Print
You are viewing a Dear Colleague Letter.

A Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) is an informal correspondence which is written by a Requesting Office and distributed to communities within a specific program area, to attract individuals eligible under a Visiting Scientist, Engineer, and Educator (VSEE) appointment, an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment and/or a Federal Temporary appointment. These letters may be circulated in paper form through internal mail, distributed electronically using listservs or accessed through NSF.gov’s Career Page.

Social Scientist (Build and Broaden Program Director)

Office: SBE Multidisciplinary Activities (SBE/SMA)
Directorate: Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE)
Job Type:
STEM
Appointment Type:
Temporary / Rotator
Pay Grade/Scale:
AD-04
Salary Range:
$169,430 - $204,000
This job is open to the public

Application timeline

Date Posted:
Closing date: Open until filled
Formal consideration of interested applicants will begin and will continue until a selection is made.

Position Summary

This position is for the Build and Broaden Program Director within the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The goals of a program director at NSF are to achieve the discovery, integration, dissemination, and employment of new knowledge in service to society and achieve excellence in US science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education at all levels. 

SBE supports research, education, and infrastructure in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences, primarily through grants to investigators at universities and other institutions. SBE research produces substantial advances in our understanding of human and social development, behavior, and organizations. These advances span all areas of the social and behavioral sciences. SBE also supports collections of significant national data infrastructure, including the National Center of Science and Engineering Statistics, the General Social Survey, the American National Election Studies, and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Collectively, this research fuels economic growth, improves national security, increases organizational capacity, and empowers individuals. 

SBE recently established its Build and Broaden program to enhance MSI participation and partnerships. This program complements the suite of activities in SBE that share broadening participation goals and reflect administration priorities, the National Science Board’s 2030 vision, and agency priority goals. The Broadening Participation position description evolves out of recognizing the growing need for focused management of SBE’s activities and investments in this domain. 

The program director prioritizes broadening participation. In managing SBE’s activities focused on expanding participation, the program director actively encourages participation by junior faculty, women, members of historically underrepresented groups, and proposals from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), Research Undergraduate Institutions (RU1s), and EPSCoR states. 

Position Description

Program Planning and Management 

  • Maintain a healthy balance of support for all the needs of the research and education enterprise through existing programs, division, directorate, Foundation, or interagency activities. 
  • Manage program resources to provide optimal appropriate scientific judgment to ensure integrity and consistency in the Merit Review process without conflict of interests, and with balance among appropriate sub-fields and institutions, and participation of all qualified scientists. Incorporate cross-directorate responsibilities into program administration. 
  • Manage an effective, timely merit review process, with attention to increasing the size and quality of the reviewer pools and insuring participation by women, underrepresented minorities, and disabled scientists. 
  • Provide scientific expertise, evaluation, and advice for other programs in NSF, including international programs, other research programs, and cross-directorate programs.
  • Advise and assist in the development of short- and long-range plans, establishing goals and objectives for research programs. Plan the budget for the program/programs considering past, present and future fiscal years, allocate resources within that budget distributing scarce resources among major competitive programs, and manage post-award evaluation. 
  • Control waste, fraud, and abuse. 

 

Representation, Communication & Leadership 

  • Represent the Program, Division and Foundation within the scientific community, with other NSF Divisions, with other appropriate agencies and organizations, and with the public, accurately reflecting NSF policy and positions. 
  • Create and maintain linkages to other NSF units and other Federal agencies in pursuit of the overall NSF mission. 
  • Participate in staff, panel, committee, and other meetings, providing input relevant to Program area and/or Division. 
  • Pursue affirmative action and EEO goals. Pursue and/or be responsive to assignment on special projects and temporary functional teams from across the Foundation to solve problems, improve staff communication, and effect coordination for special programs. 
  • Contribute ideas and effort to improving the quality of policies and NSF's performance of the overall mission. Develop policies and plans for strengthening research and education programs.
  • Provide information to the community on how NSF is pursuing its mission and gather data and impressions from the community on the effectiveness of NSF's performance of its mission.
  • Prepare and disseminate a variety of informational documents which may include data on progress being made toward NSF's goals, trends, and budget plans. 

