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Financial Economist

Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Economic and Risk Analysis
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Candidates should have an interest and research experience in: financial markets and transactions (operational risk, market microstructure, fixed income, derivatives, and clearance and settlement), financial intermediation and asset management (credit ratings, registered investment companies, private funds, behavioral finance, structured finance, and investment advice), or corporate finance and accounting (valuation, financial accounting, and disclosure).

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/01/2019 to 06/30/2019
Salary
$126,838 to - $208,584 per year
Pay scale & grade
SK 14
Location
few vacancies in the following location:
Washington, DC
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
19-ES-10461019-DERA
Control number
528685200

Duties

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  • Provide economic guidance and research expertise to a broad range of activities, including rule-making, enforcement actions, market risk assessment, and other regulatory initiatives
  • Opportunities exist within the Division to focus on work in specific policy areas, risk assessment and modeling, or litigation support.
  • Candidates must demonstrate their ability to apply their knowledge of applied microeconomics or econometrics in support of the Agency?s mission to protect investors, facilitate capital formation, and ensure fair and orderly markets

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen
  • Application procedures are specific to this vacancy announcement. Please read all the instructions carefully. Failure to follow the instructions may result in you not being considered for this position.
  • Supplementary vacancies may be filled in addition to the number stated in this announcement.
  • This position has promotion potential to the SK-14
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: This appointment may require completion of a one-year probationary period.
  • SECURITY CLEARANCE: Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. Favorable results on a Background Investigation may be a condition of employment or selection to another position.
  • DRUG TESTING: This position may be subjected to drug testing requirements.
  • PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION (PCS): Moving/Relocation expenses are not authorized.
  • DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • This position is in the collective bargaining unit.
  • This position is located in Washington, D.C. - with limited opportunities for placement in regional offices, for qualified selectees.

Qualifications

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

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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. Additional qualifications information can be found here. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

BASIC REQUIREMENT:
A. Applicants must show successful completion of a full four-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in economics that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.
--OR--
B. An appropriate combination of education and experience----courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Examples of qualifying experience include economic research assignments requiring planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation, conclusions and report preparation; supervisory or project coordination assignments involving a staff of professional economists, and requiring the evaluation and interpretation of economic information; or teaching assignments in a college or university in economic subjects in combination with one of the following: personal research that produced evidence of results, direction of graduate theses in economics, or service as a consultant or advisor on technical economics problems.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess at least one year of specialized experience at the GS/SK-13 grade level, which includes at least one of the following:

  • (a) analyzing the costs and benefits of regulations in financial markets, including effects on market efficiency, competition, and capital formation; or
  • (b) writing reports analyzing the economics of securities litigation that have been submitted in federal courts or in the context of an SEC action, including the quantification of either harm to investors or ill-gotten gains; or
  • (c) writing reports that evaluate the effect of policy and rule changes on market performance and function; or
  • (d) writing reports in market microstructure or similar applied microeconomic fields such as industrial organizations and auction theory; or
  • (e) success in conducting research.
Qualifying experience may have been obtained in the public or private sector, which includes faculty appointments at academic institutions and certain staff positions at U.S. financial regulators.


***IMPORTANT NOTICE***
DERA is seeking candidates across two different vacancy announcements. Candidates should submit separate applications for each position they want to be considered for: Financial Economist or Financial Economist (Fellow)


If you wish to apply for the Financial Economist (Fellow) position please submit an application here.
  • Financial Economist Fellows are TERM positions. The initial appointment is made for two years, with the option to extend an additional two years. A Fellow appointment cannot exceed four years.

Education

You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SURPLUS OR DISPLACED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) are available to individuals who have special priority selection rights under this plan. Individuals must be minimally qualified for this position to receive consideration for special priority selection. CTAP or ICTAP eligibles will be considered minimally qualified if they meet the minimum requirements for this position.

Reasonable Accommodation: If you are an applicant who needs a reasonable accommodation for disability to participate in the application process at the SEC, submit the form for Reasonable Accommodation for Participation in Job Application Process here. Please be sure to submit your request at least 5 business days in advance of the date you need the requested accommodation.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Information for SEC Job Applicants: Federal EEO laws protect all applicants from discrimination on the following bases: race, color, sex (not limited to conduct which is sexual in nature, includes pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender status), age (40 and over), religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, retaliation for participating in the EEO process or opposing discrimination. Applicants who believe they have been discriminated against on any EEO basis can seek recourse through the SEC's administrative complaints process. To be timely, an individual must enter the EEO process within 45 days from when they know (or should have known) of the alleged discrimination. Click here for additional information.

TTY/ASCII: Video Relay Service users are welcome to contact the appropriate SEC office or employee via the contact information listed above. If you do not otherwise have access to a Video Phone or Video Relay service, you may send us an email or use the Federal Video Relay Service via the internet. For more information about using the Federal Relay Service and to create a new account, please see: http://fedvrs.us/

How you will be evaluated

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

If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the occupational questionnaire. Your resume must support your responses to the occupational questionnaire. After review of your application materials, if you are determined to be minimally qualified, you will be referred to the selecting official. Applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Economics, Oral Communication, Technical Competence, and Written Communication
The Occupational Questionnaire will take you approximately 10 minutes to complete. To preview the Occupational Questionnaire, click the following linkhttps://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10461019.

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