Chief, Economic Policy Section Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 24-SES-ATR-04 Department Offices, Boards and Divisions
Salary $147,649.00 to $221,900.00 Grade 00 to 00
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/13/2024 Close Date 12/27/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The mission of the Antitrust Division is to promote competition by enforcing the antitrust laws to protect economic freedom and opportunity on behalf of the American people.

One of the important ways in which the Division accomplishes these goals is through litigation.

The Division's work includes unparalleled collaboration and coordination with federal enforcers, regulators, law enforcement agencies, state attorneys general, and foreign antitrust enforcement agencies.

Duties

This position is in the Expert Analysis Group (EAG) of the Antitrust Division (ATR) of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. The incumbent serves as Chief, Economic Policy Section (EPS) reporting directly to the Economics Director of Enforcement. The incumbent provides executive leadership and supports ATR's competition advocacy efforts which includes analyzing the competitive effect of mergers and acquisitions; the competitive effects of various alleged trade restraints and proposed regulatory changes; and economic aspects of competition advocacy efforts.

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Serves as an expert economic consultant advising Section Chiefs, attorneys, staffs and management officials on economic analysis pertinent to applicable section matters. This includes advising senior management officials as to the position to be taken by ATR and the Department in antitrust matters and related policy matters within incumbent's jurisdictions.
  • Directs and synthesizes the work of a group of highly-specialized economists and other quantitively-trained analysts in the preparation of sophisticated economic analyses and forecasts.
  • Advises legal sections in all aspects of economic issues in connection with litigation and at trial including the selection and preparation of economic expert witnesses; the formulation and review of economic arguments; and the provision of assistance to attorneys in examining and cross-examining of economic witnesses, especially experts.
  • Evaluates qualitative and quantitative evidence collected by the economic and legal staff. Reviews and evaluates for technical accuracy, relevance, completeness and soundness, the memoranda, reports, and correspondence prepared by staff economists.
  • Ensures the economist workforce is prepared to adapt to new techniques and promptly update their skill set. Acquire the necessary resources and ensure economists, data scientists, and statisticians can adapt to new software. Collaborate with stakeholders to obtain the latest software.
  • Represents ATR in meetings and conferences with senior government, private, and public officials. Establishes and maintains contacts with counterparts in other agencies to build positive relationships and share information to further ATR interests. Effectively advocates and communicates ATR's point of view with stakeholders at all levels within the Department. Collaboratively justifies, defends, negotiates, or settles sensitive or controversial issues related to the economic impact of mergers and potentially anti-competitive conduct.
  • Provides executive leadership, management, and strategic direction to a staff of 29 employees, assuring execution of critical organizational processes, accomplishment of identified objectives, and proper delegation of authority and responsibility.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

PRE-HIRING REQUIREMENT: This is a permanent position in the SES. Unless you are already a member of the SES with career status or are a graduate of an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) certified SES Candidate Development Program, your executive qualifications must be approved by OPM before you can be hired. If you are selected, you will be required to prepare your executive core qualification (ECQ) narrative for OPM submission.
CITIZENSHIP: You must be a United States Citizen or National.
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You must pass a background investigation.
PUBLIC FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORT (OGE 278): If you are selected for this position, you will be required to file this report upon entry, and annually thereafter in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.
SECURITY CLEARANCE: You must be able to obtain and maintain a TOP SECRET security clearance.
DRUG TESTING: As a condition of appointment to this position, if you are selected, you will be required to pass a drug test. If you fail to take the test or fail the test, you will no longer be considered for the job.
PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year SES probationary period unless you have previously completed the probationary period in the SES.
SELECTIVE SERVICE: If you are a male born after December 31,1959, you must be registered with the Selective Service registration (see Who Needs to Register). Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file.
VETERANS' PREFERENCE: Not applicable to the Senior Executive Service.
EDUCATION: You must possess a degree in economics that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting or calculus; OR have a combination of education and experience, with courses equivalent to a major in economics, as stated above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

You must meet all minimum qualifications to be deemed eligible. Only experience obtained by closing date of this announcement will be considered.

As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Mandatory Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications.

Qualifications

The applicant must address the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) within their resume. Your responses to the ECQs should be addressed/embedded within your resume not to exceed seven (7) pages. Your resume must describe your ECQs and experience, technical qualifications and give a synopsis of your accomplishments. Additionally, your demonstrated leadership ability must be clearly shown in your resume. Do not include a separate ECQ narrative. Lastly, Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) listed later in this section below must be addressed in a separate document.

If you are a current career member of the SES, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or have completed an SES Candidate Development Program and have been certified by the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Review Board (QRB), you can apply for competitive and/or noncompetitive consideration. For competitive consideration, you must submit a resume and written statements addressing the Mandatory Technical Qualifications, ECQs, and other applicable qualifications. For noncompetitive consideration, you must submit your resume, written statements addressing the Mandatory Technical Qualifications, and other applicable qualifications. Written statements addressing the ECQs are not necessary for noncompetitive consideration. You must also provide documentation of QRB certification (i.e., SF-50 showing career SES status or OPM-issued SES qualification certificate).

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS:

The MTQ narrative must not exceed two (2) pages for each MTQ typed in Times New Roman, 12-point font.

