Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Center for Global Health (CGH), Division of Global HIV and Tuberculosis (DGHT), Deputy Director for Management and Overseas Operations (DDMOO), Special Initiative Branch (SPIN), Washington, DC.

This is a term position not two exceed two years and may be extended at the discretion of program officials.

CDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As a Health Scientist, you will:

• Responsible for developing policy and objectives, appraising programs, and initiating requirements for health science studies.
• Serve as advisor for the planning, design, implementation, and analysis of projects.
• Design, oversee, implement, and conduct scientific surveys/studies or projects to identify and solve health system related problems.
• Lead scientists and program consultants in various aspects of the study or survey design process, and other study support duties including analyzing and reporting of data and data dissemination to audiences.
• Analyze study or project implementation procedures for improvement.
• Provide expert advice and assistance for public health projects or studies.
• Consult with scientists, epidemiologists, statisticians, and other public health professionals concerning on-going and established studies or other projects where extensive methodological or subject matter interpretation is required.

Term appointments may be shortened or extended up to a maximum of four years based on the needs of the agency without further competition. Subsequent employment for CDC positions must be through the appropriate competitive process or special employment program hiring authorities.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• US Citizenship is required.
• Background Investigation is required.
• E-Verify: If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System. Federal law requires DHS to use the E-Verify System to verify employment eligibility of all new hires, and as a condition of continued employment obligates the new hire to take affirmative steps to resolve any discrepancies identified by the system. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is an E-Verify Participant.
• Direct Deposit: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• One-year probationary period may be required.
• Telework may be authorized
• Travel, transportation, and moving expenses may be paid: No
• Bargaining Unit Position: No
• Drug Screening Required: Yes
• Recruitment Incentive may be authorized: No
• Annual Leave for non-federal service may be authorized
  Research position: No
• Promotion potential: No
• Supervisory position: No
• In accordance with Executive Order 12564 of September 14, 1986, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is A Drug-Free Federal Workplace. The Federal government, as the largest employer in the Nation, can and should show the way towards achieving drug-free workplaces through programs designed to offer drug users a helping hand, and at the same time demonstrating to drug users and potential drug users that drugs will not be tolerated in the Federal workplace. The use of illegal drugs, on or off duty, by Federal employees is inconsistent not only with the law-abiding behavior expected of all citizens, but also with the special trust placed in such employees as servants of the public. All applicants tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and be subject to random, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident drug testing upon hiring. Appointment to the position will be contingent upon a negative applicant drug test result.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (external link) at the time the degree was obtained.

Minimum Qualifications:
Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-13 in the Federal service as defined in the next paragraph.

Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the position which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position to include providing scientific leadership in formulating, developing, implementing and evaluating scientific studies or surveys related to public health programs.

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 experience.

Education

Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the education requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/jobs/future-applicant-information.html .

Additional information

Additional selections may be made within the same geographical location CDC-wide.

The utilization of shared certificates within multiple Centers of the Center of Disease Control and Prevention may be used from this vacancy announcement for specialties to include but not limited to: Applied Epidemiology, Behavioral Epidemiology, Chronic Diseases, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Environmental Health, HIV/AIDS, Immunization, Infectious Diseases (e.g. Viral, Parasitic, etc.), Influenza, Malaria, Non-communicable Diseases, Outbreak Investigations, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), Surveillance, Tropical Medicine, Tuberculosis (TB), Viral Hepatitis, and/or Zoonotic Diseases.

If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming 5-points veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility. If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form.

For more information on veterans' preference see http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov ).

For information on "People with Disabilities" please see http://opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp
and https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/getting-a-job/sampleschedaletters.pdf .

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible see http://opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp#ictap . To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at 85.0 or above on the rating criteria for this position.

Former and present Peace Corps personnel may be considered to fill vacancies. Peace Corps personnel are eligible for consideration if you have completed at least 36 months of continuous service, without a break in service of 3 days or more. This requirement is consistent with section 7(a) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2506), which pertains to the appointment of Peace Corps staff (not volunteers) and is applicable within 3 years after separation from qualifying service with the Peace Corps. A copy of your SF-50 is required to support your request.

Peace Corps Volunteers may be considered to fill vacancies. Executive Order 11103 provides eligibility for appointment in the competitive service for any person who is certified by the Director of the Peace Corps as having served satisfactorily as a Volunteer or Volunteer Leader under the Peace Corps Act and who passes such examination as the Office of Personnel Management may prescribe.

To view the questionnaire, click on the following link:
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11224216

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document(s), 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.

Once the application process is complete, a review of the resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. Category rating procedures will be used to rate and rank candidates.

The category assignment is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Qualified candidates will be ranked into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified or Qualified. The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher).

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics).

• Data Analysis and Interpretation
• Data Collection
• Needs Assessment (2)
• Oral Communication
• Program Evaluation
• Project Management (2)
• Public Health Knowledge
• Technical Credibility
• Written Communication

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes:

Your résumé showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed.

Other supporting documents:

• Veterans Preference Documentation, if applicable
• Transcripts (REQUIRED)*
• Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable (e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal).

*Note: You may submit an unofficial transcript or a list of college courses completed indicating course titles, credit hours, and grades received. An official transcript from an accredited educational institution is required if you are selected for the position.

Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

For Résumé and Application Tips visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Tips.

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.