Staff Fellow (Operations Research Analyst)

Staff Fellow (Operations Research Analyst) Job Announcement Posting

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) is a national leader in protecting and promoting public health. CFSAN is responsible for promoting and protecting the public's health by ensuring that the nation's food supply is safe, sanitary, wholesome, and honestly labeled, and that cosmetic products are safe and properly labeled.

Our CFSAN employees within Office of Food Additive Safety (OFAS) consist of highly specialized experts that protect and enhance consumer health by ensuring the safety of substances added to food and food contact materials.  This position is located in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA), Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Office of Food Additive Safety (OFAS), Division of Science and Technology, Scientific Development Branch (SDB).  The office is responsible for the pre- and post-market safety review of food additives, color additives, food contact substances, Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) substances, consultations on food from new plant varieties, and cell cultured foods.

Open Period: 04/22/2022 to 05/06/2022

Location: College Park, MD   Salary: $106,823 to 138,868 (Locality included)

Duties of the Position:

• Responsible for collecting and analyzing scientific information from public and private sources.
• Designs and conducts analyses of program data, proposes topics for analysis, participates in the development of analysis plans and selection of the methods and data sources to be used in analyses, performs analyses, and writes analytical and evaluation reports
• Leads the conceptualization, design, and conducts complex program evaluations in any aspect of the operation and management of programs within the Branch/Division.

• Evaluates development, execution, and presentation of analytical models, methodologies and results to solve problems and conduct analyses relating to pre-market and post-market program operations, evaluations, and management systems for the Office.

• Identifies, develops, and integrates pertinent information, including internal and external sources, through various data collection procedures and technologies, including emerging data science and big data methodologies.

Qualifications:

To qualify as a Staff Fellow, you must: be a US Citizen, Permanent Resident, or Non-Citizen with residency status in the US, three (3) out of the last five (5) years.

In addition to the above, applicants must meet one of the following in (A) Basic Qualifications and (B) Experience.

A. BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: These positions are multidisciplinary, and applicants will be required to meet the specific education qualification requirements of one of the applicable occupational series below (a copy of your transcripts identifying the requirement has been met is required).

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.

B. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

Candidates must have at least one full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to work of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience include:

Develops or assists with data science tools to identify signals and trends associated with the safety of marketed substances added to food or used in contact with food to support the pre-market and/or post-market monitoring programs.

Application Procedures To be considered for this job opportunity, candidates must submit a resume and a copy of their transcripts demonstrating that the education and specialized experience qualifications (as noted above under qualification sections) are met by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on 05/06/2022 to:                                                      

McQuail Price, Management Analyst (Human Capital Advisor)

Recruitment Liaison Branch

Email: Applytocfsan-ofas@fda.hhs.gov

Reasonable Accommodations FDA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants/employees with disabilities. If you need accommodations for any part of the application process, please visit the FDA Reasonable Accommodations & Accessibility page. The decision to grant reasonable accommodations is made on a case-by-case basis. The FDA actively encourages people with disabilities to apply for vacancies/developmental assignments with FDA.  

Vaccination Information

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance on other Federal agency safety protocols based on vaccination status—including guidance on protocols related to masking, distancing, travel, testing, and quarantine—remains in effect.

Expanded/Maximum telework Posture

Due to COVID-19, the agency is currently in a maximum telework posture.  If selected, you may be expected to telework upon your appointment. As employees are permitted to return to the office, you may be required to report to the duty station listed on this announcement within 30 calendar days of receiving notice to do so, even if your home/temporary telework site is located outside the local commuting area. Your position may be eligible for workplace flexibilities which may include remote work or telework options, and/or flexible work scheduling.  These flexibilities may be requested in accordance with the HHS Workplace Flexibilities policy. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), 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.

To learn more, please consult the following resources: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) office at OPM Office of Equal Opportunity