MTQ 1. Expert knowledge and experience in applying economic analysis to various phases and tasks involved in investigating and litigating possible violations of federal antitrust laws and government regulation.
MTQ 2. Demonstrated ability to create and execute advanced economic frameworks for competition and litigation matters at a high level.
MTQ 3. Demonstrated ability to represent agency policies across the Division and Department of Justice and similar meetings and effectively negotiate differences to build partnerships and consensus and navigate interagency dynamics to achieve mutually acceptable outcomes on various economic matters relating to antitrust litigation, enforcement, and policies.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS: The five ECQs described below were designed to assess executive-level experiences and potential not technical expertise. They measure whether you have the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions.
ECQ 1 - Leading Change: Ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals and establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
ECQ 2.- Leading People: Ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals and provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.
ECQ 3 - Results Driven: Ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations and make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
ECQ 4 - Business Acumen: Ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
ECQ 5 - Building Coalitions: Ability to build coalitions internally and with other federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

Additional information on the Executive Core Qualifications can be found at http://www.opm.gov/ses/recruitment/ecq.asp. Please refer to OPM's Guide to the Senior Executive Service Qualifications for more detailed information.

Education

To be considered for this position, applicants must demonstrate ALL qualifications as identified below:

A. BASIC REQUIREMENT - Applicants must meet the requirements specified in paragraphs 1 or 2 below.

  1. Possess a degree in economics that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting or calculus; OR
  2. Have a combination of education and experience, with courses equivalent to a major in economics, as stated above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Applicants using any education to qualify MUST submit copies of college transcripts or a list of college courses taken that identify for each course the college or university, semester or quarter hours earned, grade and grade-point received. An unofficial transcript is acceptable to qualify, however, it must include your full name. If selected, you may be asked to submit an official transcript prior to appointment.

Additional information

1. If selected for an initial career appointment to an SES position, the OPM QRB must approve your ECQs prior to appointment. A selection is tentative until we obtain a QRB certification.

2. The Ethics in Government Act, PL 95-521, requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a financial disclosure statement, SF-278, once appointed to the SES position, annually while employed, and upon termination of employment.

3. You must complete a Declaration for Federal Employment before we can hire you to certify the accuracy of your written application and provide the information necessary to determine your suitability for federal employment.

4. If selected for this position, you must complete personnel suitability documents. Your appointment is contingent upon the successful completion of an appropriate background investigation.

5. The ATR provides reasonable accommodations, where appropriate, to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the ATR. The agency considers requests for reasonable accommodation on a case-by-case basis. Questions about the ATR's accommodation policy can be directed to Karen.Jung@usdoj.gov.

6. Your application includes information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 U.S.C. 552a). This information is necessary to determine qualifications for employment, and collection is authorized under Title 5 of the U.S. Code, 3302 and 3361.

7. DIVERSITY STATEMENT: As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.

8. EEO Policy Statement: The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factor. The complete DOJ EEO Statement/Policy is found at: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1394116/download.

9. Reasonable Accommodation: Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. The U.S. Department of Justice fosters an inclusive and diverse workforce, find our EEO statement online at: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/reasonable-accommodation#policy.

Benefits

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.

Review our benefits

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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Only experience obtained by the 11:59pm EST on the closing date (12/27/2024) of this announcement will be considered.

Once this announcement closes the following will occur:
1. A review of your resume, ECQs, MTQs, and supporting documentation will be conducted by the HR Specialist.
2. Applicants deemed minimally qualified will be referred to an Executive Resources Board (ERB) to further evaluate applications.
3. The ERB will further evaluate applications to determine the best qualified applicants for referral to the hiring official.
4. Best qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring official and may be invited to participate in a structured interview. Interviews may be in a virtual setting or in person at DOJ offices.
5. The selected individual will be further evaluated by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as required by law. OPM must review the executive qualifications of each new career appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES) prior to appointment.

NOTE: You MUST address all MTQs as required above, but do not need to address the ECQs if you:
1. Are currently serving under a career SES appointment;
2. Are eligible for reinstatement into the SES; or
3. Have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program and been certified by Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Proof of Qualifications Review Board (QRB) certification must be provided in your application.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

  • Complete Resume that addresses the ECQs. ECQ-based resume must not exceed seven (7) pages.
  • Separate document that addresses MTQs. MTQs must not exceed eight (8) pages total; two (2) pages per MTQ.
  • Recent SF-50 that shows Official Title, Salary, Grade Level, Status and (for current or former federal employees)
  • Recent Performance Appraisal (for current or former federal employees)
  • Provide certification of OPM QRB approval (for graduates of SES Candidate Development Programs)
  • Other supporting documentation as required.
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 by providing a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
  • Position title,
  • Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee),
  • Agency, and
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete and submit your entire application (including your resume, vacancy questionnaire, and any applicable supporting documentation. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time (ET) on the vacancy closing date.

If you are experiencing any technical difficulties when attempting to apply online, please contact the HR Specialist listed on the vacancy announcement before the vacancy closes.

  • To begin the application process, click the "Apply Online" button.
  • You will be re-directed to USA STAFFING to complete your application process; answer the online questions and submit all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, import documents from USAJOBS to the appropriate document types. If the document you need was not imported from USAJOBS, you may upload it directly into this application. To protect your privacy, we suggest you first remove your SSN).
  • To complete, you must click the "Submit Application" button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the vacancy closing date.
To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account, or your application will be incomplete.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. All your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Do not email or send hard copy resumes/applications to the Contact Information or Agency Information listed in this vacancy announcement. All resumes/applications received at the addresses listed in the Contact Information or Agency Information will be destroyed and will not be considered for this vacancy announcement.

Thank you for your interest in employment with the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division!

Agency contact information

Human Resources Section
Address
Antitrust Division
450 5th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20530
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and determine your ranking. You will be notified of the status of your application up to four times throughout the application process, via your USAJOBS dashboard. To verify the status of your application, both during and after the announcement open period, log on to your USAJOBS account. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an option to "Track this application." Your "Applicant status" will also appear along with the dates you applied to this position and when your application was last updated. To learn more about your specific job status and how this helps you track jobs and applications visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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