Summary
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is a Federal Cabinet department of the U.S. government concerned with transportation. DOT informs public and private decision making with objective, comprehensive information on the extent and use of the transportation system, how well the system performs, and the effects of the system on society and the environment. The DOT collects data and compiles, analyzes and disseminates statistics.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen.
Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.
Bargaining unit participation varies by agency and position.
Duties
As a Statistician, you will:
- Work with economists, transportation specialists, analysts, and other statisticians in conducting analysis to identify emerging trends in transportation and in broad social, economic, safety, environmental, technological, or national security areas related to transportation.
- Initiate and develop projects concerning survey requirements by reviewing transportation policies and legal mandates, and consider their implications for assigned data needs, as well as the results and designs of other current or previous surveys.
- Work with other statisticians in identifying and evaluating sources of statistical and other transportation-related data, and prepare proposals for the collection of new data as an adjunct to established data collection programs or for the preparation of special tabulations of data presently available in a form other than that desired.
- Conduct research into non-traditional data collection methods emphasizing the utility of administrative records and auxiliary datasets to: (1) reduce costs of surveys through more indirect data collection; (2) increase data quality; and (3) reduce respondent burden. Contribute to design work for administrative records usage in data collection, estimation, and evaluation. Consult with other staff members in order to integrate related activities associated with a particular problem to determine the need for information and types of analysis which should be conducted, and to determine uses which will be made of the information.
- Prepare professional papers and make presentations to inform the transportation profession, survey practitioners, and data users about transportation related statistical and survey activities
The ideal candidate for this position conducts a broad and significant range of studies to help understand the major issues in transportation, identify gaps and inconsistencies in the data, and provide a body of research that can be used to inform policy. The ability to work cooperatively and communicate well is also critical to this position.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify
- Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
- Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
- Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
- SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
- BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
- POSITION SENSITIVITY AND RISK: Varies by position and will be based on the position to which appointed.
- SECURITY CLEARANCE: Varies by position. If applicable, you must be able to obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance of the position to which appointed.
- PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required.
- PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
- GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: Travel will vary by position. If the position requires travel, a government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
- REMOTE WORK: This position may be eligible for remote work, which does not require reporting to the agency worksite location on a regular basis. If selected for a remote work location, you will be required to sign a remote work agreement detailing agency remote work policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
- TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: If selected for a non-remote position, you may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework. The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
Qualifications
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Individual Occupational Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet the additional grade level requirements.
(1) All applicants must meet the basic requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to a position under series 1530:
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 should 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.
For additional reference, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-1530: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1500/statistics-series-1530/
(2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes.
(3) Specialized Experience: To further determine eligibility, review the following grade specific details. You will be asked a few questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet these grade levels in your resume.
For the GS-11: You qualify for this grade level if you meet one of the following:
On Experience, at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level, which included:
- Experience using statistical theories and techniques that relate to experimental and survey design, data analysis, sampling, forecasting, quality control, and operations research; researching and studying the design and administration processes from the formulation of concepts through specification and analysis of output to the presentation of conclusions; assisting with projects and developing preliminary recommendations requiring technical and administrative judgment; performing statistical analysis and providing outcome on results; and/or experience in the use of statistical software packages and computer database tools.
On Education, you must have:
- 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.
- Or, you can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.
For the GS-12: You qualify for this grade level if you have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, which included:
- Experience applying advanced statistical techniques to experimental and survey design, data analysis, sampling, forecasting, quality control, and operations research; developing and/or presenting professional papers or reports on statistical studies or surveys; conducting statistical analyses; serving as a technical advisor on various statistical analyses and methods; planning and executing a variety of projects and developing recommendations requiring technical and administrative judgment; developing listing and mapping applications, and developing collection methodology; and/or experience writing procedures for automated or computer-assisted statistical operations.
For the GS-13:You qualify for this grade level if you have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level, which included:
- Experience includes applying advanced statistical techniques to experimental and survey design, data analysis, sampling, forecasting, quality control, and operations research; developing and/or presenting professional papers or reports on statistical studies or surveys; designing and conducting statistical analyses; planning and executing a variety of complex projects and developing recommendations requiring technical and administrative judgment; developing listing and mapping applications, and developing collection methodology; and/or experience writing and auditing procedures for automated or computer-assisted statistical operations.
Although you must meet the mandatory education requirement for the series, you cannot qualify for GS-12 and above grades based solely on education, you must meet the specialized experience for grades 12 and 13, which is cited above.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:
- Statistical Theory and Models – Applies mathematical statistical theory, measures and models for developing and implementing projects;
- Data Fluency - Analyzes and evaluates the quality, accuracy and validity of data
For all types of consideration, 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.
Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply to the GS-11 if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
See the Qualifications section for Mandatory Individual Occupational Requirements.
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.
TELEWORK INFO: https://www.telework.gov/guidance-legislation
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.
Given our continuing need for professionals in this field, we will routinely review applications and refer candidates for potential interviews multiple times during the open period of the announcement.
When an applicant list is requested, all applications received by that request date will be reviewed to determine if the basic qualifications for this position, and grades applied to, are met. Applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official(s) for further review and consideration. From that point on the selecting official determines all aspects of the hiring process. If they wish to contact you for an interview or for selection, they will do so directly. Equal consideration will be given to all applications received.
Note that applications received under a direct hire public notice may or may not result in a referral or selection. Also, management has the prerogative to select at any grade level.
Applicants will not be rated or ranked. Veteran’s Preference does NOT apply.
DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated by a resume. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support the noted grade specific specialized experience and your answers. If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and was created within USA Jobs Resume Builder and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy.
TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED as proof of meeting the basic requirements for the series, and also if you are applying for the grade 11 using education. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements.
- Official transcript(s) will still be required if you are selected for the position.
- Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.
DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition. If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85 or falling in the Gold Category) and provide all of the following documents:
- your most recent performance appraisal,
- the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
- your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.
Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.
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
You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than midnight Eastern Time on the closing date of the announcement.
- To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
- Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
- You may review your saved application(s) at https://my.usajobs.gov.
If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: Transjobs@dot.gov
Next steps
Your application status will be updated online when applicable and you will be notified by email.
A final email will be generated when the vacancy closes. Note that there is no guarantee that your application will be reviewed under this vacancy, it depends on when and how often the selecting official(s) request to use this public notice.
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