Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S. This position is being advertised using OPM's delegated Direct-Hire Authority.

The duties of an Industry Economist cover a range of economic analysis in the field of international transportation. The position involves frequent collaboration with attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel and requires contact with regulated entities and their representatives. The major duties of the position are:

• Apply economic and data science techniques, akin to antitrust merger review, in reviewing proposed or existing agreements between or among carriers and marine terminal operators to determine their competitive impact on the shipping market and to identify potential market distortions, including unreasonable increases in rates or unreasonable decreases in service.
• Prepare expert economic testimony for and participate in formal hearings before the Commission and, as appropriate, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
• Monitor activities in assigned trade areas to detect and refer for further action possible carrier involvement in prohibited acts, including carrier activity that might cause unfavorable conditions in US trade or constitute otherwise concerning actions under the applicable statutes.
• Meet with industry representatives to discuss the impact of agreements, methods, and practices of carriers and marine terminals subject to the Shipping Act.
• Build and maintain relational databases and runs queries using SQL to produce reports and analyses.
• Employs web scraping techniques to fetch data from websites and retrieves data from application programming interfaces (APIs) across the supply chain.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Probationary Period: A one-year probationary period may be required.
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
• Males born after 12-31-1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
• Required to participate in the Direct Deposit program.
• May be required to obtain and use a government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
• May be required to file a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.

Qualifications

In addition to the above minimum requirements, you must meet the following:

GS-11: One or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 federal grade level that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience must have been demonstrated by conducting economic research to provide analysis of markets and competition, utilizing common programming languages to build datasets and automate data retrieval from public sources; and applying economic and quantitative analytical techniques to provide recommendations to senior staff OR You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related OR You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above for this grade level, that, when combined with education, equals 100% of the total requirement. (Please note that education beyond what is required for a master's degree, 36 semesters hours, leading to a Ph.D., may be used in this calculation). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

GS-12: One or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 federal grade level that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience must have been demonstrated by performing duties such as by performing duties such as applying economic and data science techniques and principles in reviewing the competitive impact of agreements, proposed mergers, or other activities subject to competition or antitrust scrutiny.

GS-13: One or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 federal grade level that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience must have been demonstrated by performing duties such as assisting legal staff by providing expert testimony or analysis in litigation. This involves the development, analysis, and evaluation of economic evidence introduced or to be introduced in such a proceeding and the provision of assistance to senior personnel in their defense of conclusions and findings under cross-examination

The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis.

It is your responsibility to ensure your resume states complete information for each job entry. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year (MM/YYYY), and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. If your resume does not provide enough information regarding your work history for us to make a creditable qualification determination, your application package may be rendered disqualified, and you will no longer be considered for this position.

Free Response Essay Questions: Applicants are to required to certify that they are using their own words, and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]). To reduce the burden on candidates, the responses cannot exceed 200 words per question.

1. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
2. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
3. How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.
4. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.

How you will be evaluated

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

This is a Direct Hire position and not subject to category rating.

This position is announced under a government-wide Direct Hire Authority (DHA) for positions in the GS-0110 series. Under this Direct-Hire authority, applicants are required to meet minimum qualification requirements at the grade level(s) of interest. Veteran's Preference, Schedule A, Category Rating, and other methods of consideration do not apply under Direct-Hire Authority regulations.

Appointments made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the Civil Service. Current Civil Service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the Civil Service. Current Federal employees may be required to serve a new probationary period (5 CFR 315.802(b).

BASIS OF RATING: You resume will be evaluated by a Subject Matter Expert Panel (SME). The SME may evaluate your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the specialized experience (under the qualifications section) and the competencies listed below:

• Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning
• Attention to Detail
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Teamwork

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 be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)), you must be assigned to the Well Qualified category or better to receive special selection priority.

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

1. Your Resume (NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES) showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed. Resumes over the 2-page limit, will not be reviewed beyond page 2 or may be disqualified. If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of your qualifications, you will not receive consideration for the position.
2. Vacancy question responses (Eligibilities and assessment questionnaire(s)).
3. This position has a basic education requirement; you must submit a copy of your official or unofficial law school Transcripts for further consideration. An official transcript is required before being appointed.
4. Please provide a copy of your most recent SF-50, if applicable, "Notification of Personnel Action" which shows your appointment eligibility for the position for which you are applying. Your most recent Promotion, Within Rate Increase (WRI/WGI), or Appointment/Conversion SF-50 or Notification of Personnel Action showing your career/career-conditional status, title, series and grade (do not submit an Award SF-50). Also provide the SF-50 that reflects the highest grade level held on a permanent basis or the full performance level of your current position, whichever is higher.
5. Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable.
6. 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. Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50.
7. Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable (e.g. DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service); Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter.
8. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) Or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Documentation: These programs apply 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. If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, you must submit the following documents:

• To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position based on the competencies listed above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility including:
  • Agency notice,
  • SF-50 that reflects current grade,
  • SF-50 that reflect full performance level of the position, and
  • Your performance appraisal which must reflect "fully successful" or equivalent).

Education Documentation:

• An official transcript may be required if you are selected.
• A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation website.
• If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions

Failure to submit documents required may result in loss of consideration.

Special Hiring Authorities Documentation:
If you are applying under a special hiring authority (i.e. Schedule A persons with disabilities authority), submit a copy of proof of your eligibility.

If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments, submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

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