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Jobs · OTHR · Maryland

Applied Social Scientist - Mid to Experienced Level (Maryland)

National Security Agency · Fort Meade, MD · Yesterday
OTHR$85k–$187k/yrFull-time

NSA has numerous excellent opportunities for Applied Social Scientists to oversee and develop initiatives focusing on talent acquisition, development, and retention. They use social science research methods to explore and address issues around organizational and program effectiveness, develop solutions, and provide data-informed recommendations to enhance the way NSA does business.

About the role

As an Applied Social Scientist, you will work with other industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists, strategic consultants, data scientists, and human capital professionals to develop and oversee initiatives in talent acquisition, development, and retention. The agency is currently hiring specialists in:

  • Occupational Analysis
  • Personnel Assessment and Selection
  • Program Design and Evaluation

Applicants selected for interviews will be requested to provide a 30-minute Job Talk, presented by the candidate, followed by panel questions from agency I/O Psychologists related to the work presented. Job Talks should highlight technical expertise and include a research or applied project (or a dissertation) relevant to Human Capital, Talent Learning, or Development.

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with team members across the organization and develop strategic partnerships to help achieve organizational goals.
  • Contribute to the conceptualization, design, analysis, and presentation of applied research using appropriate quantitative and qualitative research techniques, data collection strategies, and data analysis methods to inform technical and leadership decisions.
  • Keep abreast of industry and academic best practices, as well as new research in I/O, talent management, learning, and development and related fields.
  • Provide organizational leadership with research-based recommendations and input on organizational strategy.
  • Synthesize complex findings and detailed research into executive summaries and presentations intended for managerial decisions and/or publication.
  • Create dynamic, user-friendly visualizations of data.
  • Provide high-quality customer service to clients through superior technical work, consultative skills, and communication.
  • Lead Human Capital projects through effective project management, external contract support or oversight, milestone tracking, and deliverable validation.
  • Leverage relevant tools such as MS Excel, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, statistical software (e.g., R), and data visualization software (e.g., Tableau).
  • Present findings to technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Perform workforce analyses that describe current states, predict future trends, and/or inform business decisions.

Requirements

The qualifications listed are the minimum acceptable to be considered for the position. Degree must be in Organizational Development, I-O Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology, Educational Psychology, Applied Psychology, Sociology, Economics, or a related degree. Preferred majors include:

  • Industrial and Organizational Psychology
  • Applied Psychology
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Educational Measurement
  • Educational Psychology

Relevant experience must include one year of performing social science research and analysis in an experimental or applied setting. Relevant experience may also include:

  • Development and validation of assessment or selection tools.
  • Development and administration of surveys.
  • Providing consultation on organizational effectiveness.
  • Conducting occupational analysis.
  • Designing or evaluating programs.
  • Reporting and interpreting data.
  • Coaching, consulting, training, or managing in organizational and workforce development.
  • Organizational behavior or human resources.
  • Designing workforce development solutions.
  • Human factors engineering.

Qualifications

Full Performance: Entry is with a Master's degree plus 1 year of experience, or a Doctoral degree and no experience.

Senior: Entry is with a Master's degree plus 4 years of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree plus 2 years of relevant experience.

Before applying, please prepare a response of 200 words or less to each of the following questions and attach them in a Word document or PDF. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot.

  • Explain statistical methods you have applied previously to I/O Psychology projects, preferably in the Human Capital data environment.
  • Describe your experience presenting technical information to non-technical organizational leadership.

Pay

Salary offers are based on candidates' education level and years of experience relevant to the position and also take into account information provided by the hiring manager/organization regarding the work level for the position.

Salary Range: $85,447 - $187,093 (Full Performance, Senior). Salary range varies by location, work level, and relevant experience to the position.

Benefits

NSA offers a comprehensive benefits package.

Schedule

This is a full-time position, Monday - Friday, with a basic 8hr/day work requirement between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (flexible).

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