Social Science Research Analyst

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Duties

Designs and conducts research and data collection to evaluate all aspects of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Serves as a source of knowledge for other BOP researchers and BOP staff in the following areas of sociology: criminology, criminal justice, corrections, evaluation research and research methods.

Maintains familiarity with current research methodologies and research findings in the social sciences relevant to BOP goals and interests, bringing this knowledge to bear on the research conducted, and reports written.

Oversees and coordinates researches contracted to do research in the BOP, critically evaluating the appropriateness and usefulness of their work.

Salary

• $85,447 - $133,142/year

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is Required.
• See Special Conditions of Employment Section.
• Selective Service Requirement: http://www.sss.gov

Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

• 1. Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
• 2. Be rated well-qualified for the position, scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and
• 3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility:
  • A copy of the agency notice (i.e., separation notice or agency RIF letter),
  • Most recent performance appraisal, and
  • Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
  • See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.

NOTE: Applicants claiming CTAP or ICTAP eligibility must complete all assessment questions to be rated under the established ranking criteria.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following:

Basic Requirements:

A. Degree: that included at least 24 semester hours of course work in the behavioral or social sciences.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience - that included at least 24 semester hours of course work in the behavioral or social sciences, and that provided applicants with knowledge of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a 4-year degree as shown in A above.

Evaluation of Education - Courses, such as sociology, correctional administration, criminal justice, government/political science, psychology, social work, counseling, and other related social or behavioral science courses may be used to satisfy the 24-semester-hour requirement.

Evaluation of Experience - Experience must have been gained in (1)casework in a correctional institution or in another criminal justice setting; (2) counseling in any setting, provided it required diagnostic or treatment planning skills to achieve specific social or occupational goals; or (3) work treating persons in need of social rehabilitation.

AND

In addition to the basic requirements, you must have:

Education:

GS-11: Master's or equivalent graduate degree.

GS-12: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

NOTE: Graduate Education: Completion of graduate level education in addition to meeting the basic requirements is qualifying for positions at grades GS-11 and GS-12 research positions if it provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

OR

Experience:

GS-11 and GS-12: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to successfully perform the duties of the position and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

GS-11 and GS-12 only: Applicants who furnish positive evidence that they have performed highly creative or outstanding research that has led or can lead to major advances in a specific area of research, to a major advance in the discipline or field of science involved, or to major advances in science in general, can be rated under this provision for highly demanding research positions requiring similar abilities. Under these circumstances, applicants can be rated eligible for the next higher grade level above that for which they would normally be rated, provided they have not been rated eligible at this higher grade on the basis of meeting the graduate study requirements described above. To receive this rating, the work must have been creative in the sense that it developed a basic principle, product, concept, method, approach, or technique, or provided a body of basic information that opened the way for a major advance in the discipline or field of science involved, or to advances in science in general, by providing a method of solving other problems, opening areas of research, or providing the means of exploiting the application of science in a major area. Some examples of this qualifying experience are:

GS-11:

• Experience organizing and assessing pertinent research literature, developing a research design and methodology, and coordinating data collection.
• Experience interpreting research related policies in order to develop appropriate research audit guidelines.
• Experience using various types of research methodologies for the observation and measurement of behavior and attitudes, including interview techniques, unobtrusive measurement and survey methods.
• Experience providing technical support for a research study.
• Experience preparing technical reports, memoranda and other correspondence.

GS-12:

• Experience in theories and data in sociology, corrections, criminal justice and criminology.
• Experience in various types of research methodologies for the observation and measurement of behavior and attitudes, including interview techniques, unobtrusive measurement, and survey methods.
• Experience working with statistical computer programs and programming skills available for data analysis, including SAS, SPSS, STATA, R and others.

AND

Quality Ranking Factor:

• Applicant who possesses a Master’s or PhD degree in a Social or Behavioral Science from a college/university accredited by United States Department of Education is preferred. Applicants must upload a copy of their transcript(s) at the time they apply to the vacancy announcement to verify education.

