Operations Research Analyst

Summary

View of terms found in this announcement.

Organizational Location: This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office Of Budget and Program Performance, Chief Financial Officer, in Washington, District of Columbia.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Current Federal employees in the competitive service who hold or previously held a non-temporary career or career-conditional appointment; Persons eligible for reinstatement, for non-competitive appointment, under an Interchange Agreement, or under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA). Status Candidates (Merit Promotion and VEOA Eligibles) in the Local Commuting Area.

Duties

As a Operations Research Analyst, at the full performance level, you will perform the following duties:

Identify, formulate, and define trends; designs research and study methods; developed, applied and interpreted appropriate models and methods in conducting operations research analysis; recommended new or amended legislation, policies and or procedures as they related to the effective and efficient management of the organizations resources.

Provide analytic concepts to provide validity of assumptions made and the criteria by which alternatives will be assessed.

Facilitate discussions with program-level operations research analyst(s) across the Agency including managers, subject matter experts, and law enforcement personnel to clarify issues and objectives to improve data quality and reporting.

Perform risk-related cost-benefit analyses; develops mitigation strategies to address those gaps/risks; offering recommendations to mitigate risks associated with not obtaining appropriated resources for staffing and budget.

Develop or recommend new policies and or procedures as they relate to the effective and efficient management of the organizations resources.

Facilitate meetings with program stakeholders thorough all levels of directorates.

Collaborate with Subject Matter Experts and Leadership to understand their program requirements. Clarifies issues into operational plans to understand their business process.

Provide support to Management and Programs for strategic planning and assistance related to data research, analysis, modeling design and development, reporting and communicating results.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.

You must successfully pass a background investigation.

You must successfully pass a drug screen.

Males born after 12/31/59 must certify registration with Selective Service.

Requirements by Closing Date: Unless otherwise noted, you must meet all requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Time in Grade: Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the Federal service. Time in grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Probationary Period: This is a full-time permanent position (Career/Career-Conditional appointment). Upon appointment to this position, you may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.

Qualifications

Please limit your resume to 5 pages. If more than 5 pages are submitted, only the first 5 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

You qualify for the GS-12 grade level if you possess one of the following:

Experience: One (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-11 grade level or equivalent performing duties such as:

Assisted in designing research and study methodologies; developing, applying, and interpreting appropriate models to conduct quantitative analyses that support effective planning, coordination, and acquisition life cycle program management.

Supported the development of recommendations for implementing operational requirements identification, documentation, and delivery

Performed analysis through various approaches, regression (all types), and forecasted techniques.

Supported project management activities such as the translation of research to project phases, planning methods of approach, subdividing project components, etc. OR

Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree.

Combination of Education and Experience: Specialized experience and successful completion of graduate education that, when combined, equal 100% of the total experience requirements. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience.

You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level or equivalent performing duties such as:

Applied quantitative and qualitative analysis to a variety of complex problems (to include, but not limited to: operations processes, business and management processes, mission support to programs, allocating resources, measuring performance, designing systems, managing logistics, budget analysis, work distribution, or analyzing large databases) to assist senior leaders in decision-making and problem solving of complex operational issues.

Experienced in utilizing mathematical models (to include but not limited to: Monte Carlo simulation, linear and nonlinear programming, dynamic programming, queuing and other stochastic-process models, Markov decision processes, econometric methods, data envelopment analysis, neural networks, expert systems, decision analysis, and the analytic hierarchy process) to describe system or process being studied. Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707.,,, and possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Education

Basic Requirement:

Degree: in operations research; or at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistics. At least 3 of the 24 semester hours must have been in calculus.

Additional information

Promotion Potential: When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.

E-Verify: DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about, including your rights and responsibilities.

Suitability: If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet these standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully obtain and maintain a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

Local Commuting Restriction: This announcement is subject to Local Commuting Restrictions as defined in . For this announcement, the Local Commuting area is 50 miles from your home of record. The home of record listed on your resume will be used to determine if you reside within the Local Commuting area. Certain eligibilities are exempt from the Local Commuting restriction while others are not. Local Commuting restrictions are determined by the eligibility in which you select and will be assessed once the announcement has closed.

Benefits: DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include: flexible work schedules; telework; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the website and select "Benefits." will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, your experience, education, and training will be rated using an Assessment Questionnaire that is based on the following competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job:

Attention to Detail

Creative Thinking

Creativity and Innovation

Modeling and Simulation

Oral Communication

Organizational Performance Analysis

Technical Competence

Technology Application

Based on your responses, you will receive a score from the Assessment Questionnaire between 70 and 100.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.

Interviews may be required for this position. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration.

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3).

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, the veteran must 1) be a preference eligible; or 2) be a veteran separated after 3 or more years of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. (Note: Veteran's preference does not apply under Merit Promotion procedures. View VEOA information on ).

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.

Pursuant to Executive Order 12564, and the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan, ICE is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions (testing designated positions) are subject to random drug testing. Moreover, other drug testing of employees (e.g., reasonable suspicion drug test) may be conducted in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. All applicants tentatively selected for employment at ICE are subject to pre-employment drug testing and a final offer of employment is contingent upon a negative drug test result.

Required Documents

showing relevant experience, education and training. Work experience must include: job title, duties, employer's name, employer's telephone number, employer's address, starting and ending dates (MM/YY), hours worked per week, and indicate whether or not we may contact your current supervisor. Please limit your resume to 5 pages. If more than 5 pages are submitted, only the first 5 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications (for more information, see the

Are you a current or former federal employee? If you are a current career or career-conditional Federal employee or a former Federal employee who has reinstatement eligibility you must submit the following by the closing date of this announcement, or you will not receive consideration as such: Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action that demonstrates your eligibility for consideration, e.g., length of time you have been in your current grade; your highest grade held; your current promotion potential and proof of permanent appointment if applying based on an interchange agreement. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases and accessions.

Are you qualifying based on education? Submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) or a list of coursework with hours completed. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. For example, specific courses accepted for college-level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university, or foreign education evaluated by an organization recognized for accreditation by the Department of Education as education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. college or university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See .

Are you a veteran? You must provide acceptable documentation of your preference or appointment eligibility. The member 4 copy of your DD214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from