Duties

NSF Program Directors bear the primary responsibility for carrying out the agency's overall mission to support innovative and merit-reviewed activities in research and education that contribute to the nation's technical strength, security, and welfare. To fulfill this responsibility requires not only knowledge in the appropriate disciplines, but also a commitment to high standards, a considerable breadth of interest and receptivity to new ideas, a strong sense of fairness, good judgment, and a high degree of personal integrity.
This position is in the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) within the Division of Innovation and Technology Ecosystems (ITE) and is aligned to the Convergence Accelerator program. ITE's mission is to catalyze and foster innovation ecosystems across the U.S. to advance critical technologies, address national and societal challenges, stimulate economic growth and job creation, spur regional innovation and talent development, and foster partnerships across industry, academia, government, nonprofits, civil society, and communities of practice. The Convergence Accelerator program's focus is to build upon NSF's investment in basic research and discovery to accelerate solutions toward societal and economic impact, using a convergent approach and innovation processes. This is a fast-paced work environment, with the ITE Programs and TIP teams functioning as a startup within the government.
MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
PROGRAM PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

• Participates in the development of program plans and funding opportunities that increase and maintain the breadth of NSF science, engineering, and education investments.
• Maintains a healthy balance of support for all the needs of the research, innovation and education enterprise through program, division, directorate, Foundation, or interagency activities.
• Manages program resources to provide optimal appropriate technical judgment to ensure integrity and consistency in the grant/declination process without conflict of interests, and with balance among appropriate sectors, and participation of all qualified researchers and stakeholder representatives.
• Incorporates cross-directorate responsibilities into program administration.
• Manages an effective, timely merit review process, with attention to increasing the size and quality of the reviewer pools and insuring participation by women, minorities, and disabled scientists.
• Provides technical expertise, evaluation, and advice for other programs in NSF, including international programs, and other research programs, and cross-directorate programs.
• Advises and assists in the development of short-and-long range plans, establishing goals and objectives for support of use-inspired research and innovation programs.
• Plans the budget for the program/programs considering past, present and future fiscal years, allocates resources within the budget by distributing scarce resources among major competitive programs, and manages post-award evaluation.
• Monitors award portfolio for waste, fraud and abuse.
• Participates and supports awardees through the program's innovation curriculum.

• Represents the Program, Division and Foundation within the academic, industry, philanthropic, and investment communities, with other NSF Divisions, with other appropriate federal, state and local governments, and with the public, accurately reflecting TIP and NSF policy and positions.
• Prepares and disseminates a variety of informational documents which may include data on progress being made toward program goals, trends and opportunities, and budget plans.
• Provides information to the community on how TIP programs are pursuing their mission and gathers data and impressions from the community on the effectiveness of the programs' performance.
• Creates and maintains linkages to other NSF units and other Federal agencies in pursuit of the overall NSF mission.
• Participates in staff, panel, committee and other meetings, providing input relevant to program area and/or Division.
• Pursues affirmative action and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) goals.
• Pursues and/or is responsive to assignment on special projects and temporary function teams across the Foundation to solve problems, improve staff communication, and effect coordination for special programs.
• Contributes ideas and effort to improving the quality of policies and NSF's performance of the overall mission.
• Develops policies and plans for strengthening support of research and education programs.

• Establishes contacts and maintains active involvement in Program and related areas through participation in professional activities.
• Pursues individual research as workload and travel funds permit.
• Expands administrative capabilities through training courses or assumption of new management roles.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

This position is outside the competitive civil service.

You must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

How You Will Be Evaluated

• Benefits

  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

• Required Documents

  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

  All applicants must submit a resume in any format and may also submit a cover letter.
  In order to be considered for federal appointments, Non-Citizens must affirm that they meet the Appropriations Law eligibility criteria 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. Non-Citizens who are exempt from the Appropriations Law requirements due to their status as officers or employees of the U.S. government on December 16, 2009 must provide a statement with their application noting their exemption with documentation of proof of status as officers or employees of the U.S. government on that date.
  You are strongly encouraged to upload a current performance appraisal and/or letter(s) of recommendation and a supplemental statement that describes how your background relates to the Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs) listed in the Qualifications and Evaluation Requirements section of this announcement. Additionally, you are encouraged to list all applicable awards either in your CV or in a supplemental statement. This information will be used in the evaluation process.
  Transcripts are not required; however, please indicate the year that each degree was obtained on your application materials. If your degree was obtained from a foreign institution, you MUST submit the certification from the Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals, or certification equivalency.
  All uploading must be completed before 11:59 PM Eastern time on the vacancy closing date.

• How to Apply

  Applicants must complete and submit an application online at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) USAJOBS website at https://www.USAJOBS.gov. An account must be established at the OPM website following the instructions provided in order to apply for the position. Once you have completed the USAJOBS process, you will be re-directed to the USA Staffing system to complete your application process, answer the online questions, and submit all required documents. Applications submitted other than the USAJOBS online application WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED under this announcement.
  

  • Your application and all supporting documents must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. Applicants applying online for this position will be able to apply until 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. Please allow adequate time to complete your application.
  • If you encounter technical difficulties during the process, please submit a USA Staffing Help Ticket for assistance. If you have technical difficulties applying to the vacancy on the USAJOBS website, click on Contact USAJOBS. It is suggested that you do not wait until the last day to apply for a vacancy announcement. We will not accept applications other than those submitted through USAJOBS.
  • As the applicant, it is your responsibility to verify that information entered, uploaded, and submitted is received and is accurate. Ensure that your application includes the required documents listed under "Required Documents" and that they are uploaded in the appropriate fields.
  • If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of this application and hiring process, please notify the point of contact on this job opportunity announcement.

  IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OR DATE OF BIRTH ON YOUR APPLICATION DOCUMENTS.

  Agency contact information

  Staffing and Classification Branch

  Email

  erecruit@nsf.gov

  Address

  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, DIVISION OF INNOVATIVE AND TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEMS
  2415 Eisenhower Ave
  Alexandria, VA 22314
  US

  Next steps

  You will receive updates throughout the process notifying you of your status.
  You may check the status of your application at any time on the USAJOBS website
  Applicants should click 'Track this Application' in the Applicant Dashboard to receive application updates.

• Fair and Transparent

  The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
  • Reasonable accommodation policy
  • Financial suitability
  • Selective Service
  • New employee probationary period
  • Signature and false statements
  • Privacy Act
  • Social security number request

Required Documents

Clarification from the agency

This position is open for a Rotational IPA assignment. Please see the "Additional Information" section for further information. Applications will be accepted from all US citizens who meet citizenship and eligibility requirements. Please see the "Additional Information" section for further information.