 

Professional Development 

  • Establish contacts and maintain active involvement in Program and related areas through participation in professional activities. Maintain familiarity with salient current research developments. Pursue individual research as workload and travel funds permit. 
  • Expand administrative capabilities through training courses or assumption of new management responsibilities.

The position recruited under this announcement will be filled under the following appointment option(s):

Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Assignment: Individuals eligible for an IPA assignment with a Federal agency include employees of State and local government agencies or institutions of higher education, Indian tribal governments, and other eligible organizations in instances where such assignments would be of mutual benefit to the organizations involved. Initial assignments under IPA provisions may be made for a period up to two years, with a possible extension for up to an additional two-year period. The individual remains an employee of the home institution and NSF provides the negotiated funding toward the assignee's salary and benefits. Initial IPA assignments are made for a one-year period and may be extended by mutual agreement. 

Temporary Excepted Service Appointment: Appointment to this position will be made under the Excepted Authority of the NSF Act. Candidates who do not have civil service status or reinstatement eligibility will not obtain civil service status if selected. Candidates currently in the competitive service will be required to waive competitive civil service rights if selected. Usual civil service benefits (retirement, health benefits and life insurance) are applicable for appointments of more than one year. Temporary appointments may not exceed three years.

Visiting Scientist, Engineer, and Educator (VSEE) Program: Appointment to this position will be made under the Excepted Authority of the NSF Act. Visiting Scientists are on non-paid leave status from their home institution and placed on the NSF payroll. NSF withholds Social Security taxes and pays the home institution's contributions to maintain retirement and fringe benefits (i.e., health benefits and life insurance), either directly to the home institution or to the carrier. Appointments are usually made for a one-year period and may be extended for an additional year by mutual agreement.

It is NSF policy that NSF personnel employed at or IPAs detailed to NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign government talent recruitment programs.  Failure to comply with this NSF policy could result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from Federal Service or termination of an IPA assignment and referral to the Office of Inspector General. https://www.nsf.gov/careers/Definition-of-Foreign-Talent-HRM.pdf.

Applications will be accepted from U.S. Citizens. Recent changes in Federal Appropriations Law require Non-Citizens to meet certain eligibility criteria to be considered. Therefore, Non-Citizens must certify eligibility by signing and attaching this Citizenship Affidavit to their application. Non-Citizens who do not provide the affidavit at the time of application will not be considered eligible. Non-Citizens are not eligible for positions requiring a security clearance.

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. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in an appropriate field plus after award of the Ph.D., six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position.

Successful candidates will have a doctoral degree in one of the sciences relevant to the social sciences program, the ability to participate in the leadership of a research organization, a record of accomplishment in the field of science, a detailed understanding of the resource needs of social, behavioral, and economic scientists and appropriate modes of support; ability to recognize current and emerging science trends and recommend new directions. The ability to interact on a peer basis with senior scientific and managerial personnel throughout the Foundation, other Federal agencies, academia, foreign nationals, and the private sector of the science community. And show evidence of commitment to the goal of broadening participation in STEM. Management or other experience with a division program is desirable.

Please submit your curriculum vitae to Anthony Teolis, Directorate Operations Officer, at ateolis@nsf.gov. Applicants should indicate the program they are applying to within their cover letter and the email's subject line. 

Applications are reviewed by the SBE Executive Leadership, and candidates will be selected for interviews either in person or virtually. Applicants will receive an acknowledgment of their application and a status update by email when selections occur. 

For more information about these openings, you may send an inquiry to ateolis@nsf.gov. 

Nominations from the community are also encouraged. A nomination email can be sent to ateolis@nsf.gov. 

Top