Data Scientist

Clarification from the agency

All candidates who meet the following are eligible to apply for this job: Current or former federal employees qualifying as Status Candidates, Federal employees currently serving on a VRA, VEOA eligibles, CTAP/ICTAP eligibles, eligible for special hiring authorities (e.g., the Schedule A appointment for persons with disabilities, or covered by an Interchange Agreement, or Land Management employees eligible under Public Law 114-47).

HUD's Mission
The mission of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is to foster strong communities by supporting access to quality, affordable housing, expanding the housing supply, and unlocking homeownership opportunities for the American people. The Department is committed to furthering the promise of self-sufficiency in every American while promoting economic development to revitalize rural, tribal, and urban communities across the country.

This position is located in the Office of Community Planning & Development (CPD); Office of Technology, Innovation, and Evaluation (OTIE); Evaluation and Analytics Division. CPD seeks to develop viable communities by promoting integrated approaches that provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expand economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons. The primary means towards this end is the development of partnerships among all levels of government and the private sector, including for-profit and non-profit organizations. OTIE is an office within CPD that ensures that data analytics, data governance, and data management is operated according to CPD program guidelines/regulations and are implemented in the most efficient and effective manner possible by conducting quantitative analysis and evaluation methods where data is utilized by CPD.

As a Data Scientist, you will:

• Identify, adapt, and manage changes to data analysis tools in response to evolving user needs.
• Serve as a leader to staff on implementing, managing, tracking, and evaluating large scale and extremely complex data analysis projects and their associated requirements and risks.
• Define customers and apply system architecture principles to develop and manage business and technical requirements and achieve formulating, planning, stakeholder needs and constraints, clarifies objectives, develops resource requirements and the appropriate balance among resources, schedule, and technical requirements.
• Develop and manage an efficient project organizational structure and applies system architecture principles to projects.

Conditions of employment

Candidates will be selected for a job assigned to one of HUD's official duty stations. Failure to report to duty at the location for which the candidate is selected may be grounds for a disciplinary action, including removal.

Key Requirements:

• Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
• A probationary or trial period may be required. Continued employment is contingent upon supervisory certification that continued employment will benefit the Federal Service; the certification will occur no less than 30 days before the end of the probationary/trial period.
• Must successfully complete a background investigation.
• Public Trust - Background Investigation will be required.
• Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
• Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
• 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.
• Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
• Please refer to "Additional Information Section" for additional Conditions of Employment.

Qualifications

You must meet the following basic requirement AND specialized experience within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: To be considered for this position, you must demonstrate that you meet the basic requirement:

A. Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study that led to a bachelor's or higher degree in mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science, or field directly related to the position. The degree must be in a major field of study that is appropriate for the position. (Must submit transcripts that reflect relevant coursework.)

OR

B. Combination of Education and Experience: Combination of education and experience which included at least 30 semester hours (or equivalent) in courses equivalent to a major in mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science, or field directly related to the position, plus creditable experience. You must submit transcripts that reflect relevant coursework. Such education and experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation. (Must be reflected in your resume, and must submit transcripts that reflect relevant coursework.)

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: For the GS-13 grade level, you must have one year (52 full weeks) of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized Experience for this position includes:

• Collecting data through multiple mechanisms (e.g., surveys or systems) for data analysis; AND
• Preparing and delivering technical/narrative reports for making program decisions; AND
• Using statistical analysis to develop, manage, and maintain models, dashboards, and reports.

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 based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents) and the result of the online assessments required for this position. 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.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

A complete application includes:

1. A resume: All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.)

• USA Jobs restricts resume uploads to a maximum of 2 pages. Resumes attached in other sections (such as "Documents" or "Other") will not be considered in the determination of specialized experience. If multiple resumes are submitted, the resume submitted last (based on time stamp) will be the only one reviewed as a part of your application. To ensure readability, resumes must be formatted using an easy-to-read font (such as Lato, Calibri, or Arial) with a minimum font size of 10-points and margins no smaller than 0.5 inches. Failure to follow these formatting guidelines may result in disqualification from further consideration.
• To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume.
• For resume writing guidance, please visit USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?

• CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEES -- Documentation Relating to Your Federal Employment:
  • Submit a copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing competitive service as Tenure 1 or 2 (Block 24), Position Occupied as 1 - Competitive Service (Block 34), current Grade (Block 18) and Salary (Block 20).
  • Typically Award SF-50s do not provide the required information.
  • If the full performance level of your position is different from the grade indicated in Block 18, please provide proof of the full performance level.
  • If your highest permanent grade is different from your current grade, submit a copy of an additional SF-50 showing that grade.
  • If you are currently on a Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA), submit a copy of an SF-50 indicating that type of appointment. Also, you must submit a copy of your DD214 or other documentation showing dates of service and type of discharge and any other applicable documents such as SF-15, VA letters, etc.

• FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES (ELIGIBLE FOR NON-COMPETITIVE REINSTATEMENT):
  • If you are a former federal employee and wish to be non-competitively reinstated for a higher grade or full performance level than which you left federal employment, you MUST provide a copy of your separation SF50 (the "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2") AND the last performance appraisal you received from your federal employment which shows at least a fully successful rating. (Note: the Performance Appraisal or explanation requirement as stated above is in addition to this requirement.)

• SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITY ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS: (e.g., Military Spouses, Interchange Agreement, VEOA, Schedule A Disability, etc.)please see USAJOBS Help Center - Unique Hiring Paths.
  • In order to be eligible under one of these authorities, you must submit all required documentation as outlined in the applicant guide.

• LAND MANAGEMENT-BASED SPECIAL HIRING ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS:
  • In order to be eligible under this authority you must submit all required documentation outlined in this link: USAJOBS Help Center - Base facilities or land management agency
• VETERANS PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION:
  • Submit documentation to support your claim. For more information, please visit this link: Feds Hire Vets
• CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) OR INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS:
  • If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents you must submit in order to be eligible.
• EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

Next steps