STATISTICIAN

Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens

The specific duties of a Statistician within the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission include, but are not limited to:

• Identifying, documenting, organizing, and summarizing government and third-party data relevant to antitrust and consumer protection investigations.
• Generating data sets from qualitative data or surveys.
• Converting file formats, checking data contents, and conducting basic data quality checks to assure reliability before performing analysis.
• Summarizing and describing data contents clearly and accurately.
• Writing programs in Stata, SAS, R, or Python.
• Providing statistical, econometric, and other data analysis.
• Using Stata, SAS, R, or similar statistical software to summarize and analyze data.
• Using ArcGIS or similar software to geocode data, calculate distances between locations of interest, and prepare maps.
• Preparing clear and accurate graphs, tables, and other visualizations that effectively summarize data and results of analyses.
• Communicating professionally and respectfully with colleagues - both orally and in writing.
• Listening, clarifying ambiguities, and acting on guidance from economists and supervisors.
• Working effectively and proactively with minimal supervision.

Statisticians perform these duties under the supervision of, and with guidance from, staff economists in the Bureau of Economics.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. citizenship requirement must be met by the closing date of this vacancy.
• Position is subject to a background investigation.
• Males born after December 31, 1959 must register with Selective Service.
• You may serve a one-year probationary period under this appointment.
• Résumé and supporting documents (See How To Apply).
• This position is in the bargaining unit. If in the bargaining unit, this position is represented by the National Treasury Employees Union, Local 344.
• If selected for this position, the agency will evaluate your fitness and whether continuation of employment advances the public interest before extending your appointment beyond the one-year probationary period.
• You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

A. Degree: that included 15 semester hours in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology, etc. Credit toward meeting statistical course requirements will be given for courses in which 50 percent of the course content appears to be statistical methods, e.g., courses that included studies in research methods in psychology or economics such as tests and measurements or business cycles, or courses in methods of processing mass statistical data such as tabulating methods or electronic data processing.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience - courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance. In addition to the above, you must meet the requirements described below:


For the GS-09: To qualify for the GS-09, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-07 level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such experience is defined as:

• Preparing statistical data for analysis:
• Analyzing statistical data using statistical software (e.g. Stata, SAS, etc.); AND
• Utilizing statistical analysis and statistical software to assist in producing reports.

OR

Two (2) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree directly related to the position.

OR

A combination of graduate education and specialized experience as listed above. 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. 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 when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

All qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category.

Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies.

Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies.

Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies.

Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans' preference.

The category assignment is a measure of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):




To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13066392.

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes: 1. Your resume showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed. 2. Other supporting documents: - Cover Letter, optional - College Transcript(s)- REQUIRED - Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable (e.g., DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service, SF-15 Form and related documentation, VA letter, etc.) - Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency 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.) -FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit SF-50(s) that verify your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant. DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50. Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks' time-in-grade requirements. https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/service/SF-50/ - Schedule A- In order to receive consideration under the Schedule A authority, you must provide a certification of job readiness printed on a medical professional's letterhead and signed. For more information, please visit USAJOBS Individuals with Disabilities (https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/individuals-with-disabilities/)

Next steps