High-level statistical position at NCHS

The National Center for Health Statistics is Seeking Candidates for the Position of Distinguished Consultant (Supervisory Mathematical Statistician)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and is the principal health statistics agency in the United States. Its mission is to provide statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the health of the American people. NCHS is a unique public resource for health information and a critical element of public health and health policy.

NCHS is seeking exceptional candidates for the Chief of the Statistical Research and Survey Design Staff (SRSDS) in its Office of Research and Methodology (ORM). SRSDS, which contains the largest group of research statisticians in NCHS, conducts basic and applied statistical research relevant to NCHS and the broader scientific community, and provides technical assistance primarily to the various programs within NCHS but also outside of NCHS. Recent areas of work by SRSDS include the redesign of NCHS surveys, methods for modeling and analyzing complex survey data, small-area estimation, combining information from multiple data sources, quality control, statistical disclosure limitation and protection of confidentiality, handling missing data, and statistical computing.

ORM, the central methodological unit for all of NCHS, has two staffs in addition to SRSDS: the Questionnaire Design and Research Laboratory, which conducts research and technical assistance on questionnaire design and testing; and the Research Data Center, which provides researchers with secure access to NCHS' restricted-access data as well as technical assistance, while protecting the confidentiality of the respondents and records. ORM seeks to be a leader in basic research and applications relevant to NCHS and the broader scientific community, by advancing the state of knowledge and application in the areas of research design and the measurement, collection, analysis, and dissemination of data.


Major Duties for the Position:
- Develop and direct a program of basic and applied statistical research, particularly relevant to NCHS, but also to CDC, DHHS, and the Federal statistical system.
- Develop and direct a program of technical assistance and collaboration, particularly for other programs within NCHS, but also for programs outside of NCHS.

- Conduct individual and collaborative research and technical assistance.

- Disseminate such work to the scientific community via oral presentations and peer-reviewed and other publications.

- Establish and maintain collaborative partnerships with outside researchers and professional associations.
- Direct a staff of roughly 10-20 statisticians, who conduct research, provide technical assistance, and participate in professional activities.
- As part of ORM's Senior Staff, work with other ORM leaders to consider issues and develop programs relevant to ORM and NCHS as a whole.


This position will be filled under Title 42 as a Distinguished Consultant (salary range: $123,758 - $199,700) and is open to all groups of qualified persons, including U.S. citizens, non-citizens, and Public Health Service Commissioned Officers; no previous federal experience or tenure is required.


Further information and application instructions (deadline: December 11, 2012) are available at
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/329860900.