Construction Analyst

Summary

This position is located in the Small Business Administration, Damage Verification Center. This position conducts field examinations and performs a variety of duties directed at verifying cause, determining extent and estimating the repair/replacement cost of damage to personal, real, and business property, equipment and inventory resulting from a disaster declared by the President or the Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

Duties

This is a time limited appointment. This position is not expected to be full time year round. There will be times that you will be placed in NonPay Status. Additional information under Important Notes.As a/an Construction Analyst at the GS- 0828-7/9/11, some of your typical work assignments may include: Conduct technical damage assessments on residential, commercial, and industrial facilities to verify disaster damage using standard engineering and construction methods. Evaluate personal property claims and ownership documentation to determine eligibility, repair costs, and asset legitimacy via financial or insurance records. Analyze financial statements, tax returns, and accounting data to calculate inventory loss, depreciation allowances, and equipment salvage values. Review and defend technical estimation reports from third-party engineers, contractors, and adjusters to validate structural evaluation conclusions. Perform collaborative Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) with FEMA and local officials to prepare reports justifying Presidential or SBA disaster declarations. IMPORTANT NOTES: The salary range above reflects the employee's base salary. Locality Pay will be added based on the location of the employee's residence. Your primary residence is considered your official duty station. TRAVEL STATEMENT- You may be required to travel to a disaster site during increased disaster activity for extended periods with little or no advanced notice. If so, you may encounter hazardous working and/or living conditions; i.e., no water or electricity and/or minimal lodging facilities. Travel expenses are compensated based on SBA policy and Federal regulations. This position works on an as needed basis. This means that employees are in a pay and duty status only when activated to respond to workload needs, especially in response to heightened disaster activity. When no longer needed, employees return to a non-pay status until the next event necessitates additional staff. However, depending on the workload and/or level of disaster activity, your work schedule may be changed to full-time. Subsequently, if the workload decreases, you may be placed in a NonPay Status. Mandatory Overtime: In order to respond quickly and efficiently to disaster survivors, substantial compensated overtime hours may be required while on assignment (up to seven days a week and twelve to fourteen hours a day). A valid driver's license may be required. Qualifications

To be minimally qualified for the position, you must meet the Basic Requirements (Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR). Education: Undergraduate and Graduate. Education: Major study: architecture, engineering, building construction, or other fields related to the position. OR Specialized Experience: Experience in the preparation or review of plans, specifications, or estimates of materials and costs for the construction, extension, alteration, or repair of buildings. Applicants should have knowledge of the residential construction field, and experience in the development of plans and specifications, and in negotiation work. This experience may have been obtained working as a contractor or as a draftsperson in an architectural engineering firm. However, any drafting experience must have provided an opportunity to acquire technical knowledge. Appropriate experience includes working with diverse construction materials (brick, lumber, reinforced concrete, steel) and types of structures (housing, single-family dwellings and multi-family apartment units, and industrial and commercial structures). Applicants should be familiar with matters such as planning a subdivision, laying out traffic flow in a multi-family apartment structure, or working out specification problems in plans. You may qualify based on experience, education or a combination of both. A combination of education and experience as indicated above. Qualification Standards: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Group-Standards In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, you must also meet the specialized experience requirements listed below. GS-07: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector: Assisting with visual inspections of residential structures to identify physical and structural damage. Estimating repair or replacement costs by listing quantities of building materials, labor, and equipment. Evaluating property conditions to identify pre-existing maintenance issues or determine repair actions. Reviewing property records, receipts, or photos to verify ownership and evaluate damage to personal property. These qualifications must be clearly referenced in your resume. GS-09: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector: Inspecting conventional residential structures or small business facilities to identify physical and structural damage. Estimating repair or replacement costs by itemizing quantities of construction materials, labor, and equipment. Evaluating property to determine pre-disaster conditions, deferred maintenance, or eligibility for assistance. Examining personal property, commercial equipment, or business records to determine damage cause and replacement values. These qualifications must be clearly referenced in your resume. GS-11: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector: Estimating repair and replacement costs for residential, business, and industrial facilities; AND Identifying cause and extent of structural damage through visual inspections and the interpretation of technical plans and specifications; AND Analyzing business financial records, tax returns, and payroll to determine inventory costs, depreciation, and salvage values; AND Reviewing and adjudicating technical damage reports submitted by architectural firms, engineers, or insurance adjusters; AND Conducting joint disaster damage surveys and preparing technical reports to support federal disaster declaration requests; AND Performing quality reviews of loss verification files to ensure mathematical accuracy and procedural compliance. These qualifications must be clearly referenced in your resume.Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications web site: Construction Analyst Series 0828 (opm.gov) 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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Generally, time in Non-Pay status as a federal employee is not creditable towards the specialized experience requirement listed above. All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 11/03/2026.

