Duties

Summary

The National Science Foundation is seeking qualified candidates for an Interdisciplinary (Data Research Analyst) position for the Office of the Assistant Director within the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Alexandria, VA.

For more information on MPS please click here .

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Responsibilities

This position is in the Office of the Assistant Director (OAD), Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS). MPS is a complex directorate with five divisions encompassing the fields of astronomy, chemistry, materials research, mathematics, and physics, plus the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA). The five disciplinary areas represent the core intellectual foundation of science and engineering and, therefore, have connections to almost every other activity at NSF. The Directorate has responsibilities that range from its critical investment in the support of creative individuals and their students to complex facilities and instrumentation that push the frontiers of science and engineering.

MPS has taken a leadership role in attempting to integrate assessment of its investment, which raises the need for sophisticated e-business to collect and mine data from varied sources within and outside NSF. Support for MPS budget planning is tied closely with the expectations of impacting the nation to be globally competitive.

Duties: The MPS Data Research Analyst would be responsible for developing directorate-wide data administration, quality, architecture and analytics-ensuring MPS maximizes the value of its data assets to fulfill the missions of the directorate. This position works closely with the MPS Senior Management team to address and provide advice on the data resources and needs to enable MPS to utilize information to improve operational efficiency and support data-driven decision making and strategy setting.

Specific duties include the following:

• Support the MPS data analytic strategic plan in building capabilities to help the directorate gain insight and perspective on MPS data, and support both tactical and strategic decision-making.
• Align the analytic activities/initiatives with the MPS mission, monitor the progress of analytics projects, prioritize key strategic initiatives and projects, and provide unified data analytics and reporting services.
• Administer knowledge of NSF mission and grant management, proposal and award data & system structure processes, and string technical experience in data science, to advise MPS executive leadership on the directorate's data & analytic initiatives.
• Develop and implement an effective data governance structure in MPS with a focus on strategic data asset development and design data architecture to standardize how data is sourced, integrated, aggregated, and consumed across the directorate.
• Maintain and guide data management policies and practices to ensure data is available, reliable, consistent, accessible, secure and timely across the directorate to support the missions and activities of MPS.
• Establish data services, data-driven decision making and data sharing within MPS directorate.
• Serve as the MPS interface on NSF foundation-wide working groups as required and lead directorate-wide data analytics working group.
• Utilize strong experience with NSF enterprise systems and great familiarity of NSF proposal and award data structures, to identify technologies and best practices to help reduce workload and increase operational effectiveness within MPS.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
03

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Background investigation.
• Selective Service registration required for male applicants, unless exempt.

It is NSF policy that NSF personnel employed at or IPAs detailed to NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign government talent recruitment programs ( Foreign Talent Definitions ). Failure to comply with this NSF policy could result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from Federal Service or termination of an IPA assignment and referral to the Office of Inspector General.

You will need to successfully complete a background security investigation before you can be appointed into this position.

All online applicants must provide a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full or blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

This position is in the bargaining unit.

Please preview "Evaluations" section and "Qualifications" for additional requirements and Quality Ranking Factors.

Qualifications

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in a Physical Science, or Mathematics or Statistics, plus after award of the Ph.D., four or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position OR Master's degree in a Physical Science, or Mathematics or Statistics, plus after award of the degree, six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position..

This position is outside the competitive civil service.

You must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

Additional information

Relocation expenses MAY be paid contingent upon the availability of funds.

This announcement is open to (All US Citizens OR current NSF employees) who meet citizenship and eligibility requirements.

Federal Appropriations Law requires that Non-Citizens meet certain eligibility criteria to be considered. Therefore, Non-Citizens must certify eligibility by signing and attaching this Citizenship Affidavit to their application. Non-citizens who do not provide the affidavit at the time of application will not be considered.

This announcement may be used to fill like positions in other organizations within the National Science Foundation.

NSF has determined that all of its positions are eligible for telework. Work suitable for telework depends on job duties; therefore, employees must receive approval from their supervisor for telework and have a telework agreement in place. Entering into a telework agreement is voluntary.

The Selected Candidate(s) may be subject to a background investigation.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated on the extent and quality of your experience, expertise, education, and research activities relevant to the duties of the position. In some cases, additional assessment processes may also be used.

We strongly encourage you to specifically address the Quality Ranking Factors below. This will ensure that you receive full consideration in the evaluation process.

Quality Ranking Factors

Experience and knowledge in data science. Examples include: 1) Mathematical techniques to understand and interpret data. 2) Computational or programming techniques to create reusable and scalable solutions. 3) Interaction or visualization techniques to enable clarity in interpreting data and making decisions.

Knowledge of management and organizational concepts, principles, practices and techniques with expertise in project management and/or research administration.

Experience using at least two data science tools or languages in academic or professional settings. Examples include: Tableau, Neo4J, or GIS, SQL with relational databases R, Python, SAS

Ability to collaborate, communicate effectively and work productively with a diverse team, including the scientific community, peers, and co-workers at all levels to advocate program policies.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

All applicants must submit a resume in any format, and may also submit a cover letter.

In order to be considered for federal appointments, Non-Citizens must affirm that they meet the Appropriations Law eligibility criteria by signing and attaching this Citizenship Affidavit to their application. Non citizens who do not provide the affidavit at the time of application will not be considered. Non Citizens who are exempt from the Appropriations Law requirements due to their status as officers or employees of the U.S. government on December 16, 2009 must provide a statement with their application noting their exemption with documentation of proof of status as officers or employees of the U.S. government on that date.

You are strongly encouraged to submit a current performance appraisal and/or letter(s) of recommendation and a supplemental statement that describes how your background relates to the Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs) listed in the Qualifications and Evaluation Requirements section of this announcement. This information will be used in the evaluation process.

You should upload your letter of recommendation(s) or the individual(s) can email the letter of recommendation(s) to adsearch@nsf.gov ; please ask him/her to put your name and the job announcement number in the subject line.

Transcripts are not required; however, please indicate the year that each degree was obtained on your application materials.

All uploading must be completed before 11:59 PM Eastern time on the vacancy closing date.

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.