Economist - DIRECT HIRE

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. Due to the potential of a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Many', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

As an Economist, you will:

• Develop regulatory impact analyses and regulatory flexibility analyses as part of the federal rulemaking process. Collaborate with the Office of Chief Counsel, Office of Pipeline Safety, and Office of Hazardous Materials Safety on regulatory development process.
• Assess the costs, benefits, efficiency, and impacts of PHMSA's regulatory and safety programs to help provide economic information that can be used as a tool to assess policy decisions made by the agency.
• Perform a wide variety of complex economic and market research to understand and assess trends in the regulated industries. Develop and apply economic models to evaluate safety and environmental risks to society.
• Design, develop, model, apply and evaluate data analytic theories, techniques and tools to support both quantitative and qualitative research, emphasizing the capability to discern information from large data sets, including interacting with exploring and visualizing data from any combination of sources.
• Represent the office and the agency in all regulatory analysis matters before agency officials, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), industry, and the public. Perform other duties as assigned by the Director of the Division.

Ideal Candidate Statement: This position possesses a sound background and work experience in economics related to the energy, chemical, and/orpipeline sectors. The ideal candidate has experience monitoring and evaluating economic and industry trends that influence risks to pipelines, the transportation of hazardous materials, and/or related industries.  The ideal candidate would have a graduate or advanced degree in economics, and experience in analyzing the costs and benefits of regulations or other proposals that materially impact society, or experience with analytical challenges of similar complexity.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Direct Hire Authority/SME will be used to fill this position.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your 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 the 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.

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
• GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Individual Occupational Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet the additional grade level requirements.

(1) All applicants must meet the basic requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to a position under series 0110:

A. Successful completion of a degree in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

OR

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

For additional reference, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-0110: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0100/economist-series-0110/

(2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes.

(3) Specialized Experience: To further determine eligibility, review the following grade specific details. You will be asked a few questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet these grade levels in your resume. 

For the GS-11: You qualify for this grade level if you meet one of the following:

On Experience, at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level, which included:

• Experience conducting literature searches and collecting relevant economic or statistical data from varied information sources to analyze a specific problem or issue.
• Experience applying statistical analyses to data and designing tables, charts, and/or models to illustrate relevant findings.
• Experience developing economic assessments to evaluate standards, policies, and procedures related to regulatory and safety programs.

On Education, you must have:

• 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.
• Or, you can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

For the GS-12: You qualify for this grade level if you have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, which included:

• Experience using economic theory and statistical and econometric methods for conducting research, preparing analyses, and developing economic models.
• Experience organizing, integrating, and presenting economic and statistical data from varied information sources.
• Experience applying economic assessments to make recommendations regarding standards, policies, and procedures related to regulatory and safety programs.

Although you must meet the mandatory education requirement for the series, you cannot qualify for GS-12 grade based solely on education, you must meet the specialized experience for GS-12 which is cited above.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

1. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Knowledge of the principles and methods of cost-benefit analysis, including the time value of money, present value concepts, and quantifying tangible and intangible benefits.
2. Economics: Knowledge of economic policy, principles, and practices, market and non-market values, and the analysis and reporting of economic data.
3. Research: Knowledge of the scientific principles, methods, and processes used to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry; including study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and the reporting of results.
4. Oral Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
5. Organizational Awareness: Knows the organization's mission and functions, and how its social, political, and technological systems work and operates effectively within them; this includes the programs, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the organization.

For all types of consideration, 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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

For this announcement, applications will be reviewed to determine if the applicant meets the basic qualifications for this position. The applications of individuals who meet the basic qualifications will be assessed to validate that the applicant possesses the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) at the level of proficiency needed to perform the job successfully. Applicants who are found to possess the necessary KSAs to perform the job may be referred to the selecting official for further consideration.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

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