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.

Senior Science Advisor for Inclusivity

Directorate: Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)
Job Type:
Senior Executive/Leadership
Appointment Type:
Temporary / Rotator
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

The Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) announces a nationwide search to fill the position of Senior Science Advisor for Inclusivity.  Formal consideration of interested applicants will begin 5/01/2022 and continue until a selection is made. Appointment to this Excepted Service position may be on a temporary AD-05 basis, with a salary range of $177,660 to $196,969. Alternatively, the incumbent may be assigned under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) provisions.

The mission of MPS is to harness the collective efforts of the mathematical and physical sciences communities to address the most compelling scientific questions, educate the future advanced high-tech workforce, and promote discoveries to meet the needs of the Nation.

The Senior Science Advisor for Inclusivity, a member of the MPS senior leadership team, assists the MPS Assistant Director, Deputy Assistant Director and all Division Management Teams in the formulation of the directorate’s STEM equity goals, objectives, and priorities; the integration of scientific, equity and technical priorities into effective policies, strategies, and programs; and the conduct of program planning, implementation, and evaluation procedures, all in the context of broadening the participation of scientists across all MPS related fields. 

The incumbent, as a senior-level technical expert with stature and experience in building STEM equity strategies and programs, serves as a key Senior Science Advisor for MPS by preparing relevant analyses that in turn provide a basis for major decisions in priority setting, directorate and program planning and internal management, and translating STEM equity decisions into effective budgetary and operational activities.

Successful candidates will be expected to work collaboratively with staff and other program officers in specific MPS programs or more broadly across MPS’ portfolio of research and development programs ranging across STEM disciplines, age groups, educational settings, and research methodologies.  They will also be expected to work closely with staff across divisions and directorates on cross-cutting programs of importance to the mission of the Agency.

Position Description

MAJOR DUTIES:

Strategic Planning and Management

  • Actively work with MPS Assistant Director and MPS Senior Staff to develop a directorate-wide, strategic framework for STEM equity that addresses critical transition points in MPS-related education and career pathways, enables all educational institutions to succeed (beyond R1, across the entire country), and aligns with NSF and Administrations’ STEM equity goals.
  • Identify and recommend measurement strategies, performance analysis of related data and evaluation of equity programs and initiatives across MPS.
  • Identify barriers and challenges that are impacting diversity of the scientific workforce across all MPS disciplines and contribute towards the development of policies and programs that will attract, retain, and promote a diverse workforce.
  • Routinely present the status of MPS STEM equity initiatives to MPS leadership, division program directors and administrative staff.
  • Collaboratively prepare presentations, reports, or other written materials as needed.
  • Serve as a resource for MPS (leadership and division staff) through their expertise on current scholarship and research for effective broadening participation strategies.
  • Maintain familiarity with salient, current research and education developments in relevant fields through visits, attending courses and conferences, and other developmental activities (subject to availability of funds).

 

Coordination and Liaison with NSF, other Funding Agencies, and the Community

  • Significant involvement in partnership and multidisciplinary coordination across a broad range of NSF activity; including but not limited to representing MPS with institutions of higher education that serve groups underrepresented to communities, and representatives of lands, and jurisdictions across the U.S. that lack resources for robust education, workforce development and regional innovation.
  • Proactively engage and partner with STEM equity experts, both external and internal to NSF, as a mechanism to glean effective strategies that MPS can consider, partner on, and/or expand upon.

 

Organizational Performance

  • Provides leadership in the implementation of NSF policy and programmatic and builds public trust through timely and transparent practices.
  • Works effectively in a team environment, demonstrating leadership as well as considerate, professional interactions with scientific, engineering, and administrative colleagues.
  • Leads and/or provides service on task groups, shares the workload, and mentors others.
  • Shows commitment to high-quality customer service.
  • Seeks ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.

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.

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.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Candidates must have a Ph.D. or Ed.D., or equivalent professional experience, in a field of science or engineering covered by NSF, plus at least six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position.

Successful candidates will have research and/or development expertise in equity and inclusion in STEM and STEM learning for at least one group that has been historically underrepresented in STEM. 

QUALITY RANKING FACTORS

  1. Expert, in-depth knowledge of the landscape of and barriers for diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields. Demonstrated ability to situate one’s own work within fieldwide scholarship regarding diversity, equity, access, and inclusion in STEM teaching and learning.
  2. Experience and in-depth knowledge in developing and implementing large-scale STEM diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies, goals and objectives.
  3. Success liaising with executives in academia, government and/or non-government arenas and developing networks and alliances that lead multidisciplinary STEM coordination efforts with community members to implement specific equity strategies in science.
  4. Experience in developing metrics to evaluate and assess factors that influence access and success for underrepresented students, postdocs, and faculty members in STEM workforce, including the impact of funding investments in programs that target diversity, equity and inclusion.

 

Interested applicants must submit a resume and a narrative statement addressing their background in terms of the qualification requirements. Applications may be submitted electronically to mpsrecruit@nsf.gov.

Contact Information: Tie Luo, 703-292- 8448, email: tluo@nsf.gov

Apply by Email
Top