Social Scientist

Summary

The Department of Commerce ranked top 5 in the 2023 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government amongst large agencies for the 12th year in a row! The ranking showcases the Department's continued commitment to increasing our employee engagement, employee satisfaction, and positive perceptions towards diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.

Duties

The Research Social Scientist will play a critical role in supporting 1) the NIST Hurricane Maria Program in its ongoing investigation and study of the impacts of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, as well as the subsequent recovery, 2) the study of Hurricane Fiona, and 3) the NIST Community Resilience Program in its research program focused on providing communities with the science-based tools and guidance they need to improve performance. The candidate will join NIST's world-class research team in Community Resilience and will be responsible for developing, conducting, and reporting on research in the field of social science for NIST work in disaster and failure studies and community resilience. For more about the Hurricane Maria Program, https://www.nist.gov/disaster-failure-studies/hurricane-maria-program and Community Resilience Program, https://www.nist.gov/topics/community-resilience The Research Social Scientist will provide technical expertise on resilience-related social science, including the application of a range of quantitative and qualitative methods for the measurement of community impacts, recovery, and resilience; the generation of guidance related to the science of longitudinal recovery measurement and organizational practices to improve recovery and resilience; and the use of novel approaches for characterizing the interconnectedness of social and physical systems. The candidate will support data collection, management, and analysis (e.g., statistical, geospatial, qualitative); publication of findings and supporting products from investigations and studies; and the development and application of survey and interview instruments for disaster field studies. The Research Social Scientist will also participate in field studies, technical investigations, and disaster reconnaissance data collection, as needed.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements A. Degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR B. 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 C. 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. In addition to the basic requirements listed above, all applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-09 level (ZP-II for NIST employees). Specialized experience is defined as experience in the following: 1. Applying qualitative and quantitative social science methodologies from disciplines such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, or geography. 2. Using statistical analysis software to analyze data on topics such as disasters, climate change, or natural hazards. 3. Conducting and communicating research findings. OR Master's or equivalent graduate degree OR Combination of specialized experience and graudate education. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done. We will credit all qualifying volunteer experience in your application. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Applicant Reconsideration