Office of Information Management and Office of Water Intergovernmental Personnel Act Opportunity

Summary

• This announcement is for one a 6-month full-time or one 12-month part-time fully reimbursable assignment. This opportunity would not be issued as a grant, but rather as an agreement between EPA and the Tribal agency where EPA would agree to pay for the salary and benefits of the individual for the duration of the Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement assignment. There may be an opportunity for an extension. Mutually agreed upon/approximate start and end dates between March and June 2025.
• This assignment is within U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Mission Support/Office of Information Management.
• This assignment is a telework opportunity. Some travel may be required to events or training opportunities at EPA's expense.
• The deadline for applications is January 17, 2025 (see the process for applying below).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Mission Support (OMS)/Office of Information Management (OIM) and Office of Water (OW) are seeking a data analyst for a 6-month full-time or 12-month part-time temporary assignment via the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA). This assignment is an ideal opportunity for an employee who works for a Tribal government with a research or analytical skillset to gain transferable experience in data management principles, data analysis, and training development.

Duties

The analyst will have the opportunity to work with both the Office of Information Management (OIM) and the Office of Water (OW) on projects as outlined below. The analyst will work on three projects during their time with EPA:

1. A project with the Office of Information Management (the candidate can select from one of the four projects outlined below).
2. A project with the Office of Water as outlined below.
3. Depending on the OIM project, the analyst will also identify a Tribal project to apply what they learned from their time with OIM. This project can be a topic related to their Tribe or another Tribe as identified in coordination with the Tribal Exchange Network Group.

In addition, the analyst will develop midpoint and closeout status narratives outlining their experience with EPA and what they learned (detailed guidance will be provided during the assignment).

Office of Information Management Projects

Please review the projects below and select one OIM project that you would like to work on during your time with OIM. In your cover letter, please outline the project you have selected and how your experience aligns or how the project will build capacity and benefit your future work with Tribes.

Project Option 1

Work with OIM to create a Data Management Plan. The following are the components of the project:

• Review existing data management plan examples and resources, identifying the questions that need to be asked when creating a data management plan, such as where the data are from, what the data will be used for, who can access the data, etc. and identifying the format of the plan, its key components, and the best practices for developing the plan.
• Apply a draft plan to multiple projects within OIM, including obtaining a better understanding of the data sources feeding Envirofacts (EF) in support of the Facility Registry System (FRS)/EF optimization project. This will help refine the plan, form, and questions.
• Develop and refine the data management plan format and questions for the IPA candidate's Tribe and potentially other Tribes as appropriate and available.
• Work with staff from across OIM to incorporate specific aspects of the data lifecycle from each organization.
• Create a plan for establishing data products from the Central Data Exchange (CDX) to be consumed in the Data Management and Analytics Platform (DMAP) and other destination systems.

Project Option 2

Develop Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) Training:

• Develop and deliver a training module on "Esri's Experience Builder" based on one to two EPA use cases for the tool. Esri's experience builder is a tool that allows users to put together sophisticated web applications that bring together maps, applications, web pages and a variety of data without needing to know how to write code.
• Develop a training module on how to incorporate Section 508 compliance best practices into products developed in Esri's ArcPro.
• Develop a training module on an open-source mapping tool, specific to an EPA use case.

Project Option 3

Tribal User Guide: Review and refine the Draft Tribal User Guide, which contains tools and resources available on epa.gov for Tribes. The draft user guide was developed by OIM in partnership with the EPA Office of International and Tribal Affairs (OITA).

Project Option 4

Analyze data using EPA Tools and develop a "How To" guide using Tribal data, identify and document the steps for developing data analysis scripts and visualization. This project includes setting up the data analysis and visualization environment, developing data analysis scripts, identifying and using reusable code, and identifying user resources for R or Python and scripts that can be re-used and shared.

Office of Water Project

During the analyst's time with EPA, they will work with the Office of Water as part of the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) and the Assessment TMDL Tracking and Implementation (ATTAINS) teams to assist in tribal training, mentorship, and adoption of these two tools for tribal use. This may include the development of training materials, providing technical support to tribes in data management and in leveraging these tools, and learning about best-practices for managing water quality monitoring data from data collection through quality assurance, assessment, and the reporting and sharing of that data as appropriate.

Qualifications

The following are the desired skillsets. (Note: The goal of this assignment is capacity building and as such any combination of the below skillsets or the demonstration of an aptitude to learn these skillsets may be sufficient.)

• Experience with basic data management concepts such as experience with data collection, establishing data quality checks, data harmonization, data analytics, curation, and data sharing.
• Experience with spreadsheets (e.g., Excel or Google Sheets) to correct and clean data.
• Experience with presentation tools (e.g., PowerPoint or Google Slides) to develop and edit materials.
• Experience with one or more areas of the data lifecycle, such as gathering data, making data usable, sharing data, and creating products from data.
• Experience with downloading datasets from government websites.
• Experience with communicating and working with others to obtain information and feedback.
• Experience presenting technical information to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience with coding, such as in R or Python, and developing code that is reusable.

Background

The Office of Mission Support's (OMS) Office of Information Management (OIM) provides information management solutions to meet EPA's needs. OIM's work encompasses the full lifecycle of information management from bringing data in, developing tools for analysis, and making data available. OIM provides many tools and resources that support the information management lifecycle, including information management, analytics, and visualization tools; information collection and exchange services; and content management and publication services. The Office of Information Management supports the Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN), which facilitates environmental data sharing among EPA, states, tribes and territories.

The Office of Water (OW) ensures drinking water is safe, and restores and maintains oceans, watersheds, and their aquatic ecosystems to protect human health, support economic and recreational activities, and provide healthy habitat for fish, plants and wildlife.

Opportunity Timeline

The IPA opportunity is for a 6-month full-time or 12 months part-time temporary fully reimbursable assignment. Mutually agreed upon/approximate start and end dates between March and June 2025. Depending on the nature of the work, IPA assignments may be performed on an intermittent, part-time, or full-time basis.

Location

This position is a telework opportunity. Travel may be required to events or training opportunities at OIM’s expense. 

Eligibility

To be eligible for the IPA program, the analyst must be employed by a Tribal Government for at least 90 days in a career position.

Organizations are reimbursed for the IPA’s salary and a portion of other related benefits while serving under this appointment.

Security/Suitability requirements: None

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit a resume (including contact information) and a cover letter to  ExchangeNetwork@epa.gov by Friday, January 17, 2025.  The cover letter should include the following information:

• The OIM project of interest from the four project options above with a description of related experience or how the project will build capacity and benefit future work with Tribes. 
• A description of experience related to the OW project outlined above.
• A description of additional experience the candidate is interested in gaining from working with OIM and OW.

Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information:

1. Job Title 
2. Duties (be specific in describing your duties)
3. Name of Employer
4. Start and end dates including month and year (e.g., June 2007 to April 2008)