Social Scientist
Job Location:
Silver Spring, MD - USA
Yearly Salary:
Posted:
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products Office of Health Communication and Education Division of Research and Evaluation which is located in Silver Spring Maryland.
- Provide leadership and administrative oversight of programmatic functions support project monitoringand tracking of activities in Division research portfolio and ensure division program activities complywith organizational protocols and standards.
- Provide expertise and guide process and policy development problem-solves complex organization topicsand aids leadership in organizational and strategic planning while ensuring alignment to broaderAgency and/or Center priorities.
- Provide authoritative and technical expertise in the conceptualization development implementation andevaluation of scientific projects to inform public health communication and marketing programs campaigns and other research activities.
- Develop and implement comprehensive and systematic approaches for gathering external andinternal feedback to research and evaluation projects.
- Serve as an expert in research and evaluation to provide consultation to project leads including providing recommendations related to framing research questions.
- Citizenship Requirement: You must be a U.S. Citizen to be considered for this advertisement unless explicitly stated otherwise.
- FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information will be processed through e-Verify to determine your employment eligibility. If a discrepancy arises you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.
- Selective Service Registration: All applicants born male on (or after) 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service System OR have an approved exemption. Visit for more info.
- Background Investigation Requirement: All employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal or legal action. If hired you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time.
- Time-in-Grade Requirement: If you are applying as a current Federal employee you must meet the time-in-grade requirements described in the Qualifications section generally 52-weeks of comparable experience at the next lowest grade.
- Certification of Accuracy: All information concerning eligibility and qualification is subject to investigation and verification. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration non-selection or appropriate legal action.
- You must meet ALL requirements by the closing date of this announcement to be considered. Only education experience and qualifications attained by this date will be considered. You must continue to meet all requirements through the hiring process.
- Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically deposited into a bank account with a financial institution of your choice.
- Additional selections may be made from this vacancy within the same geographical area by other organizational elements from within FDA through shared corporate recruiting activities.
- Probationary periods are required for new employees appointed to competitive service positions for the first time; or reinstated employees who return after a break in service of 30-days or more and who have not completed a probationary period.
- Trial periods are required for all excepted service employees. Trial periods served in the same position and agency with no break in service will satisfy the requirement.
The position of Social Scientist falls within the 0101 occupational series. To qualify for this position at grade GS-14 you must meet Time-in-Grade requirements by 11:59 pm EST on 07/24/2026.
BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:
Degree: Behavioral or Social Science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
-OR-
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-
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.
-AND-
GS-14:
You must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal Service which includes planning and leading a behavioral or social science research program to perform tobacco product or other regulated product policy development; providing strategic planning to an organization on social science theories and methodology affecting public health; and analyzing and integrating scientific evidence to inform regulatory science decision-makers of an organization.
Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. The specialized experience must demonstrate one year of full-time work experience or the equivalent if part-time (for example an employee working 20 hours per week for a 12-month period should be credited with 6 months of experience.) Experience may have been obtained in either the federal service or its equivalent with state or local government the private sector or nongovernmental organizations.
In accordance with Office of Personnel Management policy federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employees position is creditable however when documented by satisfactory evidence such as a signed memorandum from the employees supervisor or an SF-50 or SF-52 documenting an official detail or other official assignment. The documentation must indicate whether the duties were performed full time or if part time the percentage of times the other duties were performed. It is expected that this documentation is included in the employees official personnel order to receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your official position you must provide a copy of the appropriate documentation of such experience as indicated above.
PHS Commissioned Corps Officers interested in performing the duties of this position within the Commissioned Corps may apply online to this announcement. Candidates will be referred to (CC) personnel and not as candidates for conversion to a permanent career or career-conditional appointment.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To verify your application is complete log into your USAJOBS accounthttps:// select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application the documentation received and processed and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of addition to describing duties performed applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g. Peace Corps AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g. professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community student social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies knowledge and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience including volunteer experience.
You must submit supporting documentation to verify your eligibility to apply for this vacancy.
For internal applicants an SF-50 will be required. If Educational requirements are listed you must submit a Transcript even if you occupy the series/grade in question. See the Required Documents section for full details.
TRANSCRIPTS:
Positions which are scientific or technical in nature often have very specific educational requirements. You must submit an official transcript unofficial transcript or a list including courses grades earned completion dates and quarter and semester hours earned. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities see the Foreign Education section below for additional requirements.
Pay careful attention to the Qualifications and Education sections to identify vacancies where a transcript is required. Even if you hold a similar position or are a current employee you are not exempt from transcript requirements.
Electronic Transcript Caution: If you have obtained your transcripts electronically the file might contain security measures that could prevent our application system from reading the file. Therefore you should consider asking the institution to provide the file in a non-secured electronic format. Alternatively you could scan or take a photo of the printed copy of the transcript. If your uploaded transcript cannot be read by our system you may receive consideration and credit for the information we can access.
FOREIGN EDUCATION
Applicants using part or all of their education completed outside of the U.S. to meet the qualification requirements must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. We will only accept the completed foreign credential evaluation.
To be acceptable the foreign credential evaluation must include/describe at a minimum the following information: (1) The type of education received by the applicant; (2) The level of education in relation to the U.S. education system and state that its comparability recommendations follow the general guidelines of the International Evaluation Standards Council; (3) The content of the applicants educational program earned abroad and the standard obtained; (4) The status of the awarding foreign schools recognition and legitimacy in its home countrys education system; and (5) Any other information of interest such as what the evaluation service did to obtain this information the qualifications of the evaluator and any indications as to other problems such as forgery. Note: Some positions require the completion of specific courses or a specified number of credit hours. Therefore the foreign credential evaluation should provide information similar to that of an official transcript to include a list of the courses taken quarter and/or semester hours awarded the cumulative grade point average (GPA) honors received if any date degree awarded.
Applicants can request an evaluation from a member organization of one of the two national associations of credential evaluation services listed below:
- National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)
- Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE)
For more information about this requirement please visit the information
In accordance with Executive Order 14170 applicants are encouraged to respond to the four short free-response essay questions in the questionnaire. Answers to these questions are optional and will not be scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration. You will be asked to certify that your responses are written in your own words and that you did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) tool (such as ChatGPT or Copilot).
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
We may make additional selections for similar positions across the entire Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the local commuting area(s) identified in this vacancy announcement. By applying you agree to have your application shared with any interested selecting official(s) at HHS. There is no option to opt-out as your information will not be shared with other hiring agencies outside of HHS.
- Pre-employment physical: No
- Drug testing: No
- License: No
- Mobility agreement: No
- Immunization: No
- Bargaining Unit: No
This position may require financial disclosure reporting and will be subject to FDAs prohibited financial interest regulation. If you are hired you may be required to divest of certain financial interests. You are advised to seek additional information on this requirement from the hiring official before accepting any job offers. For more information please visit the FDA Ethics web page: requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement (07/24/2026); only education and experience gained by this date will be considered. You must continue to meet all requirements throughout the hiring process.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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 Experience:
IC
