The National Science Foundation is seeking qualified candidates for a Social Scientist (Program Director) within the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), Division of Social and Economic Sciences (SES) in Alexandria, VA. For more information on SBE please click here. For more information on SES please click here.

Duties

SES programs cover Economics, Sociology, and Political Science topics such as Accountable Institutions and Behavior (AIB) and Security and Preparedness (SP). Interdisciplinary SES programs include: Decision, Risk and Management Sciences (DRMS); Law and Science (LS); Measurement, Methods, and Statistics (MMS); Science of Organizations (SoS); Science of Science: Discovery, Communication, and Impact (SoS:DCI); Science and Technology Studies (STS); and Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC). In addition to the core scientific programs within social and economic sciences, SES division also supports many cross-disciplinary ventures such as, Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier (FW-HTF), Strengthening American Infrastructure (SAI), Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC), Designing Accountable Software Systems (DASS), Bioeconomy / Advanced Biotechnology and more. The SES Division therefore welcomes applications from experts who can help shape, invigorate, and manage any of funding programs including cross-disciplinary projects in SES. Program Directors help research activities and research communities thrive. This requires, 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 other materials describing advances in the research supported; as well as coordination with related programs in NSF or in other agencies and organizations. Every Program Director is guided by the goals of NSF's Strategic Plan: (I) enable the United States to uphold a position of world leadership in all aspects of science, mathematics, and engineering, (2) promote the discovery, integration, dissemination, and employment of new knowledge in service to society, and (3) achieve excellence in U.S. science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education at all levels. The core strategies NSF staff employ include developing intellectual capital, strengthening the physical infrastructure, integrating research and education, and promoting partnerships. Duties: PROGRAM PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT Maintain a healthy portfolio of support for all the needs of the research and education enterprise either through program, division, directorate, Foundation, or interagency activities. Manage program resources so as to promote integrity, consistency, and good scientific judgement in the grant/declination process while avoiding conflicts of interest, imbalances of representation, or perceptions of partiality. Manage an effective and timely merit review process, with attention to increasing the size, quality, and diversity of the reviewer pools, including participation by women, minorities and disabled scientists. Provide scientific expertise, evaluation, and advice for other research programs in NSF, including international or other cross-directorate programs. Advise and assist in the development of plans, both short and long-term, that establish compelling goals and objectives for research programs. Budget programmatic expenditures considering past, present and future fiscal years so as to allocate risk and resources appropriately. Maintain the rules, integrity, and reputation of NSF grantmaking. REPRESENTATION, COMMUNICATION AND LEADERSHIP Represent the Program, Division, and 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. Create and maintain linkages to other NSF units and other Federal agencies in pursuit of the overall NSF mission. Participate in staff, panel, committee, and other meetings, providing input relevant to Program area and/or Division. Pursue and/or be responsive to assignment on special projects and temporary working groups from across the Foundation to solve problems, to improve communication, and to coordinate special efforts. Contribute ideas and energy to improving the quality of NSF's policies and performance, including plans for strengthening research and education programs. Provide information to the community on how NSF is pursuing its mission and gather information from the community about perceptions of NSF's effectiveness. Prepare and disseminate a variety of documents which may include data on NSF's progress on meeting its goals, analysis of trends and opportunities, as well as budget plans. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Establish contacts and maintain active involvement in Program and related areas through participation in professional activities. Maintain familiarity with salient current research developments. Pursue individual research as workload and travel funds permit. Expand administrative capabilities through training courses or assumption of new management responsibilities.

Requirements

Qualifications

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in a social science plus after award of the Ph.D., six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position.

Education

Please refer to the Qualifications section.

If your degree was obtained from a foreign institution, you must also submit the certification from the Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals, or certification equivalency.

Contacts

• Address NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, DIVISION OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SCIENCES 2415 Eisenhower Ave Alexandria, VA 22314 US
• Name: Staffing and Classification Branch
• Email: [email protected]