Duties
APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 200 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 200th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.
We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.
As a Statistician, GS-1530-11, you will be responsible for:
• Assisting in identifying problems of data quality and completeness and working to develop statistically sound solutions to statistical problems.
• With supervisory guidance, carrying out analytical projects requiring statistical methods.
• Providing statistical support for both policy development and program management initiatives within the program office and advising other principal offices within the agency on the collection and use of data.
• Assisting in implementing improved methods and techniques for assembling, evaluating, analyzing, and representing data.
• Supporting implementation of changes in analytic practices and procedures. This work supports the work of other principal offices within the agency and supports policy development within the program office.
As a Statistician, GS-1530-12, you will be responsible for:
• Planning analytical projects requiring statistical methods.
• Assembling, evaluating, analyzing, and representing data.
• Preparing quantitative analyses from the Federal Student Aid, National Center for Education Statistics, Census, and other sources to estimate the costs of the federal student aid programs (e.g., Federal Pell Grant, Ford Direct Student Loan), drawing upon a range of statistical software, including SAS and other statistical applications.
• Providing advice about problems of data quality and completeness and working to develop statistically sound solutions to statistical problems.
• Initiating improved methods and techniques for assembling, evaluating, analyzing, and representing data.
• Proposing and assisting in implementing changes in analytic practices and procedures. This work supports the work of other principal offices within the agency and supports policy development within the other program offices.
• Writing a variety of statistical, technical, and general information memos and reports for agency and external audiences, including Executive Office of the President, other federal agencies, states, and professional organizations.
• Presenting findings that are both rigorous and accessible and does so orally and in writing.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Relocation will not be paid.
- You may be subject to serve a one-year probationary period.
- Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
- Must be a US Citizen
- Must complete a Background Investigation and Fingerprint check.
You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.
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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.
Conditions of Employment
TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY:
- You may be eligible for occasional telework in which you are required to report to the office on a regular basis. Participation must be requested and approved by the supervisor and there must be a signed telework agreement. The number of telework days approved is determined by the agency policy, emergency situations, the approval of your immediate supervisor. You must have access to high speed internet and cell phone service meeting current Agency policy from the approved work location.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualification Requirements
You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-11/12, if you possess the specialized experience.
Specialized Experience for the GS-11:
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-09 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience performing defined parts of major projects involving unpredictable factors and carrying out of integrated procedures.
2. Experience assisting in the evaluation of alternatives used to determine the appropriate procedures for efficiency, reliability and feasibility.
3. Experience preparing documentation of procedures, technical documentation and code, and problems encountered.
Specialized Experience for the GS-12:
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-11 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience leading projects involving unpredictable factors and carrying out of integrated procedures.
2. Experience leading the evaluation of alternatives used to determine the appropriate procedures for efficiency, reliability, and feasibility.
3. Experience reviewing and editing documentation of procedures, technical documentation and code, and problems encountered.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) GS-11
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).
1. Ability to analyze factual information and evaluate significant factors and solve problems based on statistical data.
2. Knowledge of statistical theories and methodologies to coordinate simultaneous projects.
3. Ability to prepare reports and documentation.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) GS-12
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).
1. Ability to apply analytical, mathematical, and statistical methods to research, plan, and direct analyses of education databases.
2. Ability to analyze program requirements to plan, conduct and oversee analytic studies.
3. Ability to evaluate factors relative to the assignment area and draw rational references to prepare reports of methods and findings.
Education
This position has a positive education requirement.
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.
Foreign Education:
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must submit a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, please click Foreign Education.
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.
As an ED employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a productive balance between work and home, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you include telework and alternative work schedules. You may be eligible to receive a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to receive a relocation incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program as a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive student loan repayments, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon.
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 to Apply
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.
Step 2: Create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Step 3: Upload any required documents into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)).
Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.
NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.
In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
If you have any questions regarding submitting your application, please contact the HR Specialist listed under the Agency Contact Information.
Next steps
As an applicant, you may check your application status through your USAJOBS account at any time. We will also notify you via email of your application status at three key stages in the recruitment process.
1. Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will inform you that your application has been received.
2. After we review your submitted resume and supporting documentation, we will inform you if you are eligible and qualified, if your application was referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation, and if you were amongst the most highly qualified candidates referred to the selecting official.
3. Finally, we will inform you of your final disposition for this announcement (e.g., if/when a selection is made, if/when the announcement is cancelled).