Duties
NSF Program Directors bear the primary responsibility for carrying out the agency's overall mission to support innovative and merit-reviewed activities in basic research and education that contribute to the nation's technical strength, security, and welfare. To fulfill this responsibility requires not only knowledge in the appropriate disciplines, but also a commitment to high standards, a considerable breadth of interest and receptivity to new ideas, a strong sense of fairness, good judgment, and a high degree of personal integrity.
The EAR Division welcomes applications from experts with experience in basic research who can help shape, invigorate, and manage the program that support basic research and education to further understanding of the structure, composition, and evolution of the Earth, the life it supports and the processes that govern the formation and behavior of the Earth's materials. We are looking for candidates with expertise in the following areas:
- Chemical Evolution of the Solid Earth and Volcanology (CESEV)
The responsibilities of the NSF Program Director include, for example, long-range planning and budget development, the administration of the merit review process and proposal recommendations, the preparation of press releases, feature articles and material describing advances in the research supported, and coordination and liaison with other programs in NSF, other Federal agencies and organizations. Additional duties and responsibilities include:
PROGRAM PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
- Maintains a healthy balance of support for all the needs of the research and education enterprise through program, division, directorate, Foundation, or interagency activities.
- Manages program resources to provide optimal appropriate scientific judgment to ensure integrity and consistency in the grant/declination process without conflict of interests, and with balance among appropriate sub-fields and institutions, and participation of all qualified scientists.
- Incorporates cross-directorate responsibilities into program administration.
- Manages an effective, timely merit review process, with attention to increasing the size and quality of the reviewer pools and insuring participation by women, minorities and disabled scientists.
- Provides scientific expertise, evaluation and advice for other programs in NSF, including international programs, and other research programs, and cross-directorate programs.
- Advises and assists in the development of short-and-long range plans, establishing goals and objectives for support of research programs.
- Plans the budget for the program/programs considering past, present and future fiscal years, allocates resources within the budget by distributing scarce resources among major competitive programs, and manages post-award evaluation.
- Controls waste, fraud and abuse.
REPRESENTATION, COMMUNICATION AND LEADERSHIP
- Represents the Program, Division and the Foundation within the scientific community, with other NSF Divisions, with other appropriate agencies and organizations, and with the public, accurately reflecting NSF policy and positions.
- Creates and maintains linkages to other NSF units and other Federal agencies in pursuit of the overall NSF mission.
- Participates in staff, panel, committee and other meetings, providing input relevant to program area and/or Division.
- Pursues affirmative action and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) goals.
- Pursues and/or is responsive to assignment on special projects and temporary function teams across the Foundation to solve problems, improve staff communication, and effect coordination for special programs.
- Contributes ideas and effort to improving the quality of policies and NSF's performance of the overall mission.
- Develops policies and plans for strengthening support of research and education programs.
- Provides information to the community on how NSF is pursuing its mission and gathers data and impressions from the community on the effectiveness of NSF's performance of its mission.
- Prepares and disseminates a variety of informational documents which may include data on progress being made toward NSF goals, trends and opportunities, and budget plans.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Establishes contacts and maintains active involvement in Program and related areas through participation in professional activities.
- Maintains familiarity with salient current research developments.
- Pursues individual research as workload and travel funds permit.
- Expands administrative capabilities through training courses or assumption of new management.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
This position is outside the competitive civil service.
You must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
All online applicants must provide a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full/blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
This position is in the bargaining unit represented by AFGE Local 3403.
The Selected Candidate(s) may be subject to a background investigation.
Qualifications
Candidates must have a Ph.D. in a Physical Science field plus after award of the Ph.D., six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position; OR a Master's degree in a Physical Science field plus after award of the degree, eight or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position.
Related fields include Geochemistry, Petrology, Volcanology
.
Education
Please refer to the Qualifications section.
If your degree was obtained from a foreign institution, please also submit the certification from the Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals, or certification equivalency.
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.
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 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
- Demonstrates technical proficiency within one or more of the listed disciplinary focus areas.
- Communicates effectively (oral and written formats).
- Has research, analytical and technical writing skills which demonstrate the ability to investigate a wide variety of significant issues and make recommendations and decisions based on findings.
- Committed to high standards of ethical conduct. The position requires a considerable breadth of interest, receptivity to new ideas, a strong sense of fairness, attention to detail, good judgement, and a high degree of personal integrity.
- Ability to work well with peers, members of the scientific community, science managers from other organizations, and related stakeholders (including international partners) to effectively develop program policies, plans and goals.
How to Apply
Applicants must complete and submit an application online at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) USAJOBS website at https://www.USAJOBS.gov. An account must be established at the OPM website following the instructions provided in order to apply for the position. Once you have completed the USAJOBS process, you will be re-directed to the USA Staffing system to complete your application process, answer the online questions, and submit all required documents. Applications submitted other than the USAJOBS online application WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED under this announcement.
- Your application and all supporting documents must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. Applicants applying online for this position will be able to apply until 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. Please allow adequate time to complete your application.
-If you encounter technical difficulties during the process, please submit a USA Staffing Help Ticket for assistance. If you have technical difficulties applying to the vacancy on the USAJOBS website, click on Contact USAJOBS. It is suggested that you do not wait until the last day to apply for a vacancy announcement. We will not accept applications other than those submitted through USAJOBS.
- As the applicant, it is your responsibility to verify that information entered, uploaded, and submitted is received and is accurate. Ensure that your application includes the required documents listed under "Required Documents" and that they are uploaded in the appropriate fields.
- If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of this application and hiring process, please notify the point of contact on this job opportunity announcement.
IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OR DATE OF BIRTH ON YOUR APPLICATION DOCUMENTS.
WARNING! Applications submitted online must have 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.
Next steps
You may check the status of your application at any time on the USAJOBS website
Applicants should click 'Track this Application' in the Applicant Dashboard to receive application updates.