Office Head for the Office of Metascience

Summary

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is establishing an Office of Metascience and initiating a nationwide search for an inaugural Head to build and lead the office for an initial period of up to three years. For additional information, visit: Office of Metascience (OD/OMS) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation

Duties

The frontiers of science, the institutions conducting research, and the tools available to researchers are changing rapidly. NSF has long supported exceptional researchers and opened up new frontiers of knowledge through rigorous merit review, broad engagement with the scientific and engineering enterprise, and adaptation to new fields and new modes of discovery. The Office of Metascience will strengthen this tradition by helping NSF determine how its policies, processes, and funding mechanisms can better identify exceptional ideas, empower talented researchers, reduce unnecessary friction, and accelerate discovery. The Office will use the Agency's portfolio as a testbed for understanding how scientific communities respond to funding-design choices, apply what it learns to NSF programs, and disseminate findings to the broader federal research enterprise where appropriate. Working across NSF's Directorates and offices, the Office will identify consequential questions about how the Foundation structures, funds, and conducts science; design rigorous studies, pilots, and controlled experiments; curate and analyze administrative and award data; and help NSF leaders translate reliable findings into improved policies and practices. Furthering NSF's mandate to pursue scientific merit and broader impact, the Office of Metascience may examine, among other subjects: Approaches to identify and support high-risk, high-reward research; Methods to solicit, review, and select proposals; The speed, cost, and administrative burden of research funding processes; Structures, durations, sizes, and management practices for awards; Mechanisms to support investigators, early-career researchers, teams, institutions, and science performing organizations; Measures of scientific, technological, economic, and public impact; The impact of emerging technologies on scientific workflows and processes; The diffusion, replication, and translation of research results; and Methods for evaluating the impact of NSF programs and funding mechanisms over appropriate time horizons. INAUGURAL HEAD The Office of Metascience Head will report to the NSF Director and have full responsibility for developing and implementing a vision, strategy, and workplan for the Office. The Head will help manage the Office's independent budget and dedicated staff, and will work collaboratively with Directorate Heads to conduct experiments and analyses that allow leaders to identify and scale improvements. They will have a rare opportunity to build a new office at the center of the Federal scientific enterprise, empowered to translate the Office's findings into concrete changes that help the Foundation better identify and support meritorious research, reduce review timelines, and close gaps in the scientific ecosystem.

Requirements

This position is outside the competitive civil service. The Selected Candidate(s) may be subject to a background investigation. Requires an Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure OGE-450.

Qualifications and evaluation

You will be evaluated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and research relevant to the duties of the position.

Education

Please refer to the Qualifications section.

Benefits

IPA assignees remain employees of their home institutions and are therefore ineligible for federal employee benefits.

How to apply

Application materials should be submitted electronically to: OMSsrch@nsf.gov IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OR DATE OF BIRTH ON YOUR APPLICATION DOCUMENTS.

Required documents

Interested individuals should submit the following materials: Current resume or curriculum vitae (CV) Brief statement of interest highlighting relevant experience and areas of expertise Current contact information Application materials should be submitted electronically to: OMSsrch@nsf.gov

Additional information

The position recruited under this announcement will be filled under the following appointment option: 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 IPA assignments are made for a one-year period and may be extended by mutual agreement, 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. This opportunity is open only to individuals eligible for assignment under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Mobility Program. Applicants must meet all IPA eligibility requirements at the time of application. In accordance with the U.S. National Science Foundation requirements, IPAs must be United States citizens. It is NSF policy that personnel employed at, or Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) individuals detailed to, NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign 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. The salary referenced above reflects the AD pay band applicable to federal employees. However, individuals serving under an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment remain employees of their home institutions throughout the duration of the assignment and continue to be compensated through those institutions. For IPA assignments, compensation is based on the individual's current salary at their home institution, annualized for the period of the assignment. If the individual's annualized salary falls below the minimum salary established for the applicable AD pay band, the agency may provide supplemental compensation to bring the individual's total compensation up to the AD minimum. This supplemental amount is paid in accordance with IPA mobility program authorities and does not alter the individual's employment relationship with their home institution. An individual's annualized salary may exceed the AD pay band maximum. In addition, all IPA assignments require the home institution to provide a minimum cost share equal to 10 percent of the employee's total base salary and fringe benefits. IPA participants will be eligible for either one year of per diem allowance, in accordance with U.S. General Services Administration rates, or a round-trip household goods move (relocation) to the Washington Metropolitan Area to support the rotational assignment.