Economist

Summary

This announcement is issued under the Direct Hire Authority (DHA) to recruit for positions for which there is a critical hiring need. Selectee(s) will receive a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service and may be required to serve a one year probationary period.

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Duties

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This position is located in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer which provides sound decision support in the areas of budget, financial management, and program and economic analysis services.

Typical work assignments at the full performance level include, but are not limited to:

• Planning and executing projects to collect, validate, and manage detailed economic data, including establishing data requirements, sources, quality controls, and documentation sufficient to support reproducible analysis.
• Conducting independent economic research and analysis supporting CISA analytic requirements (e.g., economic impact studies, cost-benefit analyses, and decision-support tool development), applying appropriate economic theory, quantitative methods, and qualitative techniques as required.
• Identifying and resolving methodological issues affecting study design, data acquisition, and interpretation (e.g., model selection, data limitations, assumptions, uncertainty, and sensitivity), and establishing analytically sound approaches to ensure valid and defensible results.
• Leading the design and execution of complex or pioneering economic studies and programs of critical importance to CISA by defining research scope and objectives, evaluating feasibility, managing analytic risk/uncertainty, and coordinating work across stakeholders and contributing analysts as needed.
• Preparing and delivering technical written products and briefings (reports, graphics, charts, and presentations) that communicate methods, assumptions, limitations, findings, and actionable recommendations clearly and concisely to senior leadership and other stakeholders.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• Selective Service - Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service, see
• All Federal employees are required to participate in Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer for salary payments.
• DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance suitable for Federal employment as determined by a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.
• This position may be designated as essential personnel. Essential personnel must be able to serve during continuity of operation events without regard to declarations of liberal leave or government closures due to weather, protests, and acts of terrorism or lack of funding. Failure to report for or remain in this position may result in disciplinary or adverse action in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations (5 U.S.C. 7501-7533 and 5 CFR Part 752, as applicable).
• This position requires a pre-employment drug test. All applicants tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit to a drug test to screen for illicit/illegal drug use prior to receiving a final offer of employment. A final offer of employment is contingent upon a negative drug test result.

Qualifications

Do NOT copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Your resume must describe your work and experience, in your own words.

To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required education and experience for the respective grade level in which you are applying.

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic Requirements AND Minimum Qualification requirements as listed below.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

A. Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited institution that included a major field of study in economics that included at least 21 semester hours or 31.5 quarter hours in economics AND 3 semester hours or 4.5 quarter hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluation of Experience

Examples of qualifying experience include:

1. individual economic research assignments requiring planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation, conclusions and report preparation;
2. supervisory or project coordination assignments involving a staff of professional economists, and requiring the evaluation and interpretation of economic information; or
3. teaching assignments in a college or university that included both class instruction in economics subjects and one of the following (1) personal research that produced evidence of results, (2) direction of graduate theses in economics, or (3) service as a consultant or advisor on technical economics problems.

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS ABOVE, YOU MUST ALSO MEET THE FOLLOWING MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

You qualify at the GS-13 grade level, if you have:

EXPERIENCE: At least one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level (or equivalent) performing all the following duties:

1. Conducting independent economic research and analysis projects such as economic impact studies and cost benefit analyses;
2. Analyzing methodological problems and planning the basis for the acquisition and interpretation of economic data;
3. Planning and preparing quantitative and qualitative analysis; and
4. Making authoritative recommendations on Division policies that provide guidance, information, and technical expertise to senior leadership on policy initiatives pertaining to economic analysis.

You qualify at the GS-14 grade level, if you have:

EXPERIENCE: At least one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-13 grade level (or equivalent) performing all the following duties:

1. Conducting independent economic research and analysis projects such as economic impact studies and cost benefit analyses, including development of decision support tools;
2. Analyzing methodological problems and planning the basis for the acquisition and interpretation of economic data;
3. Defining analytic requirements, scoping and planning of quantitative and qualitative analysis including methods selection decisions (e.g., econometric analysis, pricing and market analysis, multiplier models, uncertainty and risk analysis, statistics, etc.); and
4. Making authoritative recommendations on Division policies that provide guidance, information, and technical expertise to senior leadership on policy initiatives pertaining to economic analysis.

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.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

If you are using your education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements specified in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent with your application. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted that include your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. Failure to submit the required transcript may result in an ineligible determination.

Education must be from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Graduate Education: One academic year of graduate education is the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the qualification requirements. You must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information.

Additional information

• Other incentives may be authorized.
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
• Additional vacancies may be filled with this announcement.
• A one-year probationary period may be required during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. We may consider your performance and conduct, the needs and interests of the agency, whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government, and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
• If selected below the full performance level, you may be noncompetitively promoted to the next higher grade level after meeting all regulatory requirements, and upon the recommendation of management. Promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

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.

Current or Former Political Appointees : The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

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.

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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.

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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.