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USDA

Social Science Policy Analyst

📌United States🕑Full-time

2mo

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Basic Requirements

To qualify for the Social Science job series, all applicants must meet at least one of the following degree requirements by the closing date of the job announcement:

Successful completion of a degree in behavioral or social science, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

OR

Equivalent combination of education and experience that provided you with the 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 demonstrates you have acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

You must submit transcripts with your application. Please refer to the "Required Documents" section below for more information.

Minimum Qualifications

In addition to the basic requirement, you must also meet the minimum qualifications for this position:

Time In Grade

Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying). You must include an SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one) that supports meeting this requirement with your application package.

To qualify for the GS-13: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal and or Public Service. Specialized experience is defined as:

  • Experience using statistical programs such as SPSS, SAS, Stata, or R to conceptualize, design, and conduct data analysis of large-scale nutrition programs utilizing extant data sources (examples include leading the development of cost-benefit analysis of proposed policy changes, regulatory impact analyses, research briefs, and/or journal articles);
  • Experience producing written documents that describe the methodology and findings of qualitative or quantitative analyses of policy options (examples include decision memos, briefing papers, talking points, regulatory impact analyses, research briefs, and/or journal articles); AND
  • Experience interpreting, summarizing, and communicating findings to explain and monitor trends in large-scale nutrition programs (examples include using survey design and analysis, statistics, and/or microsimulation to produce materials like decision memos, talking points, research briefs, and/or journal articles).

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 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

See the Qualifications section for education that may be qualifying for the specific grade level.

Additional information

  • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
  • This position is being concurrently announced under Delegated Examining Announcement Number DE-12492300-24-TF. This announcement is open to all qualified candidates. Applying to both announcements may expand the possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information.

USDA is offering a variety of strategic workplace flexibilities which allow us to recruit and retain the best talent that reflects the diversity of our country, improve employee morale, and make USDA an employer of choice. In support of this commitment, telework-eligible positions may be eligible to telework up to eight days a pay period, based upon the duties of specific positions. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by Departmental policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

This position is included in a bargaining unit represented by one of the following: AFGE Local 2735, NTEU Chapter 226, 227, 237, 240, 255, 265 or 268.

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  • Help Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.