NOTE: The above quality ranking factor is preferred. Therefore, applicants who possess the quality ranking factor can be ranked above those who do not, but no candidates can be rated ineligible solely for failure to possess a quality ranking factor.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as number of hours worked per week) spent in the activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable. ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. Other Information Special Conditions of Employment Section: For non-law enforcement positions, the Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information, to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged non-compliance by contacting the EEO Office in the Central Office at BOP-PRD-EEOOffice-S@bop.gov. Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a pre-employment and panel interview, urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to, and must satisfactorily pass all screening requirements in relation to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit check. Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate. Current Federal Law Enforcement Employees: This is a non-law enforcement clerical or administrative support position (one-grade interval). Individuals selected for these positions will lose law enforcement coverage and will need to return to a position with "primary" law enforcement coverage to regain coverage. Required Documents

Failure to provide legible required documents and/or follow the prescribed format often results in removal from consideration.  If uploading documentation, do not identify/save your documents utilizing a special character such as %, #, @, etc.  Documentation should be identified/saved as VA Letter, DD-214, or Transcripts.

•  Veterans' Preference Documentation:
• Failure to submit all required documents at the time of application will result in the loss of claimed preference eligibility.
• DD-214: Veterans MUST provide a DD-214 demonstrating that they have been discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions (i.e., the individual must have received either an honorable or general discharge).
• SF-15: If you are a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, widow/widower of a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or the parent of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit:
• A completed Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference" AND all required documentation identified on the SF-15. 
• NOTE: A Department of Veterans Affairs letter must contain the Veteran’s Name and Combined Service-Connected Evaluation. For a copy of the most current SF-15, Click Here.
• If you are on active duty and expect to be discharged or released from active duty service within 120 days, you may submit a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty from the appropriate Branch Personnel Office containing the following information: (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; (2) and the character of service (must be an honorable or general discharge); and (3) any qualifying service/campaign/expeditionary medals.
• Resume (limited to 2 pages) must include your name, contact information, and relevant experience (cover letter optional). Experience that would not normally be part of the Federal employee’s position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence of qualifying experience (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, Human Resource Manager, SF-52, MOU, etc.). If providing a memorandum, it must follow the format below AND clearly cite the duties performed.
• To receive credit for experience, your resume and/or any satisfactory evidence must include:
• Start date and end date in month/year format (MM/YYYY) AND
• Number of hours worked per week.
• College transcript: includes the School Name, Student Name, Degree, and Date Awarded (if applicable).
• NOTE:  If you are selected, official transcript(s) will be required prior to your first day.
• SF-50: for proof of prior LEO coverage, if applicable.
• Proof of ICTAP/CTAP eligibility, Click Here, if applicable.

For more help, visit USAJOBS Help Center - What should I include in my resume?

We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software, delays in mail service, applicant application errors, etc.

How to Apply

You must apply through the online application system at www.USAJOBS.gov. Follow the prompts to register, answer a few questions and submit all required documents.

Limit your resume to 2 pages. If the only resume(s) received is/are longer than two pages, your application is ineligible for further consideration. Submission of a resume alone is not a complete application. This position may require the completion of additional forms and/or supplemental materials as described under the Required Documents section. Please carefully review the complete job announcement and the "How to Apply" instructions. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in your application not being considered for employment.

We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. USAJOBS Help Center - How to add a resume to your profile

Claiming Veterans Preference? If yes, you MUST claim preference on-line during the application process and upload documentation to support preference claimed. Failure to claim Veterans Preference or provide supporting documentation may result in you not receiving appropriate consideration during the assessment process.

Required supporting documentation must be electronically uploaded or transferred from USAJOBS (uploaded).

All required supporting documentation MUST be received by the Consolidated Staffing Unit by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. You MUST include the vacancy announcement number on your supporting documentation.

Supporting documentation for announcements with an application limitation MUST be uploaded the same day you apply, as these positions may close earlier than stated in the announcement.

Paper applications: If applying online is impossible, please contact the Consolidated Staffing Unit at the telephone number listed below, prior to the closing date of the announcement for the alternate application procedure.

If applicable see Notice for Preference Eligible Veterans Applicants. 

Contact for Assistance in Applying On-Line:
DOJ, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Consolidated Staffing Unit
346 Marine Forces Drive
Grand Prairie, TX 75051
E-Mail: BOP-HRM-HRSC-ConsolidatedStaffingUnit-S@bop.gov
Phone: 972-352-4200