Operations Research Analyst

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

$95K — $115K *
Education, Government & Non-Profit
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Master's degree in operations research or related field preferred
  • 5-7 years of experience in budget analysis and resource management
  • Strong analytical skills, including experience with modeling and forecasting
  • Proven ability to create actionable insights to inform leadership decisions
  • Expertise in quantitative methods and cost modeling

Responsibilities

  • Lead impactful budget and resource studies to drive decision making.
  • Conduct complex analytical projects independently, showcasing initiative.
  • Serve as a key authority in budget and resource analytics.
  • Develop insights and recommendations for senior leadership regarding funding and resource allocation.
  • Assess trends in budget execution and cost structures using quantitative analysis.
  • Utilize advanced modeling techniques to propose improvements to budget processes.
  • Prepare high-quality reports and dashboards for senior leadership.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive benefits package available to federal employees.
  • Access to health insurance, retirement plans, and paid leave.
  • Opportunities for professional development and career growth within the government.
Full Job Description
Summary

The Operations Research Analyst is part of the Budget and Program Analysis Staff (BPAS) staff within Policy and Program Development (PPD) providing support and assistance to the BPAS Chief and Deputy Chief. You will facilitate problem-solving on issues related to the APHIS budget formulation and spending, staffing, and other resources. as well as providing budget and data analysis support and guidance to APHIS units.

Duties

Help

  • The duties may include, but are not limited to:
  • Leads high impact budget and resource studies.
  • Independently designs and conducts complex analytical projects.
  • Serve as an expert authority in budget and resource analytics.
  • Independently develops actionable insights and recommendations to inform senior leadership decisions on funding allocations, program prioritization, and emergency response resourcing.
  • Conducts quantitative assessments of APHIS budget execution trends, cost structures, spending behaviors, unit cost efficiency, and internal control systems.
  • Uses advanced modeling and analytical techniques to develop options that improve APHIS budget processes, and other financial and operational challenges.
  • Maintains high standards of analytical integrity when producing models, forecasts, and financial assessments.
  • Prepares high quality financial reports, dashboards, briefings, and analytical products.


Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Individuals who were born male after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.


Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Degree: in operations research; or at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistics. At least 3 of the 24 semester hours must have been in calculus.

FOR THE GS-14 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-13 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates:

  • Experience independently conducting complex, high impact budget and resource analyses, including analyzing budgetary and human resource levels, and recommending actions to leadership to ensure compliance with Congressional, Administration, Department, and Agency policies.
  • Serves as an expert authority in quantitative methods, cost modeling, forecasting, and financial performance analysis to support budget formulation and long range resource planning.
  • Utilize analytical skills to develop budget exhibits and other presentations of budgetary and financial data to inform decision-making on funding allocations, program prioritization, and emergency response efforts.
  • Creates analytical solutions, including dashboards and other tools, to optimize budget processes, improve emergency resource distribution, enhance cost tracking, and forecast program financial needs.


TRANSCRIPTS are required:

  • This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified.
  • This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university.


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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Additional information

  • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP/ RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100 to receive selection priority.
  • Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expense associated with reporting for duty will be the responsibility of the selected employee.
  • Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.


Expand Hide additional information

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.

Benefits

Help

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.

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

More Education, Government & Non-Profit Jobs

  • City of Philadelphia
    Commissioner of Labor Relations
    $150K — $250K + excellent benefits package *
    City of Philadelphia
    Philadelphia, PA 19102 (Philadelphia County)
  • State Of Delaware
    Director of Accounting
    $130K *
    State Of Delaware
    Dover, DE 19904 (Kent County)
  • Deputy Building Official
    $80K — $150K + gloucester county government offers an excellent benefit package *
    Gloucester County
    Gloucester, VA 23061 (Gloucester County)
  • Deputy Assessor
    $80K — $150K + gloucester county government offers an excellent benefit package *
    Gloucester County
    Gloucester, VA 23061 (Gloucester County)
  • Civil Engineer II
    $80K — $150K + gloucester county government offers an excellent benefit package *
    Gloucester County
    Gloucester, VA 23061 (Gloucester County)

Find similar Operations Research Analyst jobs: