Social Science Information Specialist w/ USFS Pacific NW Research Station

OUTREACH NOTICE

Pacific Northwest Research Station

Social Sciences Information Specialist
GS-0101-9/11

Portland Forestry Sciences Laboratory
620 SW Main Street
Portland, OR 97205

About the position

The U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station is seeking to hire a Social Sciences Information specialist with a duty station in Portland, Oregon in the near future.  The full performance level of this Social Sciences position is GS-101-11. Background in one of the social science fields (e.g., anthropology, sociology, geography, political science, human dimensions of natural resources, economics) is preferred.

The Incumbent will reside in the Station’s Goods, Services and Values Program (PNW 2665). The mission of the Program is to conduct and communicate research to advance understanding of relationships among people and forest and rangeland ecosystems. The unit conducts interdisciplinary research in five problem areas:

1: Improve knowledge of fundamental social and economic processes and their interactions with the natural environment.
2: Examine the roles of policies, programs, and other institutions in interactions between people and natural resources.
3: Describe and analyze the implications of changing demographics, socioeconomics, and technology on natural resources and their management.
4: Describe the capacity of dynamic landscapes to provide for evolving human wants and needs.
5: Conduct and use integrated multidisciplinary research to support development of management approaches that account for interactions among socioeconomic, ecological, and physical factors.

Program scientists conduct research that is regional (Alaska, Washington, and Oregon), national, and international in scope, and work in partnership with other Forest Service researchers, university scientists, policy makers and managers. The ultimate goal of this research is to improve understanding of the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of government natural resource management policies, decision-making processes, and programs; and to contribute to the scholarly literature and theory about human and natural resource interactions. To achieve these goals, researchers work closely with policymakers, managers, and the public to help them understand a variety of available options associated with natural resource management and policy decisions, and their implications for people and natural resources. They also work closely with scientists inside and outside the Forest Service, and are active participants in university activities and professional associations.

The Incumbent will be expected to:

• Oversee data life cyle management to help achieve social science research objectives.  Coordinate input from scientists to determine type, amount and level of information required to develop and analyze social, economic, and ecological geospatial and tabular data to inform research related to ecosystem management.  Assess quality, compatability, and limitations of various data used in a wide array of social science economics research efforts. Develop data dictionaries, data models, and metadata for multi-disciplinary information and geospatial applications. Obtain and analyze social and economic indicator data from a variety of sources at multiple scales. Responsible for organization and maintenance of social science information and data to facilitate analysis across multiple disciplines including but not limited to recreation, urban and community forestry, conservation collaboratives and tribes, natural resource use, environmental justice, restoration, planning, and fire.  

 

• Provide expertise and makes recommendations on the development and application of geospatial analysis processes, protocols and solutions to research projects within the Station’s Program area. Apply standard geospatial and cartographic principles to new situations and resolves novel or obscure problems. Develop and interprets conceptual, mathematical and computer models for geospatial applications. Apply advanced principles to facilitate geospatial model design and analysis procedures related to social science and relevant natural resource data and products. Use spatial statistical tools for modeling geospatial data to simulate, estimate, interpolate, and predict social and natural processes and their linkages with human uses, dimensions and values. Manipulate and analyze geospatial data for multiple socioeconomic, resource, jurisdicational, and ownership units or a large geographical region. Perform multi-scale and/or multi-resource analysis in support of social science research activities.

 

• Compile socioeconomic, natural resource, topographic, and cartographic data for creation of thematic map products and presentation materials for research scientists . Operate complex computer systems and software packages and develop procedures to produce intricately detailed maps and graphics for research projects investigating a variety of social and economic phenomena.  Apply geographic and cartographic principles to the resolution of multi-disciplinary issues in geospatial database construction and map compilation.

• Provide advice and recommendations on sources, standards, integrity, compatibility, and cost efficiency of social science, and related, information.  Serve as the technical point of contact and maintains liaison with the other appropriate specialists in the station, researchers, Regional Office (RO), Federal, State, and local governments; learning institutions; the private sector; professional organizations; and other individuals concerned with GIS, remote sensing, mapping, and related issues.

The duty station for this position will be at the Portland Forestry Sciences Laboratory located in down town Portland, Oregon.  


IF YOU’RE INTERESTED...

The purpose of this Outreach Notice is to determine the potential applicant pool for this position.  Responses received from this outreach notice will be relied upon to make this determination.

Interested applicants should complete the attached form and return to Simon Kihia at   [email protected]. Those desiring further information about the position may inquire via the email address listed above.  

About the Pacific Northwest Research Station
The PNW Research Station is one of seven research units in the USDA Forest Service’s Research and Development Branch.  The USDA Forest Service conducts the most extensive and productive program of integrated forestry research in the world.  The scientific information produced by the Station has application on public, private, and tribal lands in the Pacific Northwest (Alaska, Oregon and Washington) and elsewhere in the United States and other parts of the world. The Station’s programs reflect the changing character of the questions that science is being asked to help answer.  

The PNW Research Station has approximately 270 permanent and temporary employees in professional, administrative, research, technical, and clerical positions.  There are six Program Managers that oversee research program organizations, and nine laboratories that provide research. The laboratories are located in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. The Station is also involved in international work with foreign governments, agencies and universities in many research areas.  The research activities of the Station attract considerable interest from Congress, special interest groups, and the public. The Station Director’s Office is located in downtown Portland, OR.



Community Information:
The City of Portland is located in the northwest part of the state of Oregon, bordering Vancouver, Washington. The major highways intersecting the city are I-5, I-84, I-205, and US-26. The population is around 538,180 in the city, and 1.95 million in the metropolitan area. The community is often referred to as “America's Best-Kept Secret.” This “City of Roses” is vibrant and energetic, while, at the same time, laid back and easy-going. Breathtaking natural beauty of the Cascade Mountains provides the perfect backdrop for a city that has architecturally and spiritually merged the past with the present with great success. Portland has character and personality epitomized in its unique and varied neighborhoods. Despite its size, the city has a small-town feel where people know their neighbors and are active in community issues. Commuting is easy, whether it be by the public transportation system, car, or bicycle. Despite what you may have heard, our weather is pretty good as well. Slowly the secret is getting out, and individuals, families, and companies are discovering for themselves just what makes Portland, Oregon, a great place to live, work, and play.

For more information about Portland, Oregon, visit http://www.portlandonline.com and http://www.travelportland.com/visitors.
To be considered, applicants must be U.S. citizens.
Thank you for your interest in this position

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program.  (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).