Operations Research Analyst

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Acquisition, Business Operations Division, located in Washington, DC.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Open to all U.S. Citizens. This announcement will be utilized to fill positions through the Direct Hire Authority.

Duties

Joining Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition, will allow you to use your expertise in operations research to perform cost estimating and analysis for CBP programs. This position starts at a salary of $139,395.00 (GS-14, Step 1) to $181,216.00 (GS-14, Step 10). Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen the Department's ability to perform homeland security functions by utilizing operations research analysis principles and concepts to perform a full range of cost estimate and cost analysis duties, that support the improvement of cost estimating/analysis for all program systems within CBP.

In this Operations Research Analyst position you will become a key team member of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) professionals involved in cost estimating and analysis, planning, developing, monitoring, and coordinating cost analysis matters; serving as an advisor on matters involving cost estimating and analysis; and formulating of policy to improve cost estimating/analysis.

Typical Work assignments include:

Developing and reviewing Life-Cycle Cost Estimates (LCCEs) for key program decision points (as required) and identifying areas of improvement in CBP cost analysis capabilities and performance.

Planning and conducting cost studies on Level 1,2, and 3 systems as required by the Component Acquisition Executive (CAE) and as a senior cost expert within CBP, provides counsel to the Program Manager, the CSM, BOD Director and the CAE on the quality and adequacy of program cost estimates.

Developing cost models and cost estimating relationships, performs cost sensitivity and risk analysis, determines whether analyses include all lifecycle costs and clearly communicates findings to top CBP management within time constraints.

Adapting mathematical, statistical, econometric, and other scientific methods to the CBP cost analysis application; and use these adaptions to draft policy and formulate procedures that support CBP's cost management system (CMS) efforts to improve cost estimating/analysis for all systems/programs within CBP.

Briefing and presenting results of cost estimating products to various senior CBP and DHS staff as required.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

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

Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service

Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)

You may be required to pass a background investigation

CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures

As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following .

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.

Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions - NTEU. For local chapter contact information see

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show you meet the basic requirement below.

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.

You qualify for this position if you meet the basic requirement listed above and possess one year of specialized experience, as described below.

Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

Applying cost estimating and analysis best practices, methodologies and/or new approaches.

Resolving unique cost estimating problems, conditions, or issues; or significantly impact standard cost estimating practices, using technology or processes, and innovative Cost estimating techniques.

Providing appropriate levels of cost analyses expertise to support acquisition decisions by responsible program offices.

Providing significant and innovative cost analysis recommendations for advancing programs, processes, and/or estimating methods.

Developing and executing significant cost estimates to inform, influence, or enhance the execution of the organizational mission. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

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.

You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 06/27/2024.

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.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information, review the following links: and the .

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military

A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government

Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university

Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Additional information

Telework: Telework may be available on a regular recurring or situational basis.

DHS Certification: DHS Level II certification in Cost Estimating is required within 18 months of placement.

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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

This position is being filled under a Direct Hire Authority. We will review your and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. All applicants who meet minimum qualifications and any basic requirements applicable to this position, will be forwarded to the hiring manager for consideration and may be contacted for an interview. As a part of the interview process, additional selection criteria may be administered by the hiring manager.

The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:

Knowledge of data processing systems, cost data systems and automated methods of cost data collection, evaluation, processing and analysis to direct the definition development and operation of cost estimating and analysis.

Knowledge of business, construction, industrial practices, market trends and conditions, relationships among planning, development, testing, product, and marketing costs in order to determine their effects on complex multi-year programs involving business environments.

Skill in planning and carrying out projects and assignments and effectively communicating the results both orally and written to senior leadership.

Skills using analytical and statistical tools in perform quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Veterans: Veterans preference does not apply to selections made using the Direct Hire Authority. Veteran applicants will be considered along with all other applicants who apply.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must have knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies as defined above which clearly exceed the minimum qualification and any applicable basic requirements for the vacancy. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this job announcement.

Required Documents

Your : A resume describing your job-related qualifications is required and will be used for the purpose of reviewing your qualifications and determining what training, if any, would be required when placed. A resume in English is required. It must contain your full legal name, address, phone number, complete work history including a detailed description of your duties, the dates you performed those duties (MM/DD/YY), your hours worked per week, job title, as well as series, grade, and salary (if applicable). For additional required items, see the link. *Note- It is recommended that you upload your resume as a PDF instead of a Word document to ensure document quality. Ensure that your uploaded resume is not a password protected document, to include Office 365 passwords.

Your responses to the job questionnaire:

Your transcripts: All applicants are required to submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable at this time; however, official copies will be required prior to entrance on duty) or a list of coursework with hours completed provided from the institution. If you are a current CBP employee within the position series announced, transcripts will not be required at the time of application; however, education will be verified if you are selected and you may be required to submit transcripts at that time. Education must be from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Education obtained from a foreign university or college is not creditable unless it has been evaluated by an organization that specializes in interpretation of education credentials. Note: If submitting documentation of an evaluation, transcripts are still required. For a listing of some accrediting agencies, please see . See for more information.

Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP)? You must submit a separation notice; your most recent SF-50 (noting your current position, grade level and duty location); a copy of your most recent performance rating; an agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated; an OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; or a Military Department of National Guard Bureau notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456.

Are you a current or former federal employee? If yes, it is recommended that you submit a copy of your SF-50(s) (Notification of Personnel Action) to support your experience. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases and accessions.

Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your initial and termination SF-50s.

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 .

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.