This position is located within the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS), Alaska Region (AR) with one vacancy located in Bethel, AK.

Duties

As a Social Scientist, you will perform the following duties: Independently uses practical applications of social science to improve the coordination and increase the quality of social science capabilities at NOAA. Perform routine analyses for a variety of requests, including direct and indirect impacts of weather on humans, effectiveness of agency communication, and social readiness for extreme weather. Incorporate social science research in decision support to increase community resilience. Use social science methods to assess and communicate risk while reducing vulnerability to changing conditions. The duties described are at the full performance level of the GS-11 grade; the duties at the GS-09 are developmental leading to the GS-12 level. UNIQUE POSITION REQUIREMENTS: Occasional travel will be required throughout the state up to 30%. Occasional shift work will be required 10-15%.

Requirements

Qualifications

Eligibility Requirements: In order to be eligible for an appointment under the Pathways Recent Graduate Program you must meet the following requirements: You must be a recent graduate who has completed, within the previous two years, an associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution such as an accredited technical or vocational school; a 2- or 4-year college or university; a graduate or professional school (e.g., law school, medical school); or a post-secondary home school curriculum. Note: Certificate program is defined as post-secondary education in a qualifying educational institution equal to at least one academic year of full-time study that's part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum. Veterans who were precluded from applying due to their military service obligation begin their 2-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty; however, eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed 6 years from the date on which the degree or certificate was obtained. The date of release or discharge from active duty should be later than the date the degree or certificate was obtained. Qualification Requirements Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy. To qualify for the 0101 Series: BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of specialized experience in order to be found minimally qualified. You MUST meet one of the following basic education requirements: Degree: behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. AND Specializedexperience: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. To qualify at the GS-09: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicant must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Assisting in social, behavioral, or economic science analyses or studies that promote and measure an organization's ability to serve communities. OR EDUCATION: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Master's degree or Master's or equivalent graduate degree in Behavioral or Social Science, or other related discipline appropriate to the position. OR COMBINATION: A combination of education and professional experience. Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. NOTE: Only graduate education in excess of one year is qualifying for combination of education and experience. To qualify for the GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicant must possess One full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Planning social, behavioral, or economic science analyses or studies that promote and measure an organization's ability to serve communities; and Assisting in communicating results from social, behavioral, or economic science analyses. OR EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Behavioral or Social Science, or other related discipline appropriate to the position. OR COMBINATION: A combination of education and professional experience. Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. NOTE: Only education in excess of two years is qualifying at this level.

Education

Qualifying Education Institution: Any of the following educational institutions or curricula that have been accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

This position requires proof of higher education, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a letter from your college or university with your graduation date. NOTE: Students who anticipate graduating within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement may apply with submitted unofficial transcripts and enrollment verification.

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with the name of accredited institution that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, grade earned and completion dates. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities: Must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation

Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Contacts

• Address NOAA Office of Human Capital Services (OHCS) 1315 East West Hwy SSMC4 Silver Spring, MD 20910 US
• Name: Applicant Inquiries
• Email: [email protected]