstrating the use of professional methods and principles of social economic and social psychology to apply current application to tax return statistics and related research projects; experience gathering factual information to recognize and evaluate significant and numerous factors, solve limited complex problems within the assigned area, draw rational social economic statistical conclusions and prepare comprehensive reports; experience using social economic and social psychology research and study design and administration processes from the formulation of concepts through specification and analysis of output to the presentation of conclusions. In addition, your experience must demonstrate technical responsibility for various phases of initiation, formulation, planning, execution, and control of major social science studies or continuous projects; experience reviewing technical papers, articles, and other reports that use social science data for technical accuracy and proper application of social science methods and statistical analysis and resolving limited complex social science problems or errors; experience applying social science methods to tax administration research, including tax compliance. Some methods include social marketing, social norms marketing, anthropological marketing, and metaphor marketing.

For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards .

Education

For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

• Note: If substituting Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) for experience at the GS-7 level, please note that grade-point averages are rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. The Qualifications requirements above will reflect if SAA is accepted for this position and the online questionnaire will offer the option to select SAA as a qualifying response.

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page .

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.

Additional information

One (1) Position is located in W&I, Research Group 2, Washington, District of Columbia or Atlanta, Georgia.

Other Information
- If you are in a telework eligible position, you may be directed to temporarily telework on a full-time basis due to COVID 19. Employees must be within a 150-mile radius of their official assigned post-of-duty (POD) while in a telework status. Once normal operations resume, employees may be directed back to the office to perform the duties of their position. Telework eligibility does not guarantee telework; employees must meet and sustain IRS telework eligibility requirements and supervisor's approval to participate in the IRS Telework Program. As a reminder - If you are selected for a position, you are responsible for reporting to your designated POD (location) on the negotiated start date or as directed by management.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Rating: You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Planning and Evaluating
• Teamwork
• Technical Competence
• Writing

Category rating will be used to rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of two quality level categories, CAT A/B, CAT C depending on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, and training related to this position. Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.

Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Preference-eligibles will be listed at the top of their assigned quality group and considered before non-preference-eligibles in that quality group. Qualified preference-eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality group for this position. For scientific and professional positions Qualified preference-eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest category for this position, except at the GS-09 and above.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. Candidates, if required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring practices), will be interviewed in quality group order. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) , you must receive a rating of category CAT A/B to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

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

Trust determination process
Credentialing

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be provided with your application for this Public Notice:

Resume - For qualification determinations your resume (uploaded or created in USAJOBS) must contain hours worked per week and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Do NOT include photographs (or links to social media such as LinkedIn ), inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. ( Cover letters are optional.) Please view Resume Tips.

Online Application - Questionnaire

Proof of Enrollment or Education - For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

Registration/License (IF APPLICABLE) - active, current registration/license

Veterans' Preference (IF APPLICABLE) - If you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15 , along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference view FedsHireVets.

Military Spouses - You MUST submit verification of the marriage to the service member(i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage) AND (1) a copy of your spouse's active military orders; OR (2) verification of your spouse's 100% service-connected disability (e.g., VA Letter and/or DD-214); OR (3) verification of the service member's death while on active duty (DD-1300/Death Certificate). You are not eligible if you were not married to the veteran at the time of death or have since remarried.

Current and Former Federal Employees Documentation - It is recommended that you submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent personnel action form which shows your current grade and competitive service status.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) (IF APPLICABLE) - IRS CTAP eligibles can apply for jobs within and outside the commuting area. Treasury CTAP eligibles can apply for jobs within the commuting area. Find required documentation at: Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP).

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) (IF APPLICABLE) - If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.

Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you will not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).