Other Washington, District Of Columbia

Description

Creative Corrections is actively recruiting exceptional candidates to be considered for a SOCIAL SCIENTISTS position located in Washington, DC. This will be a contract role within the U.S. Department of State. The U.S. Department of State is the lead institution for the conduct of American diplomacy and the Secretary of State is the President’s principal foreign policy advisor. The Department of State’s mission is to advance U.S. national security interests, fight terrorism, protect U.S. interests abroad, and implement foreign policy initiatives that build a freer, prosperous, and secure world.

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) keeps Americans safe at home by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. INL helps countries deliver justice and fairness by strengthening their police, courts, and corrections systems. These efforts reduce the amount of crime and illegal drugs reaching U.S. shores.

INL’s Office of Knowledge Management (INL/KM) seeks to continuously improve the design, implementation, and results of assistance aimed to improve criminal justice capacity abroad by providing programmatic and policy guidance, expertise, and training informed by experience and evidence. The position is located in the Division of Design and Learning (INL/KM/DDL), which focuses on program design, monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

This position is contingent upon award of contract for BPA Call.

POSITION OVERVIEW
TITLE: Social Scientist
LOCATION: Washington, DC.
SECURITY CLEARANCE: A SECRET security clearance is required for this position; however, the contractor may begin work with an interim SECRET security clearance.
CLOSING DATE: May 30, 2023

POSITION DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this Third Party Contract (TPC) is to provide two (02) Social Scientists who shall be ready to 1) conduct independent research on the effectiveness of INL programs; 2) analyze project performance data collected by others in the Bureau and advise on improvements to Bureau guidance and implementation procedures; 3) advise on evaluations of Bureau projects conducted by outside implementers; and 4) provide training and coaching on project design and monitoring techniques. The Social Scientists also will be expected to assist program officers, project implementers, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) specialists in the development of performance monitoring and evaluation plans, and to participate in INL’s M&E community of practice. Finally, the Social Scientists will use quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze project performance data and visualize patterns and findings to support broader KM/DDL monitoring, and evaluation efforts as needed.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE
The period of performance for this order will be one (01) year from the date of award with the option to exercise four (04) one-year option periods, subject to performance, need, and funding.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, conduct, and present independent research, orally and in writing, to assess effects of INL programs using qualitative and quantitative methods from the social sciences, as appropriate. Data sources will include internal INL project performance data, publicly available datasets, data and reports available for purchase, and new data collected for a given research project.
• Analyze INL project performance data (statistical and textual) to identify strengths and weaknesses of the data needed for assessing project effectiveness, and advise accordingly to improve Bureau policies on design, monitoring, and evaluation, including drafting documents, and conducting analyses, feasibility studies, and strategy options.
• Design and supervise evaluations of INL programs in accordance with INL evaluation standards, including.
  • Design and/or review of research questions, in collaboration with INL program staff and/or project implementers.
  • Design and/or review of research strategies, including data collection and methods.
  • Design and/or review of survey questionnaires, focus group discussion guides, and sampling plans.
  • Supervision and monitoring of data collection, potentially including field visits.
  • Rigorous review and quality control of analysis provided by project implementers.
  • Independent cleaning and analysis of monitoring and evaluation data.
  • Written and oral reporting, including visualization of findings and recommendations for future projects, primarily aimed at a general audience of policymakers, but with preparation for engaging technical specialists as well.
• Conduct market research, develop inputs for government cost estimates, draft statements of work and other pre-award documents, prepare technical evaluations and associated documentation, participate as a technical advisor to a source selection board or as a nonvoting member of a source selection evaluation board, assist in the evaluation of a contractor’s performance, and work in a situation that might permit access to confidential business information.
• Design performance monitoring plans in collaboration with INL program staff and in accordance with INL project design and monitoring standards, and monitor data collection, modifying plans as needed to ensure best performance.
• Develop curriculum and teach project design, monitoring, and evaluation techniques to non-experts.
• Participate in and contribute to INL’s Monitoring and Evaluation Community of Practice and other forums related to project design, monitoring, and evaluation, potentially involving participation in situations where it might be assumed that participants are agency employees or representatives.
• Support broader project design, monitoring, and evaluation efforts as needed.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• U.S. Citizen.
• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
• A PhD in political science, economics, sociology, criminology, monitoring and evaluation, or a related field.
• Six to ten years’ experience in relevant field.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Federal regulations in regard to area of specific need.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating organizational change.
• Demonstrated ability to work on projects and issues within overall policy guidelines.
• Demonstrated skilled in oral and written communication, sufficient to draft action and info memos, congressional testimony, press guidance, and congressional and general correspondence.
• Demonstrated knowledge of international narcotics and law enforcement issues.
• Demonstrated knowledge of issues related to development, foreign assistance, politics and economy, sociology, anthropology, organizational development, and/or narcotics and law enforcement.
• Demonstrated experience conducting mixed-methods research and analysis, including the development of research questions and design of measurement strategies.
• Demonstrated experience teaching or collaborating with non-experts on the development of research questions and quantitative metrics.
• Demonstrated ability to provide advice, guidance, and consultation with regard to the interpretation and application of social science analysis.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrated experience working in foreign assistance and/or social science research in developing countries.
• Demonstrated experience using R, Python, or other statistical software for data analysis and visualization.

LEVEL OF EFFORT
Hours for the positions will be the core hours of the Department of State: Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week, 8 hours per day.

TELEWORK
The positions have been designated as 80% telework and will require the incumbent to report to the physical work location twice per federal government pay period. This designation does not guarantee telework privileges for the contractor employee; INL reserves the right to expand the requirement for in-person presence at the physical work location if the contractor employee is unable to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities of the position remotely. INL may also require the incumbent to report to the physical work location additional days within a pay period as required to support office or program needs.

Telework must be authorized in advance by the INL/KM/DDL Office Director, INL Contracting Officer (CO), and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), in accordance with Department of State and INL policies.

POSITION LOCATION
The physical work location is the INL/KM/DDL office at State Annex 1 (SA-01), Columbia Plaza, 2401 E St. NW, Washington, DC 20520.

CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT
A SECRET security clearance is required for this position; however, the contractor may begin work with an interim SECRET security clearance.

This position is contingent upon award of contract for BPA Call.

ABOUT CREATIVE CORRECTIONS

At Creative Corrections, we strive to create a culture where we are able to attract and retain highly talented and qualified individuals. These relationships are built on trust, respect, and an assurance each person feels valued. We offer a strategic Total Compensation Package for qualified employees. In the end, we recognize that our employees are the heart and soul of the Company and provide the services our customers rely upon.

In addition, we are honored to be a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and are equally proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, committed to creating a diversified workplace where everyone feels valued and respected because of their differences.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected status or characteristics.