Operations Research Analyst - Direct Hire Job in Woodlawn, MD

Vacancy No. SH12667024 - DHA Department Social Security Administration
Salary $167,603.00 to $195,200.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/14/2025 Close Date 1/16/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Woodlawn, MD


Summary

This position is located in the Office of Analytics and Improvements (OAI), the Division of Analytics Center of Excellence (DACE). The incumbent serves as a Senior Operations Research Analyst) which provides centralized, highly skilled data analytics resources to assist agency components to conduct deep-dive analytics and research projects.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens. Duty Location and residency/commuting requirement: Woodlawn, MD; This is not a fully virtual/remote position - selectee will be required to reside within a two hour maximum commuting distance from the SSA Headquarters campus located in Woodlawn, MD and report onsite at least 3 days per week.

Duties

  • Responsible and accountable for providing leadership and direction in the design of operations research studies of performance management, operations and workload issues in the area of strategic planning,
  • [cont'd] strategic thinking, performance improvement, and business analytics using experimentation and innovation to carry out the agency's strategic planning activities as mandated by the Administration and Congress.
  • Serves as a technical expert on business/data analytics and provides support and assistance to on research studies and data analysis.
  • Performs complex data analyses resulting in comprehensive management information reports that highlight agency progress toward performance objectives.
  • Provides agency guidance, coordinates development, and ensures completion of strategic agency documents, program performance measurement systems and ad-hoc reports in compliance with the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010.
  • Provides expert statistical advice and support to SSA components on study design, sample selection, variance calculations, hypothesis testing, and deep dive data analysis.
  • Oversees the development and application of statistical profiling techniques to operational workloads to improve targeting of resources, quality of operations.
  • Provides expertise on the full range of operations research techniques, such as modeling and profiling, to improve operating efficiencies within SSA.
  • Ensures that the appropriate security measures are taken for the facility, operational activity, or both for which the incumbent has management and/or supervisory responsibility.
  • This announcement serves as public notice. Applications submitted be placed into a pool and will remain on file for selection as positions become available.
  • Vacancies may be filled for up to 6 months after the closing date of this announcement. Applicants may not receive notifications of referral status until the full 6-month eligibility period has elapsed.
  • Applications may be gathered from additional recruitment sources. These will be added to the pool created by this announcement.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
  • Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required
  • Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results
  • Selectees may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement

Qualifications

HOW TO QUALIFY: Eligible applicants must meet the following qualification requirements.

This position has an Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR)

Basic Requirements of the IOR: Applicants must possess ONE of the following:

A: Degree: In Operations Research

OR

At least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistics. At least 3 of the 24 semester hours must have been in calculus.

To satisfy the educational requirement, you must submit a copy of your transcripts that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion.

Qualification standards and additional information for this position can be found here: OPM Statistics Series 1515

In addition to the minimum requirements listed above, applicants must meet the specialized experience statement for this series at the GS-15 grade level:

To Qualify for the GS-15 Grade Level:

Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at or equivalent to the Federal GS-14 level (or above) that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such experience must include analysis of management problems to find solutions that improve operations by directing and designing operation research studies of performance/workload management through strategic planning using business analytics, mathematical statistical theories, modeling, and operations research techniques.

Duties of this nature should be typical of your everyday work. If you perform this kind of work, your resume must provide details of the actual duties you perform that demonstrate the requirements above. Reviewers cannot assume you perform duties you don't describe.

Education

Providing Proof of Education
For information on providing proof of education, visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1500/operations-research-series-1515/.

To satisfy the educational requirement, submit a copy of your transcripts that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. Unofficial transcripts or screenshots of electronic/web transcripts with the required information will be accepted at the time of application. You must submit your transcripts according to the application submission details of this announcement. Documents will not be accepted via email or regular mail. If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of the personnel action placing you into the new position.

Foreign Education: If your transcripts show education completed in foreign colleges or universities, you must also provide documentation that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Note: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school you attended has determined to represent one year of study. If this information cannot be obtained from your school, we will consider 18 semester/27 quarter hours to be equal to one year of full-time study.

Additional information

STEM position(s) are being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's delegated Direct Hire Authority, open to all U.S. citizens. Selections made under this bulletin will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the civil service. Under the provisions of the Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and the "Rule of Three" do not apply.

Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement. This Direct Hire announcement may be used to fill the same or similar position in another office.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

This position may be eligible for telework in accordance with agency and office policy.

Duty Location and residency/commuting requirement: Woodlawn, MD; This is not a fully virtual/remote position - selectee(s) will be required to reside within a two hour maximum commuting distance from the SSA Headquarters campus located in Woodlawn, MD and report onsite at least 3 days per week.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

Benefits

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.

Review our 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.

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 for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

SEE THE QUALIFICATIONS SECTION ABOVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR RESUME MUST DEMONSTRATE.

SEE THE QUALIFICATIONS and EDUCATION SECTIONS ABOVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR TRANSCRIPT(S) MUST DEMONSTRATE.

The experience you claim is subject to verification by the selecting official.

You may be asked to provide specific examples or documentation of experience to support your answers or may be required to verify a response by a practical demonstration of your claimed ability to perform a task.

Your claimed education must be fully documented with a copy of the transcript(s) that demonstrate the education requirements; applicants combining education and experience must provide all documents to support that claim.

If you claim federal experience you must show your grade at the time the experience was gained, as well as the complete dates (month/day/year) you were at each grade.

See the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS section below for information on the additional documents needed to support your application.https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12667024

Required Documents

You must also submit ALL supporting documentation by the closing date of the vacancy announcement to claim certain types of preference.

INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP): ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority for competitive service vacancies. To receive selection priority, candidates must meet the requirements for the Well Qualified. Well-qualified is defined as having knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Candidates must also provide:

  • proof of eligibility with your application. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation Notice of Personnel Action, (SF-50); and
  • proof of your most recent performance rating of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent.
For more information visit http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

Veteran's preference does not apply under this Direct Hire Authority for STEM positions.

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.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:

  1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
  2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
  3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.

You may update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period by returning to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

If you use assistive software or an adaptive device, or you are experiencing some other type of technical difficulty and/or otherwise require assistance with the application process, please contact OPE Staffing DCARO at OPE.Staffing.DCARO@ssa.gov.

Individuals with hearing or speech disabilities may use the listed email or 7-1-1 for TTY-based Telecommunications Relay Services to call the listed phone number. Additional Telecommunications Relay Services options are available in each state: https://www.fcc.gov/general/trs-state-and-territories

Due to our security procedures, our office will not accept any applications submitted via email or standard mail. The email address is listed only for inquiries about the position or the How to Apply process.

Agency contact information

OPE Staffing DCARO
Address
DCARO - OAI
6401 Security Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21235
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once you have successfully submitted all of the required application materials and assessments, you can expect to receive at least two or more of the following email notifications concerning your application status: (1) Receipt of application; (2) Qualifications status and whether your application has been Referred/Not Referred to the selecting official; and (3) Selection status for the position.

Selection interviews may be conducted with one or more of the candidates, but there is no requirement that interviews be conducted. The hiring office will contact candidates directly for interviews. Interviews may be conducted via video conferencing software, if technically feasible. Applicants referred for consideration will receive a final disposition notice after selections have been made.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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