Education

APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Verify School accreditation. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If you do not meet the specialized experience requirements, you may also qualify with education. You MUST submit transcripts (official or unofficial) with this application if you wish to qualify based on education. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. GS-07: 1 full year (18 semester hours) of graduate-level education directly related to the position: architecture, engineering, building construction, or other fields related to the position. Education must be in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. OR Superior academic achievement based on one of the following: (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society member. For a detailed description of Superior Academic Achievement, please visit the Superior Academic Achievement website. OR A combination of education and experience. For example, 6 months of the specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), and completion of 9+ semester hours or 13+ quarter hours of graduate-level education in a related field from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position. GS-09: 2 academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education directly related to the position (e.g., architecture, engineering, building construction). Education must be in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. OR Master's degree (or equivalent graduate degree such as LL.B. or J.D. as specified in qualification standards or individual occupational requirements) directly related to the position: architecture, engineering, building construction, or other fields related to the position. Education must be in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. OR A combination of education and experience. For example, 1 full year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of graduate-level education (i.e. 50% of education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position. GS-11: Successful completion of a Doctorate or equivalent graduate degree in architecture, engineering, building construction, or other fields related to the position from an accredited college or university, or 3 full years (54 semester hours or equivalent) of related progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related. OR A combination of education and experience: For example, an applicant who has 1.5 full years of Ph.D. level education (i.e. 50% of education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position. *** If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, click on: Foreign Education. How You Will Be Evaluated

Applicants meeting basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on additional assessments. One of these assessment is USA Hire. Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Your USA Hire assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments. The assessments relate to the following Competencies required to do the work of this position: Building and Construction Cost Estimation and Analysis Financial Analysis Decision Support Technical Competence In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. One of the required assessments for this position is an online assessment that measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Your application will be evaluated under the Category Rating method based on your assessments. You will receive a score based on the responses to the assessment questions. If, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities. If you meet basic requirements for the position, your application will be evaluated and placed into one of three categories: 1. Best-Qualified: highly proficient with an overall comprehensive level of knowledge, skills and abilities related to the job based on a complete review of experience, education, and training as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume. 2. Well-Qualified: competent in the position with an overall accomplished level of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the job based on a complete review of experience, training, and education as applicable, as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume. 3. Qualified: an overall basic level of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the job based on a complete review of experience, education, and training, as described in an applicant's responses to the assessment questions and resume. Candidates eligible for veterans' preference will be placed ahead of other candidates in the appropriate category for which they have been rated. Additionally, preference eligibles who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent and who meet Minimum Qualification Requirements will automatically be placed in the Best Qualified Category. Other Information

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations 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. 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 Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire Career and InterAgency Career Transition Assistance Programs: Are programs that applies to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job in their current agency (intra-agency, i.e. SBA employees only). Inter-Agency Career Transition Assistance (ICTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job at another agency (inter-agency; i.e. not applying to their current or former agency). You are eligible for CTAP/ICTAP if: 1. You are a current federal employee who meets the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee meaning you have received official notice that your job is no longer needed or that you will lose your job by Reduction-in-Force (RIF). 2. Your agency, or the agency to which you are applying, is accepting applications from within or outside of the permanent workforce. 3. The position to which you are applying MUST BE in the Local Commuting Area of the position of record from which you are being displaced. 4. You meet the qualifications and other requirements of the job for which you are applying. This includes being rated as well-qualified for the position (score of 85 or better based on your responses to the competencies and associated questions listed within the assessment). Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. For additional information visit www.sss